February 18, 2025 • 42 mins
Roostertail Talk is back with season 7. The first episode for the new season features a conversation with Eric Christensen revealing his journey from enthusiastic fan to team owner and driver. Eric discusses the challenges of starting a new racing team, acquiring his boat, and his goals for the upcoming season, emphasizing safety and community involvement.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Ruchetel Talk, the podcast dedicated to everything
about the sport that we all love.
Hi, dreamland Race.
I am your host, david Newton,and it's time once again.
So sit back, relax and welcomeRooster Tail Talk talk.
(00:51):
Welcome back race fans.
We're on to season seven ofruchetel talk and I know it took
a few months off there in theoff season it's still
technically off season, but notfor this podcast.
We're going to be bringing yousome more interviews around the
history of the sport and what'sgoing on currently in H1
Unlimited and I took the pastfew months, took it off and I've
(01:13):
actually conducted a fewinterviews with some people from
the sport from yesteryear andit's going on right now and I'm
excited to get those out to you.
And we're going to start offseason seven with this episode,
episode 137, which is going tobe talking with Eric Christensen
, a new player in the game of H1Unlimited.
He just released a few weeksago, a press release saying that
(01:35):
he is forming a new team andjoining the ranks of H1
Unlimited.
Now this isn't something to betaken lightly.
Unlimited Now this isn'tsomething to be taken lightly.
It takes a lot of time,commitment, effort, financial
backing and, really, a village.
It takes a village to make thishappen, and Eric's going to
(01:58):
talk about a little bit of hisbackgrounds in racing, as this
is a new name for some of usthat have followed the sport for
many years.
He's also going to share hisprogress and what the process is
going to entail to get his ownteam on the water this year in
H1 Unlimited.
So why don't we get in to myinterview with Eric Christensen?
Well, I'm sitting down inRichetel Talk headquarters in
(02:19):
Renton Washington.
I'm on the Zoom call with EricChristensen making some waves
right now, buying a new boat andgetting into being a new H1
owner.
Eric, how are you doing?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Doing great.
How are things with you?
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Oh, they're doing well.
We've had a few snow days here,but back at school and things
are going well right now, righton.
Well, I have a lot I want totalk to you about because you're
a new H1 owner.
You're picking up some boatsand you're going to be on the
circuit this year and helpingthe sport out a lot with boat
(02:52):
number, boat count.
But also just having a new teamon the circuit is always really
fun.
But I always like to ask a lotof my guests what was your
favorite hydroplane growing up?
How did you get involved in thesport?
Because I always look back onthose old days and I have my
favorite drivers teams.
I'm always curious what otherpeople are on the sport.
What was their favorites?
Speaker 2 (03:14):
yeah, growing up, I really, you know, I've always
really enjoyed fridayland's picoteam.
Um, you know, just remember asa little kid sitting on the
couch watching Seafair ontelevision.
You know that was long before,of course, we had the internet,
so we didn't get the livestreaming like we have today,
you know.
So I just got that one race peryear to watch and that was
(03:38):
Seafair on television and thatwas Fridayland's Pico American
Dream.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
What about favorite?
Speaker 2 (03:45):
driver.
That was Mark Evans.
Okay, mark Evans, you know,true class act talked to anybody
very approachable and just anall-around great guy and he was
pretty competitive.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Yeah, he's a fun one to watch and I always enjoyed
his interviews and I think we'rearound the same age, so it's
fun to hear some of thefavorites, because I think we
have some overlappings, but justfun to hear some background
with other fans.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
That kind of relates my style to Mark Evans.
Yeah, very approachablehappy-go-luckyucky.
You know you're in it becauseyou love it.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
I think that's why we're all in the sport, yeah
yeah, he should have a greatpositive attitude and fly by the
seat of his pants and I don'tthink much got him down no not
at all.
well, I think, if I'm if I'm notmistaken, I believe you
actually got to work for forFred later on in your life after
(04:48):
you got to watch him on TV andwhatnot.
But I'd like to know what'smore of your background with
boat racing, because I don'tthink a lot of fans know your
involvement and you've beenaround the sport for a number of
years.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Sure, sure I'm gonna say we all start as as a fan
growing up and you know,watching the races and going to
the races, everybody starts as afan.
I started my my career in 2000when I became a seafair
volunteer.
Okay, that's my first actualin-person race that I attended
(05:26):
was Seafair in 2000.
I was a logistics contractor,basically building stairs going
up to the trophy stage, stufflike that, and it snowballed
from there.
I was involved withenvironmental pick, you know,
with the, the pig pads, moppingup the oil off the water, you
(05:47):
know, if there's an accident orwhatever, uh, and that's where I
met bill worcester, uh, theowner of the u8.
Um, I met bill and he invitedme down to a shop when I
expressed interest to personallyget involved with a boat.
And that summer I went down tohis shop and I was still in high
(06:09):
school at that time and broughtmy bicycle onto the ferry.
And uh, cause I didn't want tohave a car over there in Seattle
, so I just rode my bike up tothe shop and I would uh do a lot
of sanding on the boat, um, alot of floor sweeping, uh, you
know, doing the garbage andstuff.
(06:31):
And so then I bought my own boatwhen I was introduced to the
Perkins family.
Brian Perkins drove for uh Joeand Jackie Turner out of uh
Belfair, washington, and then Ipurchased my first two and a
half stock hydro from the Turnerfamily and that's started
(06:54):
snowball rather rapidly fromthere, uh, and I bought my own
UL at at that time and I wascrewing for uh the hops, okay,
and I went back East with thehops and that's where I was
crewing for the hops, Okay, andI went back east with the hops
and that's where I was workingon.
I didn't work on Fred's stuffin Fred's shop, I was helping.
(07:15):
You know, when we went back toValleyfield Madison you know the
whole east coast swing I wasworking on Fred's stuff on the
road with him at that time andthat's where I was working on.
Fred's stuff was when we wereon the road.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Okay, and so you met Tim then through the hops,
because I think they had a goodrelationship around that time,
if I'm not mistaken.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
That is correct.
Yeah, because Greg was thedriver at that time and my old
DOL was the old pocket mechanic.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Oh, okay okay, I miss the ULs.
I thought that was a greatclass of racing.
Just it seemed at the time Icould be wrong, but I feel like
it was an affordable class andit just had some close racing.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
It was an affordable class, yeah, and it just had
some close racing.
It was an affordable class, butthe only downfall was stuffing
blower boats with non-blowerboats.
You know, then you'rerestricting the blower boats and
you know, so you're taking,you're handicapping a boat from
something that it was designedto do.
And to me it was just the ideawas spot on.
But it just you put a big loadon the blower boats.
(08:27):
You know you're kind ofhandicapping them and you know,
just makes it hard on theequipment as far as I was
concerned.
But you know, the idea was good, it just didn't work out in the
end.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Yeah, it's too bad.
Yeah, it was just.
It's too bad because I feltlike there was another
opportunity for moresponsorships and brought more
attention to the sport.
So it was nice to have themarriage between Unlimited
Lights and Unlimiteds at thetime.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Yeah, no, it was great.
I kind of missed the class whenit went away.
But then, as time went on, Iwas able to see what the Grand
Prixs were able to do on theirown and I was kind of like, okay
, this, it was done for a goodreason and I was happy to see.
You know, it was Grand Prixworld and then Grand Prix
America and we are where we aretoday with that class and you
(09:16):
know, last couple years I got in, got back into the sport here a
couple years ago after takingit was a 11 year hiatus, which
is a long time to be off thewater, but during that time, let
me say I've I was still a fanand I still volunteered, you
(09:37):
know, and I was a rescue diverfor many years at the limited
inboard races and stillvolunteered at Seafair, you know
.
So that's I've never reallystepped away from the sport, but
I've had a lot of things in mylife that came up where I had to
kind of step aside for a littlebit.
(09:57):
Two years ago I was able to getinto an E350, john Rifle's boat
, oh yeah, drove at Chelan andBlack Lake here a couple years
ago and got my feet wet againand that's pretty cool.
So I was pretty happy to getthat one First place in Chelan
(10:20):
here a couple years ago and thatmeant a lot to me.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
That's great.
Yeah, I know John from RacingRC Boats.
He's a very nice guy, very goodgentleman, so that's a fun
experience.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Absolutely, and I thank him and his wife Rhonda
for giving me that opportunityto get my feet wet and last year
I campaigned my GP.
Get my feet wet.
Last year I campaigned my GP.
We didn't have a whole lot ofsuccess.
We went down to San Diego, webroke some parts, we put them
(10:57):
together and went to Manson andfinished it off.
It was a great time.
And now, here here we are.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Yeah Well, it's always.
It's always a big jump when youstep into a new class,
especially like GP last year alot, a big learning curve.
And you've got a big learningcurve ahead of you because you
have had the opportunity toacquire the boat affectionately
known as the Casper boat fromthe Madison regatta organization
.
How did this opportunitypresent itself?
Speaker 2 (11:30):
I wanted to get into a haul.
You know, I sold the old Freyeto the O'Farrell team here a
couple years ago and I startedmy own trucking company.
Kind of took a lot of time awayGoing up to the mountain.
You know I do alpine ski racingin addition to hydroplane
racing and I'm also a roadcyclist too, so and a little bit
(11:53):
of the adrenaline junkie in theessence.
So I kind of stepped away alittle bit and before I picked
up the gp and then that's kindof my get my foot back back in
the door again.
It led to how do I get my ownboat?
Which boats are available?
What can I get into affordably?
(12:15):
What is going to be the mostcompetitive bang for the buck?
And so I was talking to a goodfriend of mine, gary Coles, for
the buck.
And so I was talking to a goodfriend of mine, gary Coles, and
we're talking about the dustbuster, or miss piggy, whatever
you want to know it as, orCasper the boat's got a few
nicknames to it.
Yeah, and we're talking aboutthat boat.
(12:37):
And I was talking to Mark Evanstoo.
And it's like the boat's neverbeen crashed, it's never had any
kind of an accident.
The boat was way overbuilt.
We all know, fred, halls arebuilt like a brick house.
Yeah, you know, they're tough,very tough.
Um, I said, okay, well, I guessthat's the boat.
(12:59):
You know, it's got no time onit, it's never been crashed.
It should be in pretty decentshape and it is.
Um, I talked to one of the guyson the madison team, uh, trey,
he's one that kind of got theboat prepped, ready for display,
and I was talking to him andhe's like you know what kind of
conditions to haul in?
Is it runnable?
(13:20):
And he says it's, it's verydoable.
He goes, that boat lookedpretty solid when we went
through it and he was amazed atthe condition that it was in.
So that's why I say we're notreally worried about it.
And I talked to the inspectorshere and they've all agreed,
yeah, we've got to go throughthe inspection process.
(13:40):
But they all know those FredLeland hauls are very tough,
very stout, and it's like okay,then that's the one we're going
to go with.
And so I called the regatta andI talked to Kyle Bipes and he
says, yeah, you know, let metalk to the rest of the board
and I'll get back to you andabout.
(14:02):
I think it was just under aweek later.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
I got a phone call back from Kyle and we settled on
a price.
Well, it's really exciting.
I know Madison sold the otherboats that was stationed out
there.
But, like you said, fred builtstout boats and didn't really
notice it.
Casual fan didn't notice it.
But one thing that always stoodout to me is they never
qualified that great but their,their speeds never dropped in
(14:31):
race water.
He always built kind of a tankready for battle in the race,
rough race waters that uh, you'dsee in seattle and detroit and
on the circuit.
So I've always heard that fredbuilt really strong, uh, lasting
boats absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
And you know that's one thing I put to the fans.
They're listening.
You know it's some of thecomments I've seen on the
facebook press release is, youknow, the book, the capsule's
not legal, it's not safe?
Well, yeah, it not safe.
Well, yeah, it is safe.
And I challenge people, it'slike you know, fred, boats have
gone over several times.
(15:09):
You know, name me an instancewhere a Fred cockpit's imploded
or where you know where itinjured the driver.
Right, I can't think of one.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Yeah, he's had several blowovers and from my
memory I think pretty mucheveryone's been pretty much
unscathed.
I mean, it's pretty hard to go200 miles an hour and crash and
not have anything happen to you.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Well, and I know, when it came to the cockpits,
driver safety was top notch.
That was Fred's primary dealwas keep my driver safe in those
cockpits.
And you know his, his cockpitswere super heavy.
I mean heck, the lids weigh 400darn pounds.
I mean I've.
(15:58):
You know, I had, I had a Fredboat and just lifting that lid
up without the canopy shock onit, oh my gosh, you're the one
lifting it without assistance,like whoa.
Yeah, you know.
No, I, there's no concern thatthis boat will pass tech
inspection okay, I'm glad tohear that.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Do you, do you recall what, where, where did the name
casper come from for this boat?
Speaker 2 (16:27):
so talk talking to gary.
It.
The boat was ran as the new kidin town with ray forestman,
okay, and afterwards the new kidit came back to um, it came
back to fred's shop and it wasall painted white and so it just
(16:49):
kind of sat in the shop andthey used it as a table.
Oh okay, I was like anall-white boat is just kind of
like the ghost in the room andso that's yeah the name, casper,
it's just it sat there, nobodyreally thought, thought about it
.
You know, you just kind of walkpast this one all the time.
(17:12):
The ghost in the room just sitsthere.
That's how I got his nameCasper All right, that makes
sense.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
It's a pretty expensive table to have in the
shop.
I just want to make sure itwasn't haunted or something like
that.
Yeah it is yeah, all right.
Well, I mean another thing toois there's so many boats on the
circuit now that are 20, 30years old that I think a good
amount of the boats have someage and mileage on it.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
So I'm glad to see this one back out.
Yeah, there's boats that areolder than Casper.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Yeah, there's boats that were built in 92.
Yeah, those were built in 92.
I'm sure there's others outthere that you know early 90s
were built.
I don't think the boat.
You don't have that boat inyour shop yet.
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Correct, I was talking to Kyle, and we're just,
I mean, playing aroundsnowstorms in the holidays and
you know I got so much stuffgoing on, right, right now just
trying to break free, you know,get out of dodge to go pick the
thing up.
it's been a logistical nightmare, you know, and so I have my
meeting on the 13th and so I'mhoping to be on the road on the
(18:25):
15th, headed to madison to pickthe thing up.
Okay, I think we're gonna beable to make that one work.
Okay, kind of been, you know,telling our program director up
at the mountain for our alpineskiers and team, because I'm
coaching up there, uh, and soit's like, you know, I told
everybody to say, hey guys, Igotta get out of town, I gotta
go get this boat, you know, andI pretty much dropped the gavel,
(18:48):
I'm leaving town.
Yeah, this is what it is, I'mleaving town.
I'll film the 15th wheels up,headed to Madison with the
trailer to pick the boat up.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Well, I'm.
I know you've been talking to alot of people about the boat
and getting more information andyou're building a list of
things to do.
What's, uh, what's on the, whatare some big items on the
agenda list to do to that onceit gets in your shop?
Speaker 2 (19:13):
basically, we're going to be going through every
single compartment.
You know, I've got the camera.
You know the snake, you knowlittle scope cameras.
We're going to be able to runit through everything, pop every
duck, catch off.
Uh, you say I.
I talked to trey months ago andhe's, you know, when he went
through to paint the whole boatfor the display, he says this
(19:34):
thing is intact.
He goes this is in prettydecent shape and so.
But you know, we're going to gofarther into it than that.
Well, at every, every bulkhead,every frame, make sure
nothing's delaminated and makesure no honeycombs corroded or
pitted or anything, and uh, kindof start putting it back
(19:56):
together.
From that point, as far as Iknow, and as far as trade, you
see, there's not a whole lotthat needs to be done.
It's just me time consuming,putting new plumbing, getting
all the wiring stuff put back inthe boat.
It does, you know, it comeswith the, the circuit panel and
everything is all there.
Steering cables are all there,so I'm just going to have them
(20:16):
pull tested and pop the skid finbracket off.
You know, because the, thebracket and all that stuff, you
know the it needs to be maggedevery year and so once that is
done, we're gonna pop that stuffoff, get it out from mag, get
it back and start reassemblingthe boat yeah, your work cut out
(20:38):
for you.
That's uh exciting it's gonna bea very long, long, long couple
months, and we're just going togo by quickly yeah, it always
does.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Well, are you planning to have this ready for
for the spring testing in intri-cities and in mid bay?
What's what are your thoughtson on making the tour this year?
Speaker 2 (21:05):
I'm hoping we're going to get to testing.
I'm kind of being a realist.
I'm not having, I guess I wouldsay you know I'm I don't.
My personal belief is I'm kindof counting more towards going
straight to Guntersville orMadison.
Do I hope we can make thetesting?
(21:26):
Absolutely, I'm not leaning onthat a hundred percent.
I kind of see us going straightto Guntersville and Madison and
hoping for the best.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Yeah, hopefully you can make it to the testing.
That's always so valuable toget testing time but it seems in
years recently it's other.
Outside of that test session inMay for H1, not many people can
test have open water in Seattleor Tri-Cities.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
And this boat's big enough.
You know we can't splash inLake Taps here in Washington
like we can in the Hornets.
You know a little bit differentSpeeds are a little bit
different, are a little bitdifferent.
You know different requirementsright, right god.
That'd be fun to see, but yeah,that's a downbeat that wouldn't
go over well no, probably haveevery pierce county sheriff down
(22:18):
here at the boat ramp, and notin a good way.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
No well I.
There's so many components thatgo into starting a team and
getting a program on foot.
One big component I always feelis the crew.
Do you have a crew put togetheryet?
Do you have people helping youout?
Have people been out to yourshop yet?
Speaker 2 (22:40):
I have a couple of crew members that have rolled
over from our GP team, but I'mkind of looking to put together
a new crew, so we're always opento accepting new crew members.
Um, if they want, they canmessage me on the christiansen
motorsports facebook page.
Fire off a message and we can,you know, arrange a meeting and
(23:03):
see what works.
Uh, but yeah, we are currentlylooking for new crew members.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Where are you located at?
Is it in Graham?
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (23:13):
We're in Buckley, washington.
Oh, buckley, buckley, okay.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Alright.
Yeah, I often get fans thatsometimes reach out to me and
say that they love the sport andwant to get more involved.
Crewing is one aspect I know alot of people want to get jump
into, so hopefully we can find acouple guys to to come out to
buckley and help you out withthis project yeah, that'd be
great.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Yeah, we already got a couple people out, reached out
, and so I'm meeting with themhere, a couple truck drivers
which is huge, so I'm not theonly one having to drive the
truck and the boat and you know,be kind of nice to come up,
come home every, you know, everynow and then.
So I got a couple of retiredtruck drivers that stepped up
(23:57):
and said they'd be willing todrive the truck.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
Oh good, yeah, that's a.
That's a big task right thereJust getting the boat to the
races and having some peoplethat can getting the boat to the
races and having some peoplethat can drive the truck, yeah,
absolutely.
That's huge One thing you postedand we talked previously on the
phone about.
You have a display boat now andyou were able to acquire.
(24:21):
Albert Lee actually owned forsome time the Cellular One which
also ran as Winston Eagle andPete'sete's wickadale.
Ken muscatel had it for a while, but you got the display boat.
What plans do you have for that?
Because I mean, you're going tobe working on getting your boat
out this year, but uh, what areyour thoughts for the display
boat as well?
Speaker 2 (24:40):
obviously, getting the primary boat done and race
ready is going to be prioritynumber one.
As we're working, maybe we'vegot some things on the primary
boat that we only need two orthree people to work on.
Maybe we can pull the displayboat out and get people jumping
(25:03):
on that thing too.
I want the boat and the trailerto match the race boat and
trailer as as well.
You know, in terms of graphicsor paint.
You know all our sponsors.
I want it to look like the realboat.
Yeah, um, we offer displays toall our sponsors.
I don't care what level theycome in at, everybody gets
(25:25):
displays and I want to be ableto have the boat on display like
Genesee Park, at Seafair youknow all these other venues that
we go to on the West Coast.
I want that hall to beavailable for any local car
shows, whatever it be.
I want that boat to look justlike where kids can sit in that
(25:46):
boat and get their picture taken.
You know, make some memories.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
That's fantastic.
Yeah, I love that.
I remember seeing it down atSeafair a couple years and it's
I feel like it's been absent fora while.
I haven't seen it.
I could be wrong, but what'sthe shape like for that boat now
?
Speaker 2 (26:04):
It's going to need a lot of 30 second outdoor cleaner
now.
It's gonna need a lot of 30second outdoor cleaner.
Yeah, um, it can get cleaned up.
You know it's not, you knowit's just dirtier than it is
damaged, you know.
So, yeah, it can be cleaned up,looking nice here and it won't
take a lot.
The pain is going to take themost time.
Yeah, um, I'm kind of in themood.
(26:25):
Where shoot the sides white andvinyl wrap over the top.
Vinyl wrap, the depths.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Yeah, that seems to be kind of a go-to nowadays.
There's been a lot of teams inhydroplane racing but cars and
just a lot of racing teams havegone to that wrap route and it
seems to work pretty well.
They can hide any blemishes youhave there too.
Yeah, for the most part.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Yeah, yeah, to work pretty well, they can hide any
blemishes you have there too.
Yeah, for the most part, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Okay, yeah, this boat will never run again, you know,
no, but it's a solid displayboat, you know yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Yeah, yeah, that boat had a lot of history and had a
lot of miles.
That should never see the wateragain.
She's tired.
Tired, yeah she is.
I remember I remember cruel mydad on that and it flipped to 94
, 95 and in tri-cities and itbroke the boat in half and or
most of the right side off of itat least, and it went through a
(27:21):
few few other crashes.
It's uh, yeah, it's tired.
Yeah, very much so.
Yeah, but that's huge though tohave for a sponsor, and some
teams recently have kind of goneback to that.
I know mercury's coffee had adisplay built this last year, so
it's it's pretty invaluable tohave sponsors or have for the
sponsors, and do you have anysponsors lined up for this year
(27:42):
already?
Speaker 2 (27:43):
yeah, we do.
Um, you know, we currently havethe fraternal order of eagles,
which is huge.
We got a lot of um out-of-statesupport.
I brought the san diego areadown to uh watch the san diego
race and I put their madampresident for the auxiliary okay
down there with us and shebrought her daughter and her
(28:05):
daughter got to sit in the gpand get their picture taken.
They're just loving it.
Um, so it's really starting totake off.
It's getting traction every day.
I'm getting, you know, I'mgetting feedback with uh from a
club in indianapolis which ishuge, and so we're we're really
growing the foe sponsorship,really looking forward to this
(28:26):
season and I'm so happy towelcome Albert Lee back to the
sport.
Oh, awesome, I think it's greatthey signed on with us and
that's where the boat came fromand that was a part of the
sponsorship from Albert Lee andreally welcome them on board
with us.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Well, I'm glad to hear that Albert Lee's back in
the sport, because they're aSeattle-based family that's
supported the tight end racingfor years and it's fantastic to
have them back.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Yeah, I got a lot of associate sponsors that we're
currently working on.
That's the meeting on the 13thCould be a pretty decent size
sponsor, so I was like I don'twant to go to Madison now and
take a chance.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
I'm missing that meeting.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
I need to be at this meeting.
There's no way I can miss thismeeting.
Oh, definitely.
So, yeah, we got a lot ofassociate sponsors coming on
board with us in addition toAlbert Lee, and so I think we're
going to be looking pretty good.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Well, great.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
We're not going to be , you know, the big dollar top
teams, but for a first yearrookie team, I think we'll be
okay.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Yeah, I mean, it's a lot to get your feet wet in the
first year.
You can't expect to go out gunsblazing, but it's a big
learning curve.
And if you're true to Fred'sform, there's so many years I
remember seeing that boat and ithad a hundred, or it seemed
like a thousand, stickers onthere of all the associate
sponsors.
So if you're true to Fred'sform, you'll have a lot of names
(29:59):
on the side of your boat, likehe did Exactly, and I'm okay
with that.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
Yeah, lots of real estate for stickers yes.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Well, one thing with your press release you deemed
and you claimed the U number U2.
And I'm always fascinated tohear the stories behind the
selection of the numbers becauseI feel I think every team
really has a feeling behind thatnumber and has a reason why
they chose that.
That number has a good historyof the sport.
(30:29):
It was on the Miss US for anumber of years.
Jim Harvey had that number, bobStile had that number for
Squireshop Racing.
Why did you choose that numberas opposed to a different one?
Speaker 2 (30:44):
shop racing.
Uh, why did you choose thatnumber as opposed to a different
one?
Well, you just said it there.
Uh, the first part of yourquestion, um, I'm pretty
patriotic and I kind of voicedthat.
You know, I'm proud of ourcountry, I love our country, um,
and that was the miss us, andso that boat was near and dear
to my heart and it always willbe.
Um, um, and as well, as youknow, I'm a fraternal or regal
(31:06):
member and you know, there weshow pride in our country.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
And with what we involved, I'm thinking well,
miss US, let's do it.
And you know we're kind offollowing that suit with that Um
.
And it's also kind of a coolthing because having you to
number kind of puts you up inthe front of race site programs
too.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
Yeah, I can donate in line.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Yeah, I'm paid more too, right, so sneaky, all right
.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
A little more exposure for our sponsors, right
, right well, I love, I love tohear that and it's fun that it's
a historic number and you cankind of keep that legacy going
with that U number.
Absolutely, as you're a newowner but you're also going to
be driving the boat.
I don't know if the regulationshave changed and I don't think
(31:57):
the fans quite understand whatit takes to qualify as a driver.
Can you run us through thatprocess?
There's a certain number oflaps you have to take and
certain speeds, I believe yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
So you got to it's 15 laps, 10 of which have to be
over at or over, 130 miles anhour, and then you have to have
five under 130 miles an hour.
Okay, then you got to runthrough I believe it's three
heats.
You have to run it withoutpenalties, you know, obviously,
(32:33):
start on the outside and behindand get, get your heats in to
get qualified.
And you got to take a writtenexam too.
Yeah, that's a part of it.
And obviously, capsule trainingyou got to do every year as
well, which I've always doneanyway.
Um, you know, as a rescue diver, I'd you know, and I'm doing it
this year I'm volunteering as arescue diver at capsule
(32:56):
training.
I do it every year.
People call me weird, it'screepy, but to me it's kind of
fun.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Well, someone's got to do it, right, right.
Yeah, it's always curiousbecause I always hear that 15
laps, but I know there's more toit and something the fans don't
quite understand.
Well, ideally, in an idealworld, you get that done in
Guntersville, right?
Speaker 2 (33:22):
Right, I'm hoping to have that done in Guntersville,
correct.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Again a newcomer in the sport owner or driver on the
H1 circuit, a new team for fansto root for.
What would you like the fans toknow more about your team?
Speaker 2 (33:38):
I like to go back to the way Mark Evans conducted
himself and still does.
You know, I'm me personally asan owner and driver.
I approach a sport from adifferent angle than a lot of
drivers and owners and stuff.
I don't know all their history,but I kind of approach it as
(33:59):
we're all fans.
I started out as a fan, so iseverybody else, but I've been a
volunteer for seafair and region10 inboard for many years as
well, so I don't see myself anyhigher than I do the fans you
know better than them oranything.
I approach it as ahappy-go-lucky.
(34:20):
I'll talk to anybody.
Maybe he wants to talk, talkhydroplanes, let's go geek out
next to the truck, you know,let's talk about you know, yeah,
and very approachable.
I don't see my asa.
I don't see myself any betterthan the fans because I'm just a
fan too.
I'm just a lucky fan that hasan opportunity to go play with
boats.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Well, that's perfect for the sport, because the
drivers need to be approachable.
And there's.
You know, growing up, I alwaysloved watching Steve David, Chip
Hanauer, Steve Reynolds,because those drivers were
always really approachable.
Right right, yeah, and that'swhat the fans love.
So happy to hear that yeah,very much so I'm.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
I've never been one to hide.
Oh, I don't want to talk tothem, I've.
Let's geek out for five minutes.
This is cool, you know I'vealways loved talking about the
sport.
You know that's what I love todo.
Yeah, so you know, I my I gotfriends that just like.
Can you stop talking abouthydroplanes for?
Speaker 1 (35:27):
five minutes and they're not a chance in hell.
Yeah, I can't tell you how manyparties I've gone to where you
know no one else likeshydroplanes, so I'm just sitting
in the corner pretty quietbecause no one else to talk to
about it I totally feel you onthat.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
You know, I'm just like you know.
I kind of rocked back and forthlike okay, any hydro fans in
here no okay, I just pull out myphone, look at pictures of
hydroplanes.
It's okay, but totallyapproachable.
That's the way I've alwaysapproached my team.
Someone wants to stand out thefence line or go up to the truck
(36:00):
and talk talk about boats orlook at the boats, sit in the
cockpit, come on up.
You know I'm happy to do that,perfect.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Well, I'm a teacher and I've talked about that a lot
in in the, in the podcast and Ithere's some aspects I feel
like that kind of translate tohydroplane racing and other
parts of our, our lives, and I'mvery goal driven and I feel
that when you have goals in lifeand whatever you're doing, you
(36:30):
can accomplish a lot.
And there's so many things thatI know you want to do as a
first year in H1.
But if you put us down to whatdo you think your number one
goal is for this year?
Because I know everyone wantsto go out and win all the races
and do everything, but out ofeverything you have in front of
you, what would you say yournumber one goal is for for year,
(36:51):
one in each one.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
My number one goal, I would say I just want to start
and finish all my heats in asafe manner, without any
penalties or DQs or any of theabove.
I just want to race clean andsafe.
Rather it be from the outside,I don't care.
I just want to start and finishall my heats, bring the boat
back to the dock in one piece,get the boat home in one piece
(37:17):
and kind of you know what wouldbe.
The icing on the cake to me islike the end of the year.
I take like number five, highpoint, you know, fifth place
high point or better, that'd be,that'd be awesome.
I just be blown away.
Never my dreams, but that's agoal and this is going to happen
(37:38):
.
Yeah, maybe, maybe not, but yougot to set the mark somewhere
and you've got to have a targetto shoot for.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Right.
Yeah, I think you know that's agreat goal to have your one,
and it's easier said than done,right.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
So many, so many things you have to to conquer to
do that, but it's definitelyattainable, absolutely.
You know, and any way I can,you know, you know I can
represent my sponsors in thebest possible way and have fun
and start and finish clean andsafe.
That's my goal.
Yeah, I want my sponsors to behappy.
I want the fans to have a greattime and let's bring the boat
(38:19):
home in one piece and have aparty at, and let's bring the
boat home in one piece and havea party at the end of the year
sounds great you party down inin buckley washington right
there, there you go.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
Uh, I really appreciate your time, eric, and
can't wait to see the u2 on thewater this season.
I'm excited.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
I'm excited Things are really starting to look up
for us.
So it's it's been a reallytough road to hoe in the last
few years, but yeah, I'm kind ofcaught an opportunity that I
couldn't turn down, so we'rejumping on it.
Well good.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
Yeah, it's, it's.
It's hard to jump into it, socan't wait to see you out in the
water and good luck.
I appreciate it.
I sure hope you enjoyed my talkwith Eric Christensen and got
(39:17):
to know a little bit more aboutthis new team and a little some
more movement announcements andnew drivers announcements, with
some boats being sold andshuffled around in new names in
the sport, which the sport hasneeded, some new, new faces and
some new blood, and I'm hopingthat this is a trend that will
continue as we can hopefullybuild upon this sport that we
(39:41):
all love.
As, as I said before beginningof the episode, I have conducted
some interviews.
I'm going to be releasing somenames and some more details of
those interviews coming up, andI've got some more on the
schedule coming up.
This month I'm going to betalking with some great names
from around the sport ofhydroplane racing and I'm always
excited to get those out to you, the listeners, and I think
(40:04):
there's gonna be some talks thatyou'll really enjoy.
In the meantime, don't forget tocheck us out on social media.
You can check us out onFacebook, instagram and also our
website, rucheteltalkcom.
On there, check the special tabcalled Ruchetel Talk Plus, and
that is where you can show yoursupport for the show.
You can choose a monthlysubscription.
(40:24):
In exchange, you can get earlyaccess to all episodes, as well
as access to the Rooster TailTalk archives.
In the archives you'll get tosee old articles, interviews
from yesteryear, and you alsoget a glimpse at my hydroplane
picture collection.
There's galleries there fromvarious years and I'd be adding
more to this as time progresses.
(40:47):
I appreciate all the supportthat you, the listener, have
given me over these years, andespecially those who have
subscribed, because there's somany little costs that they ding
you with in the production of apodcast and, as I said before,
I'm a one-man show and I'm doingall this on my own time and
spending my own time on thepodcast, so all of your support
really helps me to grow andexpand this podcast.
(41:09):
That's all I have for today, sountil next time.
I hope to see you at the races.
Ruchetel Talk, the podcast dedicated to everything
about the sport that we all love.
Hi, dreamland Race.
I am your host, david Newton,and it's time once again.
So sit back, relax and welcomeRooster Tail Talk talk.
(00:51):
Welcome back race fans.
We're on to season seven ofruchetel talk and I know it took
a few months off there in theoff season it's still
technically off season, but notfor this podcast.
We're going to be bringing yousome more interviews around the
history of the sport and what'sgoing on currently in H1
Unlimited and I took the pastfew months, took it off and I've
(01:13):
actually conducted a fewinterviews with some people from
the sport from yesteryear andit's going on right now and I'm
excited to get those out to you.
And we're going to start offseason seven with this episode,
episode 137, which is going tobe talking with Eric Christensen
, a new player in the game of H1Unlimited.
He just released a few weeksago, a press release saying that
(01:35):
he is forming a new team andjoining the ranks of H1
Unlimited.
Now this isn't something to betaken lightly.
Unlimited Now this isn'tsomething to be taken lightly.
It takes a lot of time,commitment, effort, financial
backing and, really, a village.
It takes a village to make thishappen, and Eric's going to
(01:58):
talk about a little bit of hisbackgrounds in racing, as this
is a new name for some of usthat have followed the sport for
many years.
He's also going to share hisprogress and what the process is
going to entail to get his ownteam on the water this year in
H1 Unlimited.
So why don't we get in to myinterview with Eric Christensen?
Well, I'm sitting down inRichetel Talk headquarters in
(02:19):
Renton Washington.
I'm on the Zoom call with EricChristensen making some waves
right now, buying a new boat andgetting into being a new H1
owner.
Eric, how are you doing?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Doing great.
How are things with you?
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Oh, they're doing well.
We've had a few snow days here,but back at school and things
are going well right now, righton.
Well, I have a lot I want totalk to you about because you're
a new H1 owner.
You're picking up some boatsand you're going to be on the
circuit this year and helpingthe sport out a lot with boat
(02:52):
number, boat count.
But also just having a new teamon the circuit is always really
fun.
But I always like to ask a lotof my guests what was your
favorite hydroplane growing up?
How did you get involved in thesport?
Because I always look back onthose old days and I have my
favorite drivers teams.
I'm always curious what otherpeople are on the sport.
What was their favorites?
Speaker 2 (03:14):
yeah, growing up, I really, you know, I've always
really enjoyed fridayland's picoteam.
Um, you know, just remember asa little kid sitting on the
couch watching Seafair ontelevision.
You know that was long before,of course, we had the internet,
so we didn't get the livestreaming like we have today,
you know.
So I just got that one race peryear to watch and that was
(03:38):
Seafair on television and thatwas Fridayland's Pico American
Dream.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
What about favorite?
Speaker 2 (03:45):
driver.
That was Mark Evans.
Okay, mark Evans, you know,true class act talked to anybody
very approachable and just anall-around great guy and he was
pretty competitive.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Yeah, he's a fun one to watch and I always enjoyed
his interviews and I think we'rearound the same age, so it's
fun to hear some of thefavorites, because I think we
have some overlappings, but justfun to hear some background
with other fans.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
That kind of relates my style to Mark Evans.
Yeah, very approachablehappy-go-luckyucky.
You know you're in it becauseyou love it.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
I think that's why we're all in the sport, yeah
yeah, he should have a greatpositive attitude and fly by the
seat of his pants and I don'tthink much got him down no not
at all.
well, I think, if I'm if I'm notmistaken, I believe you
actually got to work for forFred later on in your life after
(04:48):
you got to watch him on TV andwhatnot.
But I'd like to know what'smore of your background with
boat racing, because I don'tthink a lot of fans know your
involvement and you've beenaround the sport for a number of
years.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Sure, sure I'm gonna say we all start as as a fan
growing up and you know,watching the races and going to
the races, everybody starts as afan.
I started my my career in 2000when I became a seafair
volunteer.
Okay, that's my first actualin-person race that I attended
(05:26):
was Seafair in 2000.
I was a logistics contractor,basically building stairs going
up to the trophy stage, stufflike that, and it snowballed
from there.
I was involved withenvironmental pick, you know,
with the, the pig pads, moppingup the oil off the water, you
(05:47):
know, if there's an accident orwhatever, uh, and that's where I
met bill worcester, uh, theowner of the u8.
Um, I met bill and he invitedme down to a shop when I
expressed interest to personallyget involved with a boat.
And that summer I went down tohis shop and I was still in high
(06:09):
school at that time and broughtmy bicycle onto the ferry.
And uh, cause I didn't want tohave a car over there in Seattle
, so I just rode my bike up tothe shop and I would uh do a lot
of sanding on the boat, um, alot of floor sweeping, uh, you
know, doing the garbage andstuff.
(06:31):
And so then I bought my own boatwhen I was introduced to the
Perkins family.
Brian Perkins drove for uh Joeand Jackie Turner out of uh
Belfair, washington, and then Ipurchased my first two and a
half stock hydro from the Turnerfamily and that's started
(06:54):
snowball rather rapidly fromthere, uh, and I bought my own
UL at at that time and I wascrewing for uh the hops, okay,
and I went back East with thehops and that's where I was
crewing for the hops, Okay, andI went back east with the hops
and that's where I was workingon.
I didn't work on Fred's stuffin Fred's shop, I was helping.
(07:15):
You know, when we went back toValleyfield Madison you know the
whole east coast swing I wasworking on Fred's stuff on the
road with him at that time andthat's where I was working on.
Fred's stuff was when we wereon the road.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Okay, and so you met Tim then through the hops,
because I think they had a goodrelationship around that time,
if I'm not mistaken.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
That is correct.
Yeah, because Greg was thedriver at that time and my old
DOL was the old pocket mechanic.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Oh, okay okay, I miss the ULs.
I thought that was a greatclass of racing.
Just it seemed at the time Icould be wrong, but I feel like
it was an affordable class andit just had some close racing.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
It was an affordable class, yeah, and it just had
some close racing.
It was an affordable class, butthe only downfall was stuffing
blower boats with non-blowerboats.
You know, then you'rerestricting the blower boats and
you know, so you're taking,you're handicapping a boat from
something that it was designedto do.
And to me it was just the ideawas spot on.
But it just you put a big loadon the blower boats.
(08:27):
You know you're kind ofhandicapping them and you know,
just makes it hard on theequipment as far as I was
concerned.
But you know, the idea was good, it just didn't work out in the
end.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Yeah, it's too bad.
Yeah, it was just.
It's too bad because I feltlike there was another
opportunity for moresponsorships and brought more
attention to the sport.
So it was nice to have themarriage between Unlimited
Lights and Unlimiteds at thetime.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Yeah, no, it was great.
I kind of missed the class whenit went away.
But then, as time went on, Iwas able to see what the Grand
Prixs were able to do on theirown and I was kind of like, okay
, this, it was done for a goodreason and I was happy to see.
You know, it was Grand Prixworld and then Grand Prix
America and we are where we aretoday with that class and you
(09:16):
know, last couple years I got in, got back into the sport here a
couple years ago after takingit was a 11 year hiatus, which
is a long time to be off thewater, but during that time, let
me say I've I was still a fanand I still volunteered, you
(09:37):
know, and I was a rescue diverfor many years at the limited
inboard races and stillvolunteered at Seafair, you know
.
So that's I've never reallystepped away from the sport, but
I've had a lot of things in mylife that came up where I had to
kind of step aside for a littlebit.
(09:57):
Two years ago I was able to getinto an E350, john Rifle's boat
, oh yeah, drove at Chelan andBlack Lake here a couple years
ago and got my feet wet againand that's pretty cool.
So I was pretty happy to getthat one First place in Chelan
(10:20):
here a couple years ago and thatmeant a lot to me.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
That's great.
Yeah, I know John from RacingRC Boats.
He's a very nice guy, very goodgentleman, so that's a fun
experience.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Absolutely, and I thank him and his wife Rhonda
for giving me that opportunityto get my feet wet and last year
I campaigned my GP.
Get my feet wet.
Last year I campaigned my GP.
We didn't have a whole lot ofsuccess.
We went down to San Diego, webroke some parts, we put them
(10:57):
together and went to Manson andfinished it off.
It was a great time.
And now, here here we are.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Yeah Well, it's always.
It's always a big jump when youstep into a new class,
especially like GP last year alot, a big learning curve.
And you've got a big learningcurve ahead of you because you
have had the opportunity toacquire the boat affectionately
known as the Casper boat fromthe Madison regatta organization
.
How did this opportunitypresent itself?
Speaker 2 (11:30):
I wanted to get into a haul.
You know, I sold the old Freyeto the O'Farrell team here a
couple years ago and I startedmy own trucking company.
Kind of took a lot of time awayGoing up to the mountain.
You know I do alpine ski racingin addition to hydroplane
racing and I'm also a roadcyclist too, so and a little bit
(11:53):
of the adrenaline junkie in theessence.
So I kind of stepped away alittle bit and before I picked
up the gp and then that's kindof my get my foot back back in
the door again.
It led to how do I get my ownboat?
Which boats are available?
What can I get into affordably?
(12:15):
What is going to be the mostcompetitive bang for the buck?
And so I was talking to a goodfriend of mine, gary Coles, for
the buck.
And so I was talking to a goodfriend of mine, gary Coles, and
we're talking about the dustbuster, or miss piggy, whatever
you want to know it as, orCasper the boat's got a few
nicknames to it.
Yeah, and we're talking aboutthat boat.
(12:37):
And I was talking to Mark Evanstoo.
And it's like the boat's neverbeen crashed, it's never had any
kind of an accident.
The boat was way overbuilt.
We all know, fred, halls arebuilt like a brick house.
Yeah, you know, they're tough,very tough.
Um, I said, okay, well, I guessthat's the boat.
(12:59):
You know, it's got no time onit, it's never been crashed.
It should be in pretty decentshape and it is.
Um, I talked to one of the guyson the madison team, uh, trey,
he's one that kind of got theboat prepped, ready for display,
and I was talking to him andhe's like you know what kind of
conditions to haul in?
Is it runnable?
(13:20):
And he says it's, it's verydoable.
He goes, that boat lookedpretty solid when we went
through it and he was amazed atthe condition that it was in.
So that's why I say we're notreally worried about it.
And I talked to the inspectorshere and they've all agreed,
yeah, we've got to go throughthe inspection process.
(13:40):
But they all know those FredLeland hauls are very tough,
very stout, and it's like okay,then that's the one we're going
to go with.
And so I called the regatta andI talked to Kyle Bipes and he
says, yeah, you know, let metalk to the rest of the board
and I'll get back to you andabout.
(14:02):
I think it was just under aweek later.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
I got a phone call back from Kyle and we settled on
a price.
Well, it's really exciting.
I know Madison sold the otherboats that was stationed out
there.
But, like you said, fred builtstout boats and didn't really
notice it.
Casual fan didn't notice it.
But one thing that always stoodout to me is they never
qualified that great but their,their speeds never dropped in
(14:31):
race water.
He always built kind of a tankready for battle in the race,
rough race waters that uh, you'dsee in seattle and detroit and
on the circuit.
So I've always heard that fredbuilt really strong, uh, lasting
boats absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
And you know that's one thing I put to the fans.
They're listening.
You know it's some of thecomments I've seen on the
facebook press release is, youknow, the book, the capsule's
not legal, it's not safe?
Well, yeah, it not safe.
Well, yeah, it is safe.
And I challenge people, it'slike you know, fred, boats have
gone over several times.
(15:09):
You know, name me an instancewhere a Fred cockpit's imploded
or where you know where itinjured the driver.
Right, I can't think of one.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Yeah, he's had several blowovers and from my
memory I think pretty mucheveryone's been pretty much
unscathed.
I mean, it's pretty hard to go200 miles an hour and crash and
not have anything happen to you.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Well, and I know, when it came to the cockpits,
driver safety was top notch.
That was Fred's primary dealwas keep my driver safe in those
cockpits.
And you know his, his cockpitswere super heavy.
I mean heck, the lids weigh 400darn pounds.
I mean I've.
(15:58):
You know, I had, I had a Fredboat and just lifting that lid
up without the canopy shock onit, oh my gosh, you're the one
lifting it without assistance,like whoa.
Yeah, you know.
No, I, there's no concern thatthis boat will pass tech
inspection okay, I'm glad tohear that.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Do you, do you recall what, where, where did the name
casper come from for this boat?
Speaker 2 (16:27):
so talk talking to gary.
It.
The boat was ran as the new kidin town with ray forestman,
okay, and afterwards the new kidit came back to um, it came
back to fred's shop and it wasall painted white and so it just
(16:49):
kind of sat in the shop andthey used it as a table.
Oh okay, I was like anall-white boat is just kind of
like the ghost in the room andso that's yeah the name, casper,
it's just it sat there, nobodyreally thought, thought about it
.
You know, you just kind of walkpast this one all the time.
(17:12):
The ghost in the room just sitsthere.
That's how I got his nameCasper All right, that makes
sense.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
It's a pretty expensive table to have in the
shop.
I just want to make sure itwasn't haunted or something like
that.
Yeah it is yeah, all right.
Well, I mean another thing toois there's so many boats on the
circuit now that are 20, 30years old that I think a good
amount of the boats have someage and mileage on it.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
So I'm glad to see this one back out.
Yeah, there's boats that areolder than Casper.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Yeah, there's boats that were built in 92.
Yeah, those were built in 92.
I'm sure there's others outthere that you know early 90s
were built.
I don't think the boat.
You don't have that boat inyour shop yet.
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Correct, I was talking to Kyle, and we're just,
I mean, playing aroundsnowstorms in the holidays and
you know I got so much stuffgoing on, right, right now just
trying to break free, you know,get out of dodge to go pick the
thing up.
it's been a logistical nightmare, you know, and so I have my
meeting on the 13th and so I'mhoping to be on the road on the
(18:25):
15th, headed to madison to pickthe thing up.
Okay, I think we're gonna beable to make that one work.
Okay, kind of been, you know,telling our program director up
at the mountain for our alpineskiers and team, because I'm
coaching up there, uh, and soit's like, you know, I told
everybody to say, hey guys, Igotta get out of town, I gotta
go get this boat, you know, andI pretty much dropped the gavel,
(18:48):
I'm leaving town.
Yeah, this is what it is, I'mleaving town.
I'll film the 15th wheels up,headed to Madison with the
trailer to pick the boat up.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Well, I'm.
I know you've been talking to alot of people about the boat
and getting more information andyou're building a list of
things to do.
What's, uh, what's on the, whatare some big items on the
agenda list to do to that onceit gets in your shop?
Speaker 2 (19:13):
basically, we're going to be going through every
single compartment.
You know, I've got the camera.
You know the snake, you knowlittle scope cameras.
We're going to be able to runit through everything, pop every
duck, catch off.
Uh, you say I.
I talked to trey months ago andhe's, you know, when he went
through to paint the whole boatfor the display, he says this
(19:34):
thing is intact.
He goes this is in prettydecent shape and so.
But you know, we're going to gofarther into it than that.
Well, at every, every bulkhead,every frame, make sure
nothing's delaminated and makesure no honeycombs corroded or
pitted or anything, and uh, kindof start putting it back
(19:56):
together.
From that point, as far as Iknow, and as far as trade, you
see, there's not a whole lotthat needs to be done.
It's just me time consuming,putting new plumbing, getting
all the wiring stuff put back inthe boat.
It does, you know, it comeswith the, the circuit panel and
everything is all there.
Steering cables are all there,so I'm just going to have them
(20:16):
pull tested and pop the skid finbracket off.
You know, because the, thebracket and all that stuff, you
know the it needs to be maggedevery year and so once that is
done, we're gonna pop that stuffoff, get it out from mag, get
it back and start reassemblingthe boat yeah, your work cut out
(20:38):
for you.
That's uh exciting it's gonna bea very long, long, long couple
months, and we're just going togo by quickly yeah, it always
does.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Well, are you planning to have this ready for
for the spring testing in intri-cities and in mid bay?
What's what are your thoughtson on making the tour this year?
Speaker 2 (21:05):
I'm hoping we're going to get to testing.
I'm kind of being a realist.
I'm not having, I guess I wouldsay you know I'm I don't.
My personal belief is I'm kindof counting more towards going
straight to Guntersville orMadison.
Do I hope we can make thetesting?
(21:26):
Absolutely, I'm not leaning onthat a hundred percent.
I kind of see us going straightto Guntersville and Madison and
hoping for the best.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Yeah, hopefully you can make it to the testing.
That's always so valuable toget testing time but it seems in
years recently it's other.
Outside of that test session inMay for H1, not many people can
test have open water in Seattleor Tri-Cities.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
And this boat's big enough.
You know we can't splash inLake Taps here in Washington
like we can in the Hornets.
You know a little bit differentSpeeds are a little bit
different, are a little bitdifferent.
You know different requirementsright, right god.
That'd be fun to see, but yeah,that's a downbeat that wouldn't
go over well no, probably haveevery pierce county sheriff down
(22:18):
here at the boat ramp, and notin a good way.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
No well I.
There's so many components thatgo into starting a team and
getting a program on foot.
One big component I always feelis the crew.
Do you have a crew put togetheryet?
Do you have people helping youout?
Have people been out to yourshop yet?
Speaker 2 (22:40):
I have a couple of crew members that have rolled
over from our GP team, but I'mkind of looking to put together
a new crew, so we're always opento accepting new crew members.
Um, if they want, they canmessage me on the christiansen
motorsports facebook page.
Fire off a message and we can,you know, arrange a meeting and
(23:03):
see what works.
Uh, but yeah, we are currentlylooking for new crew members.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Where are you located at?
Is it in Graham?
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (23:13):
We're in Buckley, washington.
Oh, buckley, buckley, okay.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Alright.
Yeah, I often get fans thatsometimes reach out to me and
say that they love the sport andwant to get more involved.
Crewing is one aspect I know alot of people want to get jump
into, so hopefully we can find acouple guys to to come out to
buckley and help you out withthis project yeah, that'd be
great.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Yeah, we already got a couple people out, reached out
, and so I'm meeting with themhere, a couple truck drivers
which is huge, so I'm not theonly one having to drive the
truck and the boat and you know,be kind of nice to come up,
come home every, you know, everynow and then.
So I got a couple of retiredtruck drivers that stepped up
(23:57):
and said they'd be willing todrive the truck.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
Oh good, yeah, that's a.
That's a big task right thereJust getting the boat to the
races and having some peoplethat can getting the boat to the
races and having some peoplethat can drive the truck, yeah,
absolutely.
That's huge One thing you postedand we talked previously on the
phone about.
You have a display boat now andyou were able to acquire.
(24:21):
Albert Lee actually owned forsome time the Cellular One which
also ran as Winston Eagle andPete'sete's wickadale.
Ken muscatel had it for a while, but you got the display boat.
What plans do you have for that?
Because I mean, you're going tobe working on getting your boat
out this year, but uh, what areyour thoughts for the display
boat as well?
Speaker 2 (24:40):
obviously, getting the primary boat done and race
ready is going to be prioritynumber one.
As we're working, maybe we'vegot some things on the primary
boat that we only need two orthree people to work on.
Maybe we can pull the displayboat out and get people jumping
(25:03):
on that thing too.
I want the boat and the trailerto match the race boat and
trailer as as well.
You know, in terms of graphicsor paint.
You know all our sponsors.
I want it to look like the realboat.
Yeah, um, we offer displays toall our sponsors.
I don't care what level theycome in at, everybody gets
(25:25):
displays and I want to be ableto have the boat on display like
Genesee Park, at Seafair youknow all these other venues that
we go to on the West Coast.
I want that hall to beavailable for any local car
shows, whatever it be.
I want that boat to look justlike where kids can sit in that
(25:46):
boat and get their picture taken.
You know, make some memories.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
That's fantastic.
Yeah, I love that.
I remember seeing it down atSeafair a couple years and it's
I feel like it's been absent fora while.
I haven't seen it.
I could be wrong, but what'sthe shape like for that boat now
?
Speaker 2 (26:04):
It's going to need a lot of 30 second outdoor cleaner
now.
It's gonna need a lot of 30second outdoor cleaner.
Yeah, um, it can get cleaned up.
You know it's not, you knowit's just dirtier than it is
damaged, you know.
So, yeah, it can be cleaned up,looking nice here and it won't
take a lot.
The pain is going to take themost time.
Yeah, um, I'm kind of in themood.
(26:25):
Where shoot the sides white andvinyl wrap over the top.
Vinyl wrap, the depths.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Yeah, that seems to be kind of a go-to nowadays.
There's been a lot of teams inhydroplane racing but cars and
just a lot of racing teams havegone to that wrap route and it
seems to work pretty well.
They can hide any blemishes youhave there too.
Yeah, for the most part.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Yeah, yeah, to work pretty well, they can hide any
blemishes you have there too.
Yeah, for the most part, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Okay, yeah, this boat will never run again, you know,
no, but it's a solid displayboat, you know yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Yeah, yeah, that boat had a lot of history and had a
lot of miles.
That should never see the wateragain.
She's tired.
Tired, yeah she is.
I remember I remember cruel mydad on that and it flipped to 94
, 95 and in tri-cities and itbroke the boat in half and or
most of the right side off of itat least, and it went through a
(27:21):
few few other crashes.
It's uh, yeah, it's tired.
Yeah, very much so.
Yeah, but that's huge though tohave for a sponsor, and some
teams recently have kind of goneback to that.
I know mercury's coffee had adisplay built this last year, so
it's it's pretty invaluable tohave sponsors or have for the
sponsors, and do you have anysponsors lined up for this year
(27:42):
already?
Speaker 2 (27:43):
yeah, we do.
Um, you know, we currently havethe fraternal order of eagles,
which is huge.
We got a lot of um out-of-statesupport.
I brought the san diego areadown to uh watch the san diego
race and I put their madampresident for the auxiliary okay
down there with us and shebrought her daughter and her
(28:05):
daughter got to sit in the gpand get their picture taken.
They're just loving it.
Um, so it's really starting totake off.
It's getting traction every day.
I'm getting, you know, I'mgetting feedback with uh from a
club in indianapolis which ishuge, and so we're we're really
growing the foe sponsorship,really looking forward to this
(28:26):
season and I'm so happy towelcome Albert Lee back to the
sport.
Oh, awesome, I think it's greatthey signed on with us and
that's where the boat came fromand that was a part of the
sponsorship from Albert Lee andreally welcome them on board
with us.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Well, I'm glad to hear that Albert Lee's back in
the sport, because they're aSeattle-based family that's
supported the tight end racingfor years and it's fantastic to
have them back.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Yeah, I got a lot of associate sponsors that we're
currently working on.
That's the meeting on the 13thCould be a pretty decent size
sponsor, so I was like I don'twant to go to Madison now and
take a chance.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
I'm missing that meeting.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
I need to be at this meeting.
There's no way I can miss thismeeting.
Oh, definitely.
So, yeah, we got a lot ofassociate sponsors coming on
board with us in addition toAlbert Lee, and so I think we're
going to be looking pretty good.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Well, great.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
We're not going to be , you know, the big dollar top
teams, but for a first yearrookie team, I think we'll be
okay.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Yeah, I mean, it's a lot to get your feet wet in the
first year.
You can't expect to go out gunsblazing, but it's a big
learning curve.
And if you're true to Fred'sform, there's so many years I
remember seeing that boat and ithad a hundred, or it seemed
like a thousand, stickers onthere of all the associate
sponsors.
So if you're true to Fred'sform, you'll have a lot of names
(29:59):
on the side of your boat, likehe did Exactly, and I'm okay
with that.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
Yeah, lots of real estate for stickers yes.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Well, one thing with your press release you deemed
and you claimed the U number U2.
And I'm always fascinated tohear the stories behind the
selection of the numbers becauseI feel I think every team
really has a feeling behind thatnumber and has a reason why
they chose that.
That number has a good historyof the sport.
(30:29):
It was on the Miss US for anumber of years.
Jim Harvey had that number, bobStile had that number for
Squireshop Racing.
Why did you choose that numberas opposed to a different one?
Speaker 2 (30:44):
shop racing.
Uh, why did you choose thatnumber as opposed to a different
one?
Well, you just said it there.
Uh, the first part of yourquestion, um, I'm pretty
patriotic and I kind of voicedthat.
You know, I'm proud of ourcountry, I love our country, um,
and that was the miss us, andso that boat was near and dear
to my heart and it always willbe.
Um, um, and as well, as youknow, I'm a fraternal or regal
(31:06):
member and you know, there weshow pride in our country.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
And with what we involved, I'm thinking well,
miss US, let's do it.
And you know we're kind offollowing that suit with that Um
.
And it's also kind of a coolthing because having you to
number kind of puts you up inthe front of race site programs
too.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
Yeah, I can donate in line.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Yeah, I'm paid more too, right, so sneaky, all right
.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
A little more exposure for our sponsors, right
, right well, I love, I love tohear that and it's fun that it's
a historic number and you cankind of keep that legacy going
with that U number.
Absolutely, as you're a newowner but you're also going to
be driving the boat.
I don't know if the regulationshave changed and I don't think
(31:57):
the fans quite understand whatit takes to qualify as a driver.
Can you run us through thatprocess?
There's a certain number oflaps you have to take and
certain speeds, I believe yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
So you got to it's 15 laps, 10 of which have to be
over at or over, 130 miles anhour, and then you have to have
five under 130 miles an hour.
Okay, then you got to runthrough I believe it's three
heats.
You have to run it withoutpenalties, you know, obviously,
(32:33):
start on the outside and behindand get, get your heats in to
get qualified.
And you got to take a writtenexam too.
Yeah, that's a part of it.
And obviously, capsule trainingyou got to do every year as
well, which I've always doneanyway.
Um, you know, as a rescue diver, I'd you know, and I'm doing it
this year I'm volunteering as arescue diver at capsule
(32:56):
training.
I do it every year.
People call me weird, it'screepy, but to me it's kind of
fun.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Well, someone's got to do it, right, right.
Yeah, it's always curiousbecause I always hear that 15
laps, but I know there's more toit and something the fans don't
quite understand.
Well, ideally, in an idealworld, you get that done in
Guntersville, right?
Speaker 2 (33:22):
Right, I'm hoping to have that done in Guntersville,
correct.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Again a newcomer in the sport owner or driver on the
H1 circuit, a new team for fansto root for.
What would you like the fans toknow more about your team?
Speaker 2 (33:38):
I like to go back to the way Mark Evans conducted
himself and still does.
You know, I'm me personally asan owner and driver.
I approach a sport from adifferent angle than a lot of
drivers and owners and stuff.
I don't know all their history,but I kind of approach it as
(33:59):
we're all fans.
I started out as a fan, so iseverybody else, but I've been a
volunteer for seafair and region10 inboard for many years as
well, so I don't see myself anyhigher than I do the fans you
know better than them oranything.
I approach it as ahappy-go-lucky.
(34:20):
I'll talk to anybody.
Maybe he wants to talk, talkhydroplanes, let's go geek out
next to the truck, you know,let's talk about you know, yeah,
and very approachable.
I don't see my asa.
I don't see myself any betterthan the fans because I'm just a
fan too.
I'm just a lucky fan that hasan opportunity to go play with
boats.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Well, that's perfect for the sport, because the
drivers need to be approachable.
And there's.
You know, growing up, I alwaysloved watching Steve David, Chip
Hanauer, Steve Reynolds,because those drivers were
always really approachable.
Right right, yeah, and that'swhat the fans love.
So happy to hear that yeah,very much so I'm.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
I've never been one to hide.
Oh, I don't want to talk tothem, I've.
Let's geek out for five minutes.
This is cool, you know I'vealways loved talking about the
sport.
You know that's what I love todo.
Yeah, so you know, I my I gotfriends that just like.
Can you stop talking abouthydroplanes for?
Speaker 1 (35:27):
five minutes and they're not a chance in hell.
Yeah, I can't tell you how manyparties I've gone to where you
know no one else likeshydroplanes, so I'm just sitting
in the corner pretty quietbecause no one else to talk to
about it I totally feel you onthat.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
You know, I'm just like you know.
I kind of rocked back and forthlike okay, any hydro fans in
here no okay, I just pull out myphone, look at pictures of
hydroplanes.
It's okay, but totallyapproachable.
That's the way I've alwaysapproached my team.
Someone wants to stand out thefence line or go up to the truck
(36:00):
and talk talk about boats orlook at the boats, sit in the
cockpit, come on up.
You know I'm happy to do that,perfect.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Well, I'm a teacher and I've talked about that a lot
in in the, in the podcast and Ithere's some aspects I feel
like that kind of translate tohydroplane racing and other
parts of our, our lives, and I'mvery goal driven and I feel
that when you have goals in lifeand whatever you're doing, you
(36:30):
can accomplish a lot.
And there's so many things thatI know you want to do as a
first year in H1.
But if you put us down to whatdo you think your number one
goal is for this year?
Because I know everyone wantsto go out and win all the races
and do everything, but out ofeverything you have in front of
you, what would you say yournumber one goal is for for year,
(36:51):
one in each one.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
My number one goal, I would say I just want to start
and finish all my heats in asafe manner, without any
penalties or DQs or any of theabove.
I just want to race clean andsafe.
Rather it be from the outside,I don't care.
I just want to start and finishall my heats, bring the boat
back to the dock in one piece,get the boat home in one piece
(37:17):
and kind of you know what wouldbe.
The icing on the cake to me islike the end of the year.
I take like number five, highpoint, you know, fifth place
high point or better, that'd be,that'd be awesome.
I just be blown away.
Never my dreams, but that's agoal and this is going to happen
(37:38):
.
Yeah, maybe, maybe not, but yougot to set the mark somewhere
and you've got to have a targetto shoot for.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Right.
Yeah, I think you know that's agreat goal to have your one,
and it's easier said than done,right.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
So many, so many things you have to to conquer to
do that, but it's definitelyattainable, absolutely.
You know, and any way I can,you know, you know I can
represent my sponsors in thebest possible way and have fun
and start and finish clean andsafe.
That's my goal.
Yeah, I want my sponsors to behappy.
I want the fans to have a greattime and let's bring the boat
(38:19):
home in one piece and have aparty at, and let's bring the
boat home in one piece and havea party at the end of the year
sounds great you party down inin buckley washington right
there, there you go.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
Uh, I really appreciate your time, eric, and
can't wait to see the u2 on thewater this season.
I'm excited.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
I'm excited Things are really starting to look up
for us.
So it's it's been a reallytough road to hoe in the last
few years, but yeah, I'm kind ofcaught an opportunity that I
couldn't turn down, so we'rejumping on it.
Well good.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
Yeah, it's, it's.
It's hard to jump into it, socan't wait to see you out in the
water and good luck.
I appreciate it.
I sure hope you enjoyed my talkwith Eric Christensen and got
(39:17):
to know a little bit more aboutthis new team and a little some
more movement announcements andnew drivers announcements, with
some boats being sold andshuffled around in new names in
the sport, which the sport hasneeded, some new, new faces and
some new blood, and I'm hopingthat this is a trend that will
continue as we can hopefullybuild upon this sport that we
(39:41):
all love.
As, as I said before beginningof the episode, I have conducted
some interviews.
I'm going to be releasing somenames and some more details of
those interviews coming up, andI've got some more on the
schedule coming up.
This month I'm going to betalking with some great names
from around the sport ofhydroplane racing and I'm always
excited to get those out to you, the listeners, and I think
(40:04):
there's gonna be some talks thatyou'll really enjoy.
In the meantime, don't forget tocheck us out on social media.
You can check us out onFacebook, instagram and also our
website, rucheteltalkcom.
On there, check the special tabcalled Ruchetel Talk Plus, and
that is where you can show yoursupport for the show.
You can choose a monthlysubscription.
(40:24):
In exchange, you can get earlyaccess to all episodes, as well
as access to the Rooster TailTalk archives.
In the archives you'll get tosee old articles, interviews
from yesteryear, and you alsoget a glimpse at my hydroplane
picture collection.
There's galleries there fromvarious years and I'd be adding
more to this as time progresses.
(40:47):
I appreciate all the supportthat you, the listener, have
given me over these years, andespecially those who have
subscribed, because there's somany little costs that they ding
you with in the production of apodcast and, as I said before,
I'm a one-man show and I'm doingall this on my own time and
spending my own time on thepodcast, so all of your support
really helps me to grow andexpand this podcast.
(41:09):
That's all I have for today, sountil next time.
I hope to see you at the races.
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