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Lake Nipissing not cooperative on day one of the North Bay Power Boat Racing Series

'Water that they don’t know 20 feet in front of them is unsafe so we just won’t do it but we’re going to put some boats out in the water to give them a show' Brent Valois board member and secretary for the Ontario Power Boat Racing Association

Looking out at Lake Nipissing from the waterfront, everything looked promising for North Bay's inaugural Power Boat Races.

The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect, but Lake Nipissing proved to be too much of a challenge.

“Mother Nature was a big issue this morning. From shore it doesn’t look like the waves are too bad but I went out in my boat to do some testing, and there is actually three different series of waves that are intermixed with one another that are virtually impossible to read,” explained Brent Valois board member and secretary for the Ontario Power Boat Racing Association.

“Water that they don’t know 20 feet in front of them is unsafe, so we just won’t do it. The lake has since laid down for us. We’ve all been talking gently to Mother Nature to make sure she’s in a good mood, so we’ll be able now to put on a show.”

The association didn’t want the large crowd lined up along the shoreline for as far as the eye could see, to leave disappointed.

“We have a significant crowd. I am extremely impressed with the people that have come out to watch. So, we want to give them something to see. Typically, we would just not race today, but I’ve lost count of the number of people who are here, so I don’t want that to happen. We’re going to put some boats out in the water to give them a show.”

Looking ahead, day two of the weekend competition looked favourable for oval track racing and drag racing.

“Tomorrow (Sunday) the weather looks perfect but for right now we’re running a half-track because the waves are still not safe enough to compete.”

Thirty-one competitors registered for Saturday’s event.

“We’re coming from as far away as the Bay of Quinte, Windsor, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Peterborough, all over. It is a great crowd.”

Competitors accumulate points throughout the season.  

“We will run a one- or two-day event. We’ll have people that can only run on a Saturday or a Sunday, so whoever has the most points at the end of the season is high points champion. For example, if you had run all six days of our three events, you have a better chance of having more points. If you could only run five days, but you’re in first or second place on one of those days, it gets really tight for the numbers,” said Valois.

“We have eight classes in total, six of them drag classes and we have two oval racing.”

There is no purse to go along with the points.

“Unfortunately, in Canada racing for money is one of those things that is a pipe dream. You would need very significant sponsorship to be able to do something like that, and that is very difficult to get. We’re a not for profit organization. There is a trophy, but it is all about bragging rights. We go into the next racing saying, ‘you have to beat me’. So that is the fun we have.”

Richard Farley drove from Cobourg to North Bay to check out the competition.

“Half of these guys I run with on a regular basis out on the lake just playing. I’m not competing in this, I’m here to get a feel for what it is like. In September they’re going to run in Peterborough, and I plan on racing there. That’s why I’m here. I want to get a feel for it, I want to see what it is about and meet some of the people. It looks good,” said Farley.

“I’m pretty impressed it is getting done on this big water. I’ve never actually been in a drag race, but I have run my boat 109 mph.”

Farley’s father-in-law Dennis Crites made the trip from Timmins to meet up with him and learn more about the sport.

“I’ve never seen this before. It is the first time and I like everything about it. I’m learning all this from my son-in-law. I’ve learned that it is an expensive game to play,” laughed Crites.

Once the season wraps up, some will set their sights on Jasper, Tennessee.

“It is the world final, so all the big boys that really are very, very serious about drag racing boats compete in that event,” said Valois.

“This year there is talk of 9 or 10 of our competitors going down to run that race and I’m one of them. Our outlaw guys go down to race and some of our lake racer modified guys are going down to compete this year.”

Canadians are leaving their mark at this world class event.

“Last year we had five or six boats there and we did very well. The Americans were looking at us like ‘what’s going on up there in Canada guy’s?’ So, we’re having a lot of fun with it.”

Representatives of the Ontario Power Boat Racing Association visited North Bay last year to scope it out as a potential race site.

“We fell in love with the place. The waterfront area, the marina, the parks, the beaches, the people, the city staff, right to the mayor,. It has just been phenomenal which is why we really wanted to come here,” said Valois.

He was asked about a return engagement next year.

“I don’t see why not. It is a wonderful town with wonderful people. And look at the crowd here. Obviously, they like it and that is our gauge. If we don’t see this, if there is nobody down here to watch, we won’t ask to come back, because this is who we do it for. We do it for the crowd. We want them to meet our racers. We want them to see the exciting racing and the events. I can’t see the end of people from where we are standing. This is just wonderful.”