When Jeff Rodgers became the first person to run 41 off, the pressure was off of him. It landed squarely on the shoulders of Tommy Harrington on that Labor Day weekend, Aug. 31, 1997. It was up to his boat path and times to make Jeff’s record stand up and pass approval. It was nothing new to Tommy. 

It wasn’t the first time he had pulled a world record. But his margin for error was so small, the slightest blip could wipe out Jeff’s work. And since no one had ever gotten into 43 off before, the boat paths leading up to it were going to be scrutinized to the limit. Not to mention the times. It was the last world record achieved with manual driving and the only one at 41 off, so there was no computer spitting out dialed-in times. It was all on the driver. 

Here’s what Bob Corson, chairman of the IWSF tournament council, said after reviewing the video of Tommy’s boat path in 1997 and giving Jeff’s record the official stamp of approval: “The boat drivers who do this are extremely skilled. They do a fabulous job. The total deviation on Jeff’s previous pass (41 off) was pretty close to zero actually – maybe 5 or 10 centimeters total deviation.” 

    

When speed control was first being developed, Guy Haggard’s Accuski system was the leader. Haggard patterned Accuski after Tommy and Miami’s Rocky Pasqua, trying to replicate the touch that they have with the throttle.