Bob Carver & Eileen Crimmin

Select related article . . . A tribute to Bob & Eileen A tribute to Bob Carver

A Tribute to Bob and Eileen

By Fred Farley - Unlimited Hydroplane Historian

My hat is off in tribute to the "Dynamic Duo" of boat racing journalism - Bob Carver and Eileen Crimmin.

They were such a fantastic team! It's hard not to think of one without thinking of the other.

Bob took the pictures; Eileen wrote the stories. Whenever the Carver/Crimmin joint byline appeared on a magazine article, the reader could depend on two things: first-rate reporting and dazzling photography. During the decade of the 1960s, they were simply the best in the business.

They told it like it was--even when the truth was unpopular. For four years, they predicted that the erratic-riding Unlimited hydroplane Miss Seattle Too would someday go on its head. And it did--right at the start of the 1962 APBA Gold Cup on Lake Washington. And, of course, Bob was right there with his camera, clicking the shutter at exactly the right moment.

Carver began his race photography in 1948 as a hobby to prolong the excitement he witnessed as a race spectator. It quickly became a part- time business. Bob's ability to capture spills in the split 1/1000ths seconds of occurrence, as well as his uncanny depth perception enabling him to secure the proper focus, soon had racers clamoring for prints.

Crimmin, a fine photographer in her own right, joined Bob a decade later. They soon became partners in projects both related to and unrelated to boat racing.

This writer first became acquainted with Bob and Eileen in the early '60s. I was a green rookie, only 18 years old, and had a lot to learn about journalism. One early article of mine really blew up in my face. Eileen took the time to point out my errors and offered constructive advice on how to do a better job next time. Bob also encouraged me not to dwell on past bloopers but rather to focus on the future.

Bob and Eileen are no longer with us. But their legacy lives on in their contributions to the sport that they loved and in the high professional standard that was their constant goal.