Monday, Jul. 30, 2007

Formulaboats.com defines victory a little differently these days

By Eric Schwartz, Herald staff writer

The Formulaboats.com racing team has seen its definition of "victory" change over the past year.

After a 2006 season where Mike Allen won a national team championship, the team's U-1 and U-5 unlimited boats have had more problems than crew chief Mike Weber cares to remember.

So when U-5 driver Jeff Bernard, 22, won two and placed fifth in the final at the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup on Sunday, the team was comfortable calling the day a victory.

"We were joking after the race," Weber said. "We finally get to go to the awards show instead of the hospital."

The U-1 boat has flipped twice this season, most recently in Detroit where veteran Allen reinjured a broken thumb he sustained during the first race of the season. The U-5 has flipped once, and has battled electrical problems that had kept it from competing in three of the last seven heats it had attempted before Sunday.

"It just feels good to finally finish a final," Bernard said. "I'm happy with that in itself."

The Formulaboats.com U-5 won two heats Sunday, eliciting cheers from the team's crew. Allen said he hopes the weekend will be enough to pull the team out of its slump.

But Weber said recovering from blowovers and injuries is harder than simply fixing the boat and visiting the emergency room.

"It takes a long time to recover in a lot of ways," he said. "We're not picking up where we left off. We're trying to get back to where we started."

It looked like the U-5 was about to continue the streak of bad luck during Sunday's final.

Bernard had maneuvered the U-5 boat into the inside lane and was leading heading into the second turn of the first lap. But Bernard came close to trading paint with the U-37 Miss Beacon Plumbing on the second lap and was forced to fall back in the pack.

At the end of the ordeal, the U-37 was hit with a one-lap penalty and Bernard crossed the finish line in fifth place.

Though the day ended much better than the past several weekends for the Formulaboats.com team, Bernard said he may have "second guessed" himself and lost an opportunity Sunday.

"I was about a boat-length back and the 37 (Beacon Plumbing) and I got pretty close," he said. "I dropped back from there."

Bernard said he is looking forward to Seafair in Seattle, which starts Friday. He said his heat victories Sunday will help give him confidence.

"We'll clean the boat up and maybe get some more speed out of it," he said. "I'm hoping we can get to the front in Seattle. The U-5 will definitely be there with our gun swinging."

Weber said he thinks Bernard will perform well in Seattle, not only because of his recent success, but also because Bernard grew up in the Seattle area.

"I know Jeff is super excited about driving at home and I think that bodes well for us," he said.

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