DATE: Sunday, April 13, 1997                TAG: 9704130186

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C13  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: Bob Hutchinson

                                            LENGTH:  130 lines

WANTED: HYDROPLANE FOR AREA NATIVE TO PILOT IN INITIAL NORFOLK EVENT

If anyone has an Unlimited class hydroplane he or she will not be using the weekend of May 24-26, please call Bill Doner at 1-206-870-8888.

Doner, commissioner of the Unlimited Racing Commission, is looking for a ride for Larry Lauterbach, the Portsmouth native and former hydroplane world champion who now lives in Maryland.

For those who don't know, Unlimiteds are the world's fastest boats. Propelled by 3,500-horsepower jet-turbine engines, the 29-foot craft are capable of straightaway speeds in excess of 200 mph.

And they're coming to Norfolk over the Memorial Day weekend.

Doner would like nothing better than to have Lauterbach as a drawing card for the first Unlimited race held even close to the East Coast since 1977, when the last President's Cup Regatta was staged on the Potomac River in Washington.

Lauterbach is one of two Hampton Roads drivers with Unlimited experience. The other is Earle Hall, a Portsmouth native now living in Hampton.

Lauterbach, son of famed hydro builder Henry Lauterbach, has piloted two Unlimiteds, most recently the Winston Eagle about five years ago. Hall, who hasn't raced in the class for about that same time, drove the Squire Shop for one season.

Doner, in Norfolk a few days ago to hype the race, said he would like nothing better than to get a ride for Lauterbach.

``We're looking,'' he said. ``I can't guess what the chances are, but it's something I'd really like to see.''

Between 12 and 15 boats are expected for the race, to be known as the ``Virginia Is For Lovers Cup'' and staged on Willoughby Bay, off the Norfolk Naval Station.

Doner said Norfolk was selected for the class's return to the East Coast because of the area's maritime history, the enthusiasm of state and local officials and the course, of which he said that spectators will be afforded a ``wonderful view.''

``We're thrilled to welcome Norfolk as the newest member of what we call the Thunder Tour,'' he said. ``Racing here in the front yard of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, on water with so much history, is a dream come true.''

He also said that race would not be a one-stop event for Norfolk.

``These things get better and better year after year as everyone goes through a learning experience,'' he said. ``We've been holding races in some cities for decades and rarely do we pull out of a location. Unless something drastic happens, this race is going to be here a long time.''

In a prepared statement, Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim said: ``For Norfolk to be chosen as the premier site for the Memorial Day Weekend launch of the Thunder Tour season exceeded even our own expectations.''

Doner expects about 50,000 total attendance over the three days, adding that ``it could go much higher.''

He boasts that the attendance of 750,000 at the Detroit Gold Cup race on the Detroit River several years ago still stands as the largest crowd ever for an organized sporting event as recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The Norfolk race will kick off the Thunder Tour's 11-stop 1997 schedule. Other races are set for Detroit; Honolulu; San Diego; Kansas City, Mo.; Las Vegas; Seattle'; Evansville, Ind.; Madison, Ind.; the Tri-Cities region of Washington state, and Kelowna, British Columbia.

Time trials Saturday, May 24, will be followed by heat racing Sunday, with the finals Monday.

Admission will be $5 Saturday, $7 Sunday and $15 Monday. A three-day ticket will cost $25. Pit passes are an extra $5, and those age 12 and under will be admitted free. Military personnel and their families and senior citizens will be entitled to $2 off all tickets.

Tickets will be available at the main entrance at Gate 3A off Taussig Boulevard. Advance tickets are expected to go on sale two weeks before the race at a box office the city has established at 232 E. Main St.

Additional information is available by calling 664-6620 (local) or 1-800-368-3097.

The city also has established a speakers bureau to explain race details to local organizations. You can access this by calling Charles Hartig at 664-4013.

HUNTING CHANGES: Virginia hunters apparently have made it clear that they don't want the muzzleloading deer season in Eastern Virginia reduced from either-sex animals to one buck.

That was the overwhelming message received by the staff of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries at public hearings around the state earlier this month.

The final decision on this and 76 other hunting and trapping proposals will be made May 5-6, when the agency's 10-member board meets in Richmond.

While the hearings drew various comments, the one consistent plea was for not reducing the muzzleloading bag to a single buck, according to Bob Duncan, head of the agency's wildlife division.

``The staff is still finalizing its recommendations,'' Duncan said, ``and while the eventual decision will be made by the board, not the staff, this is one I wouldn't be surprised to see changed.''

The game department has been ordered by Gov. George Allen to review all game and fish laws for simplification and elimination of archaic regulations.

Duncan said more than 850 attended the hearings, including 59 in Virginia Beach. The highest attendance was 132 at Big Stone Gap, the smallest two at Alexandria.

ROWING ALONG: The seventh annual Crawford Bay Crew Classic on the Portsmouth waterfront will get a new twist this year.

In addition to scull rowing competition between six collegiate teams, the event will feature an exhibition race between Maury and Norfolk Collegiate high schools and match races between the Hampton Roads Rowing Club, Virginia Boat Club and Virginia Rowing Club.

The college teams will be Old Dominion, Mary Washington, Catholic, St. Mary's, Towson and William and Mary.

Headquartered on the Portsmouth Seawall, the races are at 10 a.m. April 26 and are presented by Ports Events, hosted by the city of Portsmouth and sponsored by Infoline and radio station 94.9 The Point. To reserve a space for your tailgate party, call Ports Events at 393-9933.

OFFSHORE OPEN: The Hatteras Village Offshore Open will kick off the area's big-game fishing-tournament season May 7-10.

Sponsored by the Hatteras Village Civic Association, the contest will also be the first stop in the North Carolina Governor's Cup Billfish Conservation Series.

The entry fee will be $200 to $500, depending on the level entered, according to Joe Morris, tournament director.

For additional information, contact Teach's Lair Marina at 1-919-986-2460, Oden's Docks at 1-919-986-2555 or Hatteras Harbor Marina at 1-919-986-2166.

SHORT CASTS: Nick and Penny Durney and Doug and Joan Hinson of Nags Head released more than 60 sailfish during a recent vacation in Cancun, Mexico. They fished with skipper Arch Bracher on the charter boat Pelican, based at the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center in Nags Head during the summer. Bracher is a native of Virginia Beach. ... Another group of Virginia Beach anglers fished with Bracher one day and released five sails. Included were John Floyd, Jeff Floyd, Paul Leonard, Brian Leonard, Steve Wray and Dane Wray. ... Charles Rawls Jr. of Suffolk released four tarpon up to 130 pounds and seven bonefish up to 8 1/2 pounds on a recent trip to Cudjoe Key in the Florida Keys. He fished with skipper Pat Bracher, Arch Bracher's twin brother. ... Michael Kane of Virginia Beach has earned citation awards from the Virginia Fresh Water Fishing Program by landing a 24 1/2-inch pickerel and a 22 1/2-inch largemouth bass at Lake Cohoon in Suffolk. The lake also produced a 24 1/2-inch citation-winning pickerel for Bill Doran of Virginia Beach. ... The Carolina Decoy Collectors Association will hold its spring meeting in Saturday Beauford, N.C. For details, contact Joe Pace at 1-910-762-9060.

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