For more than 40 years, Bob Teague of Valencia, Calif., has been racing boats primarily in Inboard Endurance and Offshore. Traveling all over the World, Teague and his teams have won numbers National and World Titles, as well as setting several speed and distance records. Bob Teague has been inducted into to the APBA Hall of Champions in two different categories.
Question: How did you first get into boat racing?
Bob Teague: I drag raced cars and always had a passion for speed and boats. In 1966, I purchased my first pleasure boat which was a Campbell flat bottom that I hopped up. I was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1968 and spent 1969 and 1970 in combat as an infantry platoon leader in Viet Nam and Cambodia. After I returned home, part of getting my life back together involved long range plans to establish myself in the performance boat business with an emphasis on boat racing. In late 1972, I started my company, Teague Custom Marine. Simultaneously, I was attending college full time and in 1973 joined the L.A. City Fire Department. I was impressed and influenced by Bob Nordskog, and in a short time began working on his race team as a sub-contractor. By late 1973 I became a part of the Team and also joined the PowerBoat Magazine Test team. As our relationship grew, I became more involved on the team as a crew member on the Inboard Endurance and Offshore boats. In the early 70’s I began racing with Bob as a riding mechanic and Navigator on the Offshore Team. Then in 1977, I built my first Grand National Marathon boat. While racing offshore full time, I was also campaigning a full circuit with the GN boats from 1977 until 1992 when we finally decided to focus just on Offshore racing. In 1990 I became the first elected Western Division Offshore Commissioner. At that time, I was already the Inboard Endurance Commissioner and the POPBRA Technical Chairman. When Bob Nordskog passed away I took over as the President of Pacific Offshore Powerboat Racing Association which was an APBA Western Division Club. Along with a volunteer staff, POPBRA grew significantly throughout the 90’s. From 1992 on, I raced with several Offshore teams in just about every class that has existed. With Bob Nordskog, we set several endurance records including one that still stands today from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 5 hour and 57 minutes. Separately I set a record with Lizardo Benetes in Lima Peru from Pucasana to Ancon and back breaking the record set by Fabio Buzzi in the Gran Argentine boat. We later went back to Peru and upped our record to about 107MPH average in 6 to 8 foot seas.
Q: What Offshore classes have you raced in?
BT: As I mentioned before, I think I have raced in just about every Offshore class that has existed since 1973. This includes Offshore Classes 1 thru 6, Open, Offshore A, B, C, D, Modified in Vee’s and Cat’s, Supercharged SuperVee, Factory 1, Factory 2, Factory 3, 525EFI SuperVee, Extreme, P1, SuperCat Lite, and Super Cat, to mention a few…. Some of the teams have included PowerBoat Magazine, SkyHawks, Harry’s Hofbrau, V-8 Splash, Magic Potion, Universal Studios Team Woody, Sun Country Marine Formula, Lightning Strikes Donzi, Renova MTI, Liquid Metal Skater, and Team AMSOIL Skater.
Q: Of all of the Classes that you have run, is there one that you enjoyed more or that you were most successful in?
BT: Right now I am running a Super Cat. This Skater 368 was converted last year from its previous duty as a SuperCat Lite. This same boat and team as a Cat Lite has provided one of my most successful racing ventures. Upon completing this boat, I invited my friend Paul Whittier to join me as Driver while I concentrated on the duties of throttleman. Together, we have won several World and National Championships, and High Points honors. Team AMSOIL Offhore holds a Kilo Record at almost 132 mph average and a couple of endurance records including one form Miami to Bimini and back. I think Cat Lite, which is now no more, was a fabulous class. All boats were required to run Mercury factory sealed 525EFI engines providing reliability that allowed the team to run 14 races in a season without rebuilding. So, all things considered, I have had the most long term success in the Cat Lite class partially because I raced the class for over a decade in two different boats. The bottom line is that you should get better at it after that long. Now that the Team AMSOIL 368 Skater has been converted to a competitive SuperCat, we are still on the learning curve but way ahead of the game as evidence by our earning the APBA US-1 Title during our first year in the new class in 2014.
Q: You have done a lot of winning over the years, what do you consider some of your biggest accomplishments?
BT: The APBA Hall of Champions is an honor. Of course it is a high point. The first time I was inducted was in 1988 for Inboard Endurance (Grand National) and then again in 2003 for Offshore. These accomplishments are highlights for me. While the Hall of Champions is a “driver’s award,” for me it is much more. This is because I am intimately involved in boat design, rigging, set up, engine building, prop and gear selection, boat balance, and race strategy. So I am not just a driver, or in this case a throttleman. In order to finish first, first you must finish.
There are other goals that you strive to achieve which I have been fortunate to experience such as winning a UIM Championship, winning at the Key West Worlds several times, winning at high profile races and winning that extremely hard fought, close, gunwale to gunwale race. I enjoy the challenge of setting a kilo record or setting an endurance record. When you think of it, you are going where no one has gone before. Pretty cool.
Q: You have been racing a long time, what do your future racing plans hold?
BT: We are still racing Super Cat with our Team AMSOIL 368 Skater. Annually, my son, John co-drives with me in the Parker Enduro with our Grand National boat that I originally built in 1982. This boat actually raced in 7 of the old style Enduros that ran for 7 hours. The race is now reduced to 336 miles. I have put together a professional team that I am really proud of. Without them, my success would be much less. It is quite a challenge to move all of our equipment across and around the U.S. which is only possible with a coordinated team effort. I have assembled a pretty good team from all over the United States. We plan on racing Super Cat until, I don’t know when. I raced over 1,000 races and think that I go until I’m 77 which is the number I’ve used since 1977.
Q: What is it that you enjoy so much about boat racing?
BT: For me it is multi-faceted. There is certainly a challenge with boat racing and there is a certain mystique about it. I don’t believe that it gets the notoriety that it should. Teague Custom Marine Inc. gains a lot of experience and exposure for boat racing. For me, it is not only a means of promoting our racing ability but also our business expertise. The boat racing helps us validate products that we make and sell. Boat racing complements all of the other avenues we use to promote our business and our sponsors. I am fortunate to have been able to race at this level and continue to do so. It takes commitment, tenacity, experience and some money. I am very fortunate to have a sponsor like AMSOIL who we work hard for and have had to opportunity to help develop superior product with.
The cool thing about boat racing is that it is also a family activity. My entire family has supported and participated in my racing efforts. Not only does your immediate family get involved, your extended boat racing family keeps growing. I know you see a lot of that in the APBA Stock Outboard classes and other classes like the in the Inboard category, but it carries all the way up into Offshore
Finally, I think it’s important to volunteer for APBA or your racing organization as much as possible. I go out and patrol races that I am not racing at and so on. I have been the Technical Chairman for several organizations. I have served as a commissioner in Offshore and Inboard Endurance. I was president of Pacific Offshore for eight years, which was quite an undertaking. I have held positions as Referee, Inspector, Starter, Safety Chairman, and so on. In summary, what I am saying is that volunteering every chance you get makes you a better racer and sportsman.
This article appears in the June 2015 issue of Propeller Magazine, which can be downloaded for free by Clicking Here.