Despite injury, Shaw planning to return to racingSYRACUSE- Richard Shaw is a special education history teacher. But he also enjoys racing hydroplanes. He raced in last weekend's Syracuse Hydrofest.
Unfortunately, Shaw never finished the race because his boat hit some slow but large waves called rollers that sent him into the air.
"It used the wave more as a ramp...and I felt the engine wind up and I knew I was completely out of the water and...the back of the boat slapped against the same roller and I nosed it on the right side," said Shaw.
The boat landed upside down in the water and he was stuck underneath it.
"I somersaulted I couldn't tell you how many times...and when it finally stopped I was upside down and my air helmet wasn't working and I had the wind knocked out of me and I was sucking water," said Shaw.
Despite the injuries sustained in yesterday's accident, Shaw says he is looking forward to returning to racing.
"I've had incidents before where I've spun out and every time I got back into the boat it seemed like I was going to spin again," Shaw said. "It takes you a heat or two to get your confidence back."
Shaw says racing has been in his blood since childhood.
"My father raced since 1973 and I went to my first boat race when I was two weeks old," said Shaw. "I started driving when I was 14, so I literally grew up in the sport and I love it."
Despite the sport not being popular, Shaw's love of the game motivates him to race each and every time.
NCC reporter Vijeta Kadarmendalgi's story can be seen below.
No comments:
Post a Comment