Bay City River Roar # 17

June 27, 2004
By: Stephen Kent

If you were anywhere within a mile of the riverfront you probably heard the River Roar. It's one of the most exciting events of the summer and the large crowd seemed to bear that out.

With near perfect weather for the fourth year in a row, the races were also near perfection. There were few accidents, and the most exciting looked worse that it turned out to be. Things happen very fast with boats aproaching 120 miles per hour on a one mile oval. If you are not looking right at the boat when something happens you miss it entirely.

The highlight of the three day event is the Champ Boat races on Sunday afternoon. This reporter had the pleasure of watching that race from the bridge in the company of Terry Rinker's sister. Rinker was the winner of last year's River Roar. The race looked much different with an expert observer pointing out the strategy, the danger areas, the smart moves and the mistakes.

Bay City is well known as the most challenging course on the race circuit. The seawalls reflect the waves to make a very choppy and unpredictable sea. Bay City also has some of the best race viewing. Spectators are right at the waters edge just yards from the action. With an admission price of $5 on the west sideof the river, the River Roar is one of the best values of the summer.