OWNER: JACK LAWRENCE - LINCROFT, NJ
DRIVER: DAVID "SKED" PARASKEVAS - RUMSON, NJ
RIDERS: GEORGE KENNEDY - BEAR, DE
ROGER HARRIS - LINCROFT, NJ
ENGINE BY: J & S
BUILDER: J & S FIBERGLASS
SPECIALTIES
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
1976 EASTERN DIVISIONAL CHAMPION
1976 CBF (Canadian) 5 mile Comp. Record 64.240 mph
Aug. 28 1976 - St. Timothee, Quebec
Canada
1976
APBA Kilo Straightaway Record 76.872 mph
Sept. 25, 1976 - New Martinsville, WV
1977 EASTERN DIVISIONAL CHAMPION
1977 WESTERN DIVISIONAL CHAMPION
1977 NATIONAL CHAMPION
1977 REGION 3 HIGH POINT WINNER
1977 NATIONAL HIGH
POINT WINNER
1978 EASTERN DIVISIONAL CHAMPION
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BOAT HISTORY
Although this is the second hull to
come out of the newly made J&S molds, it is the first boat produced by J&S
Fiberglass Specialties. Built for the owners of the company, Jack Lawrence
and David Paraskevas, this boat set a precedent in construction, appearance
and performance never before seen in a Jersey Speed Skiff. The hull was done
in dark blue metallic and the deck boasted blue/silver metalflake flames,
all developed within the gel coat, both a first for any Speed Skiff. The
metallic blue gel coat used for the hull may possibly have been a first for
any boat. Every piece of hardware was the finest available and every part
was either polished or chrome plated. To complete the rig, a custom trailer
was built which further complimented the boat.
The boat debuted at the President's
Cup Regatta in Washington, DC in June of 1976 and despite having only
fifteen minutes running time on the engine and never having been in the
water previously, it went out on the race course and won easily, setting a
new competition speed record for that course. During the 1976 season the
Blue Goose would go on to establish a new Canadian five mile competition
record and set a new World kilo straightaway record, thus breaking the previous
record set ten years earlier by Ron Zuback in his famous Ford powered
V-Drive Skiff named So Slo. For the 1977 season the Blue Goose team
continued it's dominance by capturing every major title. This would be the
last season for the Jack and Sked partnership as Jack Lawrence would follow
his dream and move to Nevada where he still resides today. Following the 1978
racing season, Paraskevas now the
sole owner of the Blue Goose, sold the boat less engine and trailer to Ken
Niles of Keuka Lake, NY. Ironically, through a sale previously put together
by Paraskevas, Ken's brother Don had purchased Steve Becker's JS-21
Tamarack, one of the Blue Goose teams main rivals. The trailer was sold to
John Clark for use under his JS-29 Fast Buck and Paraskevas kept the engine.
The Blue Goose was never again raced as it was used solely as a lake boat by
Niles who around 1988 sold the boat to Hal Jackson from Rochester, MI. Hal,
being a General Motors employee with access to GM's engine tech facility,
built a potent engine for the boat but we're not sure how often it was used.
Around 1995 the Blue Goose was sold to Richard Regansberg, of Manchester, MI.
who owned it until 2003 when it was purchased by current owners Joe
Frauenheim, and Land Washburn, both out of Seattle WA. Thanks to Joe and
Land, the boat has been restored to it's original look as when it famously
raced. As part of the restoration, the
Goose now sports a new engine by Gary Pugh of Performance Engine
Development, builder of the engines that power Joe's Unlimited Light hydros.
Along with the UL Hydros, Joe also owns
the first west coast based speed skiff, the JS-13 Blade Runner, which he and
Land restored prior to purchasing and restoring the Blue Goose. Both these
skiffs staged the first match up between an east coast skiff and a west
coast based skiff at the 1977 Western Divisionals at Firebird Lake in AZ.
Today, the boats are frequently seen displayed at race events in the Pacific
Northwest. They're also used as a 'river boats' for tooling around on
Puget Sound, local lakes, the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, and even
running the 50 mile length of Lake Chelan to a National Recreation Area
accessible only by boat or float plane.
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