RiverDave
In it to win it
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2007
- Messages
- 126,850
- Reaction score
- 166,763
Images by TommyGun Images. To view and purchase photo's of Your Howard from the regatta please click the following link!
http://www.tommygunimages.com/howardregatta
Being a media outlet in the marine industry we tend to go to a lot of events throughout the summer. There's the monster events like Desert Storm, and there's some smaller deals like the Hotboat Show over at Pirates Den in Parker. Some of the events are a lot of fun, others I can take or leave, some are just a ton of work, and then there's the Howard Regatta which is in a class of it's own.
The Howard Regatta is one of the events that I truly look forward to going to every single year. It's one of those things that's a little hard to put into words, but it just has that "Laid Back River" Vibe to it. To keep in theme, while there is a schedule, it isn't buttoned down, or the type of thing where you have to be there at a specific time for fear of missing something.
On Friday a lot of the owners get together and make a group run up to Topock for lunch. Again it's very casual, and everybody runs together falling into groups that set their own pace. I was unable to attend, but a lot of guys tell me this is their favorite part of the weekend. The food at Topock 66 is incredible, and they did a great job of accommodating the extra guests. They changed registration to the Party tent this year, instead of the Pool Party like they have had in years past. Not that my vote counts for anything, but I've always enjoyed the pool party quite a bit, and I hope they bring that back.
Saturday the plan was to do a group run down to the springs for lunch. They did their Poker Run a little different then most events, by selling hands at the Springs, instead of having all the owners go to different spots to pick up cards. While theirs less spots to drive too, I think overall this was a good program for a laid back style event. It allowed the guests to spend more time Socializing in a great environment, and nobody was "rushed" to get to the next stop. This allowed time for several of the boat owners to get together and raft up at some of their favorite spots on the lake!
This year brought out 38 boats, ranging from one truly Nostalgic Howard Flat that just came to hang out in the Cove for awhile, a couple of Howard Custom Cruisers, all the way up to the newest 2015 288 Deck Boat. I didn't take an actual Head Count at the dinner on Saturday, but I know there was 135 Dinner tickets purchased, and there were quite a few there to socialize with friends and hang out at the regatta which would put the party at 150 - 160 people.
The Howard regatta always brings in a ton of sponsored gifts from various vendors. AO Coolers, Boat Bling, Barrett Custom Marine, Prestige Marine, Menace Marine, even RDP was a smaller sponsor this year bringing a LED Boat whip, and a few other miscellaneous items. The stage behind Gene looks about like someone knocked off an Overton's where house, and stored the loot in the event tent at the Nautical.
In years past it could get a little overwhelming trying to give each item away, so this year Gene changed it a bit. After he got through the tier 1, and tier 2 gifts, he looked behind him at a couple hundred little items and said "Come on up and get it!" What bit him was when he was on the stage he pointed behind him, but also somewhat towards the table where they were selling the regatta shirts, and some people mistakenly walked over there and grabbed most the shirts off the table. Thankfully the other half were in boxes behind the table so he didn't get completely cleaned out. On that note, the Howard regatta shirts this year were the best looking ones in recent memory, whomever did the graphics and layout did an outstanding job.
I touched earlier on the "vibe" of the regatta itself. I have always been of the belief that the boat doesn't define the person, or group. Meaning that just because someone has this brand of boat, they would fit some cliche personality type. I talked to three quarters of the people at that regatta, and I wouldn't hesitate to hang out with any one of them. Even though some of these deckboats are approaching the $200,000.00 mark, not one of the owners was pretentious in anyway, and you could tell they were all extremely excited to be there, take part in the event, and socialize with the other participants.
Howard boats was started in Paramount 1957 (moved to Bellflower a year or two later) by Howard Brown, and was quickly recognized as one of the premier boat builders on the west coast in the following years. Gene Willen purchased the company from Howard Brown in 1988, and there is little doubt in my mind that Howard Brown is looking down extremely happy with the quality, and the reputation of his namesake.
The current best selling model at Howard Boats is the new 288, followed evenly by the 28 SDS/SCS and the 25/28 Bullets. I am happy to report that Howard Custom Boats is busier than ever with eight new 288's on order right now (the latest order coming in yesterday from an RDP member), in addition to 2 SCS's, and a Howard Bullet.
With current demand on the 288, their delivery schedule on any new Howard is mid to late summer of 2016! I look forward to seeing the latest builds at the next regatta, and as always we are greatly looking forward to reviewing the SCS & SDS at the next RDP Boat Evaluations!
Images by TommyGun Images. To view and purchase photo's of Your Howard from the regatta please click the following link!
http://www.tommygunimages.com/howardregatta
http://www.tommygunimages.com/howardregatta
Being a media outlet in the marine industry we tend to go to a lot of events throughout the summer. There's the monster events like Desert Storm, and there's some smaller deals like the Hotboat Show over at Pirates Den in Parker. Some of the events are a lot of fun, others I can take or leave, some are just a ton of work, and then there's the Howard Regatta which is in a class of it's own.
The Howard Regatta is one of the events that I truly look forward to going to every single year. It's one of those things that's a little hard to put into words, but it just has that "Laid Back River" Vibe to it. To keep in theme, while there is a schedule, it isn't buttoned down, or the type of thing where you have to be there at a specific time for fear of missing something.
On Friday a lot of the owners get together and make a group run up to Topock for lunch. Again it's very casual, and everybody runs together falling into groups that set their own pace. I was unable to attend, but a lot of guys tell me this is their favorite part of the weekend. The food at Topock 66 is incredible, and they did a great job of accommodating the extra guests. They changed registration to the Party tent this year, instead of the Pool Party like they have had in years past. Not that my vote counts for anything, but I've always enjoyed the pool party quite a bit, and I hope they bring that back.
Saturday the plan was to do a group run down to the springs for lunch. They did their Poker Run a little different then most events, by selling hands at the Springs, instead of having all the owners go to different spots to pick up cards. While theirs less spots to drive too, I think overall this was a good program for a laid back style event. It allowed the guests to spend more time Socializing in a great environment, and nobody was "rushed" to get to the next stop. This allowed time for several of the boat owners to get together and raft up at some of their favorite spots on the lake!
This year brought out 38 boats, ranging from one truly Nostalgic Howard Flat that just came to hang out in the Cove for awhile, a couple of Howard Custom Cruisers, all the way up to the newest 2015 288 Deck Boat. I didn't take an actual Head Count at the dinner on Saturday, but I know there was 135 Dinner tickets purchased, and there were quite a few there to socialize with friends and hang out at the regatta which would put the party at 150 - 160 people.
The Howard regatta always brings in a ton of sponsored gifts from various vendors. AO Coolers, Boat Bling, Barrett Custom Marine, Prestige Marine, Menace Marine, even RDP was a smaller sponsor this year bringing a LED Boat whip, and a few other miscellaneous items. The stage behind Gene looks about like someone knocked off an Overton's where house, and stored the loot in the event tent at the Nautical.
In years past it could get a little overwhelming trying to give each item away, so this year Gene changed it a bit. After he got through the tier 1, and tier 2 gifts, he looked behind him at a couple hundred little items and said "Come on up and get it!" What bit him was when he was on the stage he pointed behind him, but also somewhat towards the table where they were selling the regatta shirts, and some people mistakenly walked over there and grabbed most the shirts off the table. Thankfully the other half were in boxes behind the table so he didn't get completely cleaned out. On that note, the Howard regatta shirts this year were the best looking ones in recent memory, whomever did the graphics and layout did an outstanding job.
I touched earlier on the "vibe" of the regatta itself. I have always been of the belief that the boat doesn't define the person, or group. Meaning that just because someone has this brand of boat, they would fit some cliche personality type. I talked to three quarters of the people at that regatta, and I wouldn't hesitate to hang out with any one of them. Even though some of these deckboats are approaching the $200,000.00 mark, not one of the owners was pretentious in anyway, and you could tell they were all extremely excited to be there, take part in the event, and socialize with the other participants.
Howard boats was started in Paramount 1957 (moved to Bellflower a year or two later) by Howard Brown, and was quickly recognized as one of the premier boat builders on the west coast in the following years. Gene Willen purchased the company from Howard Brown in 1988, and there is little doubt in my mind that Howard Brown is looking down extremely happy with the quality, and the reputation of his namesake.
The current best selling model at Howard Boats is the new 288, followed evenly by the 28 SDS/SCS and the 25/28 Bullets. I am happy to report that Howard Custom Boats is busier than ever with eight new 288's on order right now (the latest order coming in yesterday from an RDP member), in addition to 2 SCS's, and a Howard Bullet.
With current demand on the 288, their delivery schedule on any new Howard is mid to late summer of 2016! I look forward to seeing the latest builds at the next regatta, and as always we are greatly looking forward to reviewing the SCS & SDS at the next RDP Boat Evaluations!
Images by TommyGun Images. To view and purchase photo's of Your Howard from the regatta please click the following link!
http://www.tommygunimages.com/howardregatta
