Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Nicole Brown and Dawn Davis received special bill on their first run in the Jolly Rogers boat. They were believed to be the first all-woman crew to make a run at the Slough.
Phil Miller and Sharon Heuser pull off the course after cooking a 39.15 in their first run in the 400 class. Miller was the only boat in the class to make the runs under 40 seconds and remained consistent for the class win.
Gracie Miller, right, Chuck Stewart, center, and Jannie Murray smile in their St. John Webb's Slough volunteer shirts Saturday morning.
Eric Petring and Karen Mesa round the curve in the Bad Idea boat during a run in the modified class.
Ideal racing conditions with a strong entry field and a giant crowd made for a great day Saturday at St. John's Webb's Slough. Amanda Webb reported one measure of the size of the crowd was a total of 750 trailers and campers on the grounds.
Another factor was the parking space. The school sports parking crew actually used space for parking on hills adjoining the grounds.
The race signed a total of 37 teams with 36 going to the line. Three of the boats were used by two teams.
Sharing boats is common in New Zealand and Australia, but the practice is just beginning to be introduced in the United States, Webb noted.
Saturday's event had three Australian entries with possibly another two expected on the second Webb's round Aug. 24.
The rotation of turns set for boats on the course Saturday put the boats on what was described as a more open course where boats with the power could open up. Shorter times for the day reflected that.
Spokane's Dennis Hughes in the 69 Overkill boat won the unlimited class with a final clocking of 36.41. Kyle Patrick and Amanda Thompson in the Psycho 151 placed second after failing to clock a time in the final run against Hughes.
In the semi round, Hughes clocked 36 seconds, and Patrick clocked 36.16 to make the last cut.
The Psycho boat actually had the fastest time of the day with a 34.32 in the eight-boat elimination run. It was the lone sub-35 run for the day.
As a measure of fast charted course for Saturday's races, the fastest time booked by Hughes on last year's course was 45.34.
Robert and Aimee Cox in the 49 Obsession boat place third in the unlimiteds with a 36.81 in the final four round and the Screaming Eagle boat of Lee Rice and Sandy Whalan placed fourth with a 37.4 in the final four.
Winner in the 400 class was Phil Miller and Sharon Heuser in the Fat Buddy 22 boat with a 37.7 for a margin of more than three seconds over Jesse and Kalyn Miller in the Fat Buddy 9 boat which clocked 40:89 in the final.
Darrin and Ashley Swindal in the 47 Bandit Gold boat placed third with a 40.63 at the four-cut level of the elims.
In the modifieds, Scott and Alex Jensen in the Bad Fish 8 booked a 38.45 in the final to edge Dustin Springer and TJ Burrows who timed 40.38 for second
Dustin Chase and Tom Trutter in the Flyin' Hawaiian 91 placed third with a 42.36 in the four-cut round.
The Webbs are booked to crank up the slough again Aug. 24 for the second round. This is their 13th year of hosting the sprint boat races at St. John.
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