You Know It's Summer In Bay City When . . . THE RIVER ROARS!
20th Annual Dobson Industrial River Roar Churns Saginaw River
June 24, 2007
By: Stephen Kent
From the crowd in the bleachers, the 20th annual Dobson Industrial River Roar may have set attendance records. It was shoulder to shoulder in the bleachers and people were standing three deep at the seawall railing. For that matter, everyone, even those in the bleachers as standing. It was that exciting.
Once again, the weather in Bay City was perfect for a boat race. Bright sun, temps in the 80's, low humidity. The wind was enough to keep folks comfortable but not too strong to chop up the water. A hat was certainly required, or a handy umbrella.
Bay City is well known for its great race viewing. Everyone gets up close and personal as the boats make the circuit between the bridges downtown. That great viewing also makes for an exciting race as the boats churn the water. It's fast and exciting.
The three days of action seemed to be going well with few major mishaps. With only 11 laps to go in the final race, fans did get a scare when Terry Rinker's yellow boat and Wyatt Nelson's green boat made contact after rounding the marks on the south end of the course. In a blink the Nelson boat was airborne then upside down. The boat behind quickly got out of the way as safety divers sped over to help Nelson get free. Nelson was out of the race for the day and Rinker was disabled with a broken steering cable.
For Full River Roar Champ Boat Race Results:
Click Here.
Bay City's summer fun really kicks off with the River Roar and the concerts, Poison on Friday night and Ted Nugent on Saturday. The action continues next weekend with the giant, three day fireworks festival and carnival. Throughout the summer the city is alive with concerts, events in the park, cruises and so much more. Bay City is the place to be in summer. Keep track with the
MyBayCity Events Calendar.
Bobby Chafin is all smiles. Notice the removable steering wheel. They all come off easily for getting out of the cockpit. Especially if upside down under water!
Race Official Roger Carr, the man with the fingernail polish. Carr confirms the official weigh in, checks the fuel, and puts a dab of fingernail polish on critical parts of the engine. "You race with the engine you start with", they say
Driver John Jorewicz gets weighed in. Boat, fuel and driver must be within certain bounds to qualify for a race.
