This woman pilots a compact racing vessel: “Jerry Ross recalls his daughter’s inaugural ride in a two-seat sprint boat, a journey that gave no hint of her future as a racer.
“At 16, I remember her clinging on tightly, eyes fixed downward,” said Ross, who operates a rival boat, The Enemy, in the sprint series, which serves as the opening act for this weekend’s Air Guard Championship on Mission Bay.
Older now, Amy Ottinger from Lake Havasu City, Arizona, commands Arizona Girl, a svelte 15 1/2-foot speedboat that harkens back to 1930s racing. While the H1 Unlimited boats exceed 200 mph on the Bill Muncey Memorial Mission Bay Course, these compact racers cruise at around 100 mph. Ottinger stands out as the sole female driver in that weekend’s competition.”