Dog and Andy's V Drive Run Updated

Dog and Andy's V Drive Run

Y'all ever wonder how an event got started? Like, where it was conceived and and then pondered to the signal where someone finally said… "Yeah, lets do that… side by side month!" And so put hours and hours of work into pulling it off just so everyone could show upwards and have a practiced time? (hint: River Dave knows ;-). Well, that's exactly what happened last summer when 2 guys, locally known as "Dog" and "Andy", were sitting around their river houses on the California Delta. On that twenty-four hours they came upwards with the idea that they should invite a bunch of buddies with their V-Drives over to Windmill Cove and have a party. The engagement was settled and the beginning Dog & Andy'due south V-Drive Run was born.

I had heard virtually it from a friend (well-nigh of you know him as Roger That) and I happened to be visiting family in NorCal that weekend, so I rounded up my dad and we hit the show. It was a peachy turnout for being the first yr. Clearly Canis familiaris & Andy have a lot of friends.

Flash forward 1 yr later, and the Domestic dog & Andy'south Five-Drive testify was ready for its second edition. So last weekend, they rounded upwardly their friends and put on a bully weekend of food, drinks and vintage canoeing fun. Just similar last year, I was planning a summertime trip to NorCal to visit family, but this time I had bigger plans. On the way up Hwy 99, I stopped and shot the Flat Lesser Boogie™ event at Club Regal Oak on the Kings River. From there I spent the week visiting family (fifty-fifty boating on Lake Tahoe for a few days with my brother). Then, once once again, grabbed my dad the post-obit weekend and hit the Dog and Andy'due south testify.

The venue for this event is Windmill Cove Bar and Grill on the California Delta. Situated on the principal channel merely a few miles westward of downtown Stockton, it's comprised of a uncomplicated complimentary-standing edifice with a large deck facing the channel, and its ain lagoon in the back with ample docks for parking. If you've never been, information technology'due south not much to look at when you first arrive. Merely within minutes you tin can't deny the relaxed, tropical, laid back vibe. I grew upwards coming to this identify with my family in my dad'southward old Sanger bubble deck, and then of course I take many great memories.

As we arrived, it was obvious that the result had grown. Not simply was large the parking lot already packed by 10am, but the docks were completely full of boats (at least twice as many as the previous year), and they were charging admission to the political party. We didn't mind paying because along with the new larger and more than "official" status of their prove, they designed it to back up the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Explorer Program. They were as well selling T-shirts and a BBQ Tri-Tip lunch with all gain going to a bully crusade.

Boats lined the complete perimeter of the lagoon. This yr there were 82 boats registered for the event, approximately double that of last year. There were tons of beautiful classics lining the docks which made for corking viewing. The party itself isn't actually held at the bar on the aqueduct. Instead, it's hosted at Canis familiaris & Andy's river cabins behind the lagoon on a piddling section of manicured lawn, complete with tropical styled landscaping. The massive BBQ trailer is situated next to their custom built outdoor bar and is the perfect setting for the show.

If you've spent any fourth dimension at all on the Delta, you are going to run into someone yous know. And besides the usual NorCal peeps I expected, it was as well nice to see fellow Southern Californians, Jeff and Kelly Kurt who towed their boat up from Long Beach – a 1987, 21ft Rush GN, powered by a blown Chevy 572 built by Avant-garde Racing Engines. It'south beautiful boat and easily recognized in the lineup. From what I was told, they had a great time on the Delta. Of course I saw my friend (Roger Thaat) again, who is ever a gracious host.

(Jeff Kurt in his 21' Rush)

One of the great things about this venue is the open up admission to the master channel. And then, when y'all are fix, you can fire up your boat and take it for a spin. Merely the existent treat is for the spectators, who can take a common cold beer on the upstairs deck bar overlooking the channel while watching the boats do some speed runs on the open water. At that place was even a live band to add a soundtrack to all the action.

One comparing I could annotation from the previous weekends Flat Bottom Boogie, nonetheless (story on front folio), is that the bodily speed runs are optional, and not organized every bit a role of the event. They are left to the will of the registered boat owners who decide to take their boat out for a spin. This means that while in that location was a lot of eye candy, there wasn't quite equally much action on the water as the previous weekend's Flat Lesser Boogie. At that issue, every bit mentioned in the story, the water was shut down to open boat traffic specifically for the time trials. Information technology was not only excellent viewing from the shore, simply the planned runs on the closed course gave y'all a niggling more bang for your buck when it came to watching these sleds do what they were congenital for - go fast!

On the Delta, you never know what you're going to come across. From a sailboat decorated like a pirate ship, to an ultralite doing a low altitude wing past, you should always await the unexpected. On this particular day, we had both, along with some other overnice boats that came to the evidence. For instance, two locals I met at the bar showed up for the testify in their offshore boats. Garrett in his 27ft Eliminator Daytona, and Neb in his 26ft RPM Redline fifty-fifty went out and did a couple of high-speed passes for a photo-op. It was a big striking with the crowd, and the pics turned out pretty bitchin.

While I just attended on Saturday (considering I had a 7 hour drive dwelling on Sunday), I heard that the party continued until Sunday afternoon. The 3 day event was definitely a step up from its inaugural year, and by all accounts it was a success. I'm still waiting on the final number for what was raised for the Explorers, merely based on the boat and head count, I'll assume they met their goal.

After a calendar week of boat events and working remotely, I was ready to head home. And of grade afterwards being gone for a week, I had a lot to catch up on which explains the delay in this story. But it was a great week filled with fun, friends and corking boating action. And if at all possible, I'll definitely plan on hitting the testify again side by side year.

Next up is the ARP Long Beach Dart Nationals presented by Nick Rose Insurance, this weekend at Long Beach Marine Stadium. I will exist there for RDP to cover all the activeness, then stay tuned for the story and possible live facebook feeds from the class! And of form you can always follow my instagram page for more photos and video.

Until so, See ya on the water!

Erick Bryner
@FastLoudPhotography

Dog and Andy's V Drive Run

Posted by: bryanthaparged.blogspot.com

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