(1942-2021)
Guy LaMotta was my personal hero and inspiration for over 45 years. He rarely took no as the final answer with any authority.
I met Guy at the 1974 Benihana Gran Prix in Point Pleasant, N.J., as we were both sneaking up the Manasquan riverbank to get into the back door of the hot-pits area because 5 minutes earlier, they said “no” to both he and I. Neither one of us took “no” as the answer.
Boat Racing was our common bond. Guy raced his 27 Magnum with twin Holman and Moody engines and I raced my 20 Bertram.
Then we grew into the 1980s and produced powerboat races with Guy supplying the Finish Line yacht, a big, 53 Huckins with an Italian cook on board making tomato gravy. Seriously, 24 hours a day in the galley, full time, stewing tomato sauce. You could smell your way to his boat!
Our friends Tony Lucarro and Peter Meyer joined in the fun with their 27 Signature and we made history. We enjoyed a 10-year run producing a generation of world-class boat races with our Gateway Powerboat Regatta/National Powerboat Association Series. Pete Aitkin, Chris and Mark Lavin, John and JD D’Elia and Stuart Hayim, are all products of our events.
Guys’ speedboats got bigger with a 36 Cigarette and then a 39 Squadron X. What a boat!
We ran boat races and record runs around Long Island, along with poker runs on Long Island Sound and around New York City. Whenever it had something to do with speedboats, Guy was in.
We did it all … even when they said no. — Billy Frenz
