Bob VanSickle

Bryce Alderton

Bob VanSickle has traded in one type of racing for not one, but two

outlets.

The 49-year Costa Mesa resident and former track and cross country

athlete and coach at Newport Harbor High gets his thrills these days

from remote-control boats and a bicycle that logs 200 miles a week.

VanSickle, who retired as a Costa Mesa Fire Department captain

nine years ago, returned from the national championships in

remote-control boats with first-, second- and third-place finishes in

separate divisions.

He and brother Gary Blockburger, who lives a block away, often

work together on the boats. VanSickle builds the motor and set up a

Global Positioning System on each boat he races.

They take the boats out to Whittier Narrows in Montebello to

practice and will competed in a district race there this weekend.

The competition and the chance to tinker with machinery lured

VanSickle into motorized boat racing seven years ago.

“It’s competitive and fun,” VanSickle said. “I like doing

machine-type stuff and making things go faster.

“My brothers were kind of into [motorized boat racing] and Chris

Reed from the fire department and I went to watch and I said, ‘I

could do that,’ ” VanSickle said. “We started with one boat and had

as many as four or five boats in a race. Now we usually race three at

nationals.”

V-bottom ocean racing boats can hit speeds of 60 mph and are

narrow with a pointed nose while VanSickle also races catamarans.

Most boats are made with fiberglass and weigh about 14 pounds. Races cover a mile, which equals six laps on the course.

“Usually six boats are out there, all trying to win the heat so it

can get tight,” VanSickle said. “On average a race will take one

minute, 30 seconds, but some boats are faster than others.”

More often than racing boats, VanSickle is on his bike, keeping

his 62-year-old frame in top shape.

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays he rides with a group from Corona

del Mar. Mondays they begin at MacArthur Boulevard and hit Warner

Avenue in Huntington Beach before turning back. That span covers

about 30 miles. Wednesdays they climb hills of Newport Coast and

Ridgeline in Irvine and Fridays the club includes a stretch of Laguna

Canyon Road in its loop, which spans a total of 34 miles.

“I ran every day of the week for 40 years before quitting in

1994,” VanSickle said. “I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Last year VanSickle placed first in the 60-plus age bracket in the

California Police and Fire Games. He has also placed fourth in his

age group in the United States Cycling Federation state

championships.

Competing for championships is nothing new to VanSickle. He ran

the 1,600 and 3,200 meters while at Harbor, where he graduated from

in 1959. He held the school record in the 1,600 for 15 years and

later set the mark in the 3,200 while at Orange Coast College, where

he also ran track and field and cross country.

As a coach, he guided the likes of Maggie Henson, a decorated UC

Irvine distance runner, and Buffy Rabbit.

VanSickle’s daughter, Jodi Anthony, returned home from school one

day and mentioned to her father that Eric Tweit, Newport Harbor’s

boys athletic director who coaches both girls track and field and

cross country, had said he wouldn’t mind having Bob coach on his days

off.

A coach was born. Jodi and VanSickle’s son, Jim, ran track and

cross country at Harbor but now live a bit further away. Jodi lives

in Ventura while Jim lives in Sonoma.

Nothing seems too far for VanSickle. He might reach Ventura by

nightfall if he leaves on his bike this morning.