Thoughts from the Holmberg family

I have so many memories of Roger – all of them great. The way he welcomed my wife Dawn into the “boat racing family” the first time she came to a race; the way he taught me that tape works just fine to repair a damaged boat; and the way he helped me know that I could not only get lane one in the mill, but could race in lane one after the start.

But those are just a few of the things Roger shared with not only me, but with everyone. It always felt like those of us involved in hydroplane racing and who knew him were adopted as a part of his family. All of us always looked forward to seeing Roger at the next race.

From the very first time I showed up at an RCU race with a boat of my own – the 1988 Competition Specialties that I bought from Earl Schenck – the Czar was there to help. When I sold that boat and brought out my 2000 Oh Boy! Oberto, he was the first to congratulate me when it was chosen Best of Show at the Apple Blossom Regatta in Quincy, Wash. Later that day, when the same boat was hit and heavily damaged by another, Czar came over while I was packing things up, with a roll of tape in his hand and said to me, “where do you think you’re going?” I told him I couldn’t race anymore so we were going to get a jump on the drive home. He handed me the tape and said, “Bull. You came here to race. Fix it up and race.” Sure enough, with his help, and his tape, we had the boat ready to run its next heat.

I also fondly remember my first full year in the electrics. I’d made one of my first finals, and Czar was my co-driver…He asked me what my plan was for the race, and I said I just wanted to finish. He convinced me that I should finish, but finish as best I could…that I’d never forget it if I did. So he taught me the way to mill for lane one, which we got, and how to go through the first turn, hanging the boat on its hook, holding lane one. We managed to do exactly that, and when the Red Man came out of the turn in the mix, it felt pretty good to get that friendly slap on the back from the Czar. But it wasn’t his fault that the boat caught a gust and blew over a little bit later on the backstretch.

Even more importantly than the boat racing, though, Czar always wanted to know how my family was, encouraged my dad to come to races and made him feel like part of the club even before dad ever thought of owning a boat, and embraced us all as his friend. We all made him our friend, as well. You will be missed, Czar.

Nelson & Dawn Holmberg