As the sole reporter covering Fountain Powerboats’ unsuccessful V-bottom kilo record attempts Feb. 27-28 in Washington, N.C., I had a lot of unsupervised time on my hands. The Fountain team was working hard to get their Sterling Engine-powered 40-footer to run correctly and had no time to entertain an out-of-town guest. In town for more than a week, the American Power Boat Association and Offshore Powerboat Association officials were doing whatever they could to avoid going stir crazy in a very small town, so they were scarce.
Even at 77 years old, Reggie Fountain, Jr., is royalty at the company that bears his name.
And the media folks there the weekend prior for Fountain’s wind-scrubbed record attempt? They were long gone.
During the 41 hours I spent in Washington, I saw the kilo boat make four unimpressive runs. Of course, I was disappointed for the people at Fountain and equally disappointed that I didn’t get to report on scene about the setting of a new kilo record. As a reporter, those are the kinds of stories you live for. In 2014, I was lucky to have had that opportunity when Outerlimits—on the same measured kilometer of Pamlico River—pulled it off. This time around, it wasn’t to be.
But you already know that.
and then