MEDFOHP MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFOHD. OREGON
SUNDAY. MAY 28, 1963
B 3
LAST YEAR'S RACE Don Burnison, Grants Pass, was
In the lead last year when this picture was taken during
the Boatnik. On the return trip, however, the boat had me
chanical difficulty, and John Walker,
won the race.
in left, background,
Aquatic Fever Will Reach Its
Climax With White Water Race
By PRISCILLA AVERILL
Mail Tribune Correspondent
Grants Pass -Each year
about this , time an annual
aquatic fever seems to seize
the people around Grants
Pass.
It reaches a climax next
week end with a two-day fes
tival known as the "Boatnik,"
capped by a wild 50-mile
white water race down the
Rogue to Galice and back.
It's a race which many have
started but few have finished,
because the Rogue holds all
the odds. A slam-bang affair,
In which speed is not always
the deciding factor, it's no
run for amateurs. Most con
testants are professional boat
men and local youths skilled
in the ways of the Rogue.
Started Five Years Ago
It all started on Memorial
Day five years ago. From the
first Boatnik it was apparent
that the combination of light
weight high-powered boats
and the famed white water of
the Rogue provided a spec
tacular challenge for skilled
"white water cowboys," and
it has grown every year since
then to become the 'major
white water marathon on the
' west coast, drawing intrepid
, boaters from Washington to
California.
This year it was moved
from its traditional Memorial
Day date and expanded into
a two-day festival, June 1 and
2, to make room for a Satur
day afternoon of closed course
races before the big run on
Sunday. Many contestants
will enter boats in both
events.
Though many a skilled rapid-shooter
has failed to finish
the wild water marathon,
they still keep trying-for one
thing, the rewards are high,
$1,000 first prize and others
in proportion-and each year
brings more entries.
Perhaps from experience
gained in previous tries, the
percentage finishing each
year also seems to go up along
with the number of entries.
Only Four Finish
In the first Boatnik year,
1959, out of a field of 13 en
trants, only four made it to
the finish line. The next year
the Rogue was again the big
winner, besting all but three
out of 13 starters. From then
on, however, the odds started
to improve, and last year 15
boats out of a field of 24 man
aged to shoot their way back
over the finish line. The win
ner, Johnny Walker, of Trini
dad, Calif., set a new record
for the course: 1 hour, 43.4
seconds.
This year's Boatnik will
have approximately 30 en
trants, the largest field ever
to start the run. The boats are
raced under the rules of the
United Speed Boat Racing as
sociation, allowing 45 cubic
inch maximum displacement
for motors, with no restriction
on size of boat.
For the past couple of years
the first prize has been cap
tured by Californians, but this
year a Rogue river guide,
Grant Garcia, of Galice, has
high hopes of keeping it in
Oregon with the first true hy
droplane ever to make the
run.
Skiira on Air Cushion
Unlike the runabouts usual
ly entered in this type race,
it skims along on a cushion
of air, touching the water
with only a small area of the
tail and a thin "sponson" on
either side.
It was Garcia's father, Ru
ben Garcia, of Grants Pass,
who more or less provided the
spark which started the whole
idea five years ago. A skilled
white water boatman who had
raced in both Oregon and
California, he began to won
der why there was no such
event on his home river, the
Rogue, which had everything
the other rivers did, only
more so.
He talked it up with other
racers, and all agreed. Not
only did the Rogue have more
sensational riffles than the
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other rivers they raced, but
it also had more accessibility.
On the stretch between Grants
Pass and Galice, more people
could gain access to the river,
making it a veritable spacta
tors' paradise.
Follows Naturally
The rest followed naturally.
Don (Bowser) Johnson, now
of Medford, who often rode
with Garcia, was at that time
an officer of the Grants Pass
Active club. The Active club
latched on to the idea as their
Centennial project. It caught
on immediately, and they
have been sponsoring it ever
since.
As the boatmen had pre
dicted, it was a "natural"
spectacular, and it was not
long before peonle were view.
ing it from coast to coast via
nationwide newsreel.
This is one boat race in
which a straight line is not
the shortest distance between
two points, and racers must
skillfully seek their channels
if they want to stay in the
running.
In covering the treacherous
winding course between nar
row canyons and dangerous
riffles, many a boat has been
"smashed out" of the race, but
never has a driver been seri
ously injured. Every precau
tion is taken to see that it
doesn't happen.
Guides Stationed
Experienced river guides
are stationed at the more
treacherous stretches, ready
to go into action if anyone
comes to grief. A Civil Air
Patrol plane patrols the river
to spot possible accidents and
relay information. Southern
Oregon Amateur Radio Opera
tors are posted at intervals
along the course to keep offi
cials informed of progress.
The run courses over at
least 10 major riffles and
many minor ones.
In addition to skill in ma
neuvering, the aquatic hot
rodders must have equipment
in good shape to stand the
tremendous mechanical strain.
Motors, "tuned to a gnat's
eyelash" for maximum power
and acceleration, are more apt
to "blow."
Many other hazards have,
through the years, removed
contestants from the race
Drivers have fallen out on
sharp turns, boats have
"flipped," run Into each other,
rammed rocks. Some have
even been known to reach
the finish line with gaping
holes in their bottoms.
Lost In Riff
One year, half a dozen boats
were lost on the first riffle.
Some boats have even been
lost in practice. Only .ne
woman has ever run the race.
She was Mrs. Kenny Frank,
wife of a Klamath river guide,
who rode the first Boatnik
with her husband.
This year's festival will get
under way next Saturday
morning, when the Boatnik
parade will be led through
downtown Grants Pass with I
state scn. President Ben Musa
as marshal.
Saturday afternoon, in the
city's Riverside park, a Boat
nik Queen will be crowned,
chosen from the six princesses
who have been busy with pub
lic appearances for the past
month. A program ot closed
course hydroplane races will
follow the coronation, compet
ing In various classes and
sizes under sanctioned rules.
From the same point in the
city park, the white water
race to Galice and back will
get under way at 1:30 p.m.
Sunday - and return about
an hour later.
Only one thing about this
race can be predicted: It's
bound to provide plenty of
excitement - all the way.
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