R.I.P. "Jackie's Purple Thunder"
1970-2007
ULHRA Desert Thunder
Howard Amon Park - Richland, WA
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Images by Walt Ottenad
Although you can read a review of the race on ULHRA website, I will always remember this race as the last for "Jackie's Purple Thunder"...
Joe Turner started the day really well, finishing second in his first heat of the day, but losing the engine cowling in his second heat. The UL-18 started its last race at the rear, but was running well when, at the entrance to the north turn (150 feet away from me, as I was on a course boat taking photos), the boat hit hard, shredded the right sponson into what seemed like a million pieces of fiberglass, wood and foam, hooked left, then stopped right in front of us. We saw the hatch open a few inches, then the boat immediately took on massive amounts of water and went under within seconds, with Joe inside. We manuevered over to the boat and its huge debris field, waiting for what seemed like two or three minutes for Joe to get out, but he didn't come up until the divers retrieved him. Joe sufaced and got into the rescue boat, seemingly none the worse for wear! After a quick checkup to make sure he was OK (he mentioned to Lisa that his blood pressure was higher during his physical than it was after the crash!), Joe made his way to the pits to await the remains of the boat.
As the UL-18 came out of the water, it was obvious that the right sponson had broken off, taking the entire right side of the boat with it, almost to the transom. The nose of the capsule was gone, exposing the cockpit, and the force of the river water exiting the motor was enough to blast a four inch long chunk out of one of the header tubes! Joe joked at the awards ceremony that at least now he "won't have the oldest boat in the fleet at the next race!".
Unfortunately, the boat is a total loss & not worth rebuilding, but obviously way more importantly, one of the nicest guys I've met in this series, Joe Turner, is alive and well...
Images and the above text provided by permission and as the courtesy of Walt Ottenad of NW Speed Shots.
Boat snaps and sinks at Richland Boat Race: "I took a hard hit and just saw water, then more water."
May 20, 2007 07:45 PM PDT
RICHLAND, Wash - It looked like a shark's fin rising slowly out of the water as Joe Turner's boat was lifted out of the Columbia River. During the B-Main Heat of today's Unlimited Light races, Joe Turner's UL-18 had its right sponson snap off causing the boat to capsize and sink into the river. Turner was able to release his seatbelt and open the capsule, luckily escaping unharmed.
It took crew workers about 45 minutes to retrieve the UL-18 from the river, as the B-Main heat was stopped in order for the other boats to refuel before re-running the race. Water streamed out of the boat as tiny fragments of wood fell off of the right side of the boat. It was as if someone had cut the boat in half and you were looking at a cross-section of the once-oldest boat in the Unlimited Light circuit.
"I took a hard hit and then I just saw water, and more water," says Turner, who was visibly shaken as he watched his boat being saved from the churning Columbia. Other drivers continuously came up to Turner to hug him and tell him they were so thankful that he was ok. "In my 22 years of racing this is the only wreck I've ever been in."
Turner's boat will have to be completely scrapped and if he wants to race again it's going to cost him about $100,000. When asked if he would ever race again after this type of a crash, Turner replied, "I don't think Mrs. Turner will let me race again." Laughter erupted from the surrounding crowd, as they stared at what remained of Turner's boat, with everyone undoubtedly wondering how in the world Joe was still standing there with them.
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