Making Their Mark
by Gregg Mansfield
IN A TRUE TEST OF SPEED AND ENDURANCE, A FOURSOME IN A 48' SCARAB BREAKS THE DIESEL
RECORD FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO LOS ANGELES.
When scarab founder Larry Smith set out to revive interest in the San Francisco-to-Los
Angeles run, he knew that technology would have a major impact on the endurance contest.
Charts and compasses have been replaced by chart plotters and GPS, and in the engine
compartment are efficient diesel motors instead of gasoline guzzlers. One thing is
certain, this is no longer your daddy's endurance run. Smith recruited four experienced
offshore racers, Dan MacNamara, Johnny Lindstrom, Rique Ford and Nigel Hook to make
the 425-mile run in late October in a new 48' Scarab. The group broke the diesel record
set by actor Chuck Norris, which had stood for more than 15 years. The crew made the
trip down the California coast in 6 hours, 43 minutes — nearly an hour better
than Norris' mark set in 1988. the overall record is still held by a Bob Nordskog-led
team, which completed the journey in 5 hour, 57 minutes. "This is the greatest
proving ground in the world," Smith said of the endurance run. "You can
never be prepared enough for the Pacific Ocean." For the record attempt, the
48' boar was equipped with twin stock 480 CumminsMerCruiser diesel engines with ZF
shaft drives. The Scarab carried about 340 gallons of fuel, which was less than half
the amount Bob Nordskog's boat carried during his run in 1988.
The Scarab carried the latest in electronics, which were installed by the navigator,
Johnny Lindstrom. On board were a Furuno chart plotter (with two screens), two GPS
systems and radar. Crew members also carried two handheld GPS systems, a cell phone
and some old-school technology — a chart. Redundancy was key in case any of
the systems failed during the run.
"The equipment is pretty robust," said Lindstrom, who navigated the endurance
run for Chuck Norris and twice for Michael Reagan. "I did nothing special other
than make sure it was fastened down, and I supported the connections."
Weather would be the biggest factor for the foursome on their journey. Northern California
was enjoying record-breaking temperatures, while fierce Santa Ana winds were fanning
several brush fires in Southern California.
MacNamara planned to keep the boat running about 60 mph, with the engines turning
around 2,400 rpm. At that pace, the engines would burn about 250 gallons of fuel (they
ended up using 261 gallons).
The record-seekers sped under a glowing Golden Gate Bridge at 7:01 a.m. to start
the run. They quickly encountered some large swells but the water smoothed out as
they moved farther offshore.
"We hit three good rollers and I thought this could be bad," said MacNamara,
the driver and throttleman who also rigged the boat. "After that it laid down."
The endurance run would take the team at some points more than 20 miles from the
California shoreline. Lindstrom had entered a course into the chart plotter and because
of favorable weather conditions, they were able to shorten the route.
Although the adventurers faced large swells for the first few hours, it eventually
was calm enough that Hook lay down between the bolsters to take a brief nap.
But the festive atmosphere became more sedate when they reached Point Conception — the
oceanic dividing line for the north and south. Fog forced the team to keep a close
watch on the radar and sea conditions got a little rougher.
Everything was going well for the group until they motored toward Santa Monica. The
starboard engine unexpectedly quit and Ford, using the cell phone, put a call into
diesel mechanic Thadius Finley to figure out the problem. They diagnosed the problem
with a fuel system, and within 15 minutes the engine was up and running.
By this time — thanks to the Santa Ana winds — the ocean was confused
and bounced the men around in the 48' boat. The water was rough enough to dislodge
a life raft that was stored in the stern of the boat.
"Somewhere in the Pacific there is a six-man life raft floating around," MacNamara
said.
Nearly seven hours after they started the journey in San Francisco, the adventurers
reached the mouth of the harbor at Marina del Rey, Calif. They exchanged high-fives,
but were subdued as they docked the boat at the California Yacht Club.
The run will go into the record books, since it was sanctioned by APBA in Detroit.
Smith has led the effort to revive the run, which was a favorite of the late Bob Nordskog.
A trophy was named after POWERBOAT magazine's founder and will be given yearly to
the team that completes the run in the fastest time.
To be eligible for the perpetual award, the boat must be a monohull under 50' in
length and come from production molds. The boat has to be powered by production marine
diesel engines and there are no restrictions on the drives or propellers, provided
they are available to the general public and backed by a warranty.
Smith said he wants to showcase the performance capabilities of diesel engines and
plans to go after other endurance records.
"There is no way to show the viability of diesels on the race circuit," Smith
said, later adding, "We're trying to incite the excitement of man against the
seas, the old days, rather than 5-mile laps with eight turns."
Records are made to be broken and Smith says he knows of two other manufacturers
who are considering an assault on the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles record.
Lindstrom welcomes challengers to take a shot at their record. He believes they can
better their time by at least 15 minutes because of engine trouble and having to slow
down to meet up with a spotter plane. "To me it would be a question of weather," Lindstrom
said.
MacNamara hopes the record will stand for at least a couple of years. "If somebody
breaks it, we'll be back up there to take it back," he said. "That's what
it's all about."
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