Butch Marriott was an owner of drag boats for over 20 years. It was his passion in life.  This is the 3rd version of Butch Marriott's drag boat "The Mist" It ran in a class called Blown Fuel Flatbottom (BFF). Marriott, based out of Walled Lake, Michigan, had married Pam Miller in 1974.  He owned "The Mist" and had been racing several years when he met Pam at the drag boat races.  She and her brother Larry owned a Blown Gas Flatbottom- "Purple Haze." Pam was a widow with a 7 year old daughter Leah.  Butch, Pam and Leah traveled the eastern U.S. racing with partner Jack Henry and driver Harry Serra.  The Blown Fuel Flatbottom class combined nitro methane fuel in a blower driven motor.  The hull was called a flatbottom with cavitation plates on the rear that controlled the up or down motion of the boat.  The design was potentially more dangerous than it's counterpart the Hydro style hull.

"The Mist" is #109.  After many years, Harry Serra wanted to own his own boat and went on to be an arch competitor to his former ride. In this picture, "The Mist's" new hired driver Fred Odena is ahead of "Stage Fright" driver Hugh Jones.  While Jones was a rival in Blown Fuel Flatbottom, he was also a close friend of the family.  Jones later drove a hydro for the Marriotts' before owning his own Blown Fuel Hydro.  Jones was taken much too early in an accident in his Blown Fuel Hydro in London, Ontario in 1986.

A family favorite photo of what we always called the black and purple flatbottom. Butch always had a knack for keeping it the shiniest.
 Driver in this photo is Fred Odena.

Hondo boats were the top runners in BFF, The 1980 season saw Marriott switch from Sanger hulls to Hondo. After Odena had an accident with the first Hondo, he was unable to drive.  A new driver was hired, recommended by BFF record holder "Crazy Horse" driver Al Bush, Californian Larry Cowell became the new driver of "The Mist"  Cowell was a very colorful character, known as the "California Flash", he was easily spotted by his feathered helmet.  He had a great laugh and a knack for playing pranks. Here he catches the attention of the North Carolina crowd as he drives down to the holding rope.

An incredible photo of Cowell leaving the in-ramp at the track in Columbiaville, Michigan  Unfortunately, Cowell crashed the boat at the last race of the season in Litchfield, Illinois.  The BFF class was volatile as the hull style couldn't handle the type of horsepower the fuel motors created.  The class was banned across the country after many accidents and fatalities.  After Cowell's crash, the team reconsidered it's investment and decided to switch to the Blown Alcohol Hydro class. (BAH)  Cowell declared he'd never drive a boat with what he called "training wheels"   Butch often showed videos of Cowell to anyone who came to his home.  1980 was a difficult year as far as the two crashed Hondos but it was one of the most memorable and fun times thanks in part to Larry Cowell.

Charlie Little was the first driver for the black and purple hydro in 1983.  This shot was taken at the track called Oak Hollow in High Point, North Carolina
 

After a year (1982) in Blown Alcohol Hydro with an older hull, the Marriotts' purchased this boat, the very competitive "Final Effort" boat from Gordon Padgett.  It won many races and a season championship as "The Mist." This boat was the last one the Marriotts' owned, racing it until 1986 when they decided to move to Arizona.  They sold the boat at Firebird to a racer from Texas.

For the 1984 season, "The Mist" crew member Gordie Dollar took over driving.

1985 came a driver change once again.  Here's a photo of Butch with partner Dick Elsey and third black hydro driver Alan Northam prior to a pass down the quarter mile at Fanshawe Lake in London, Ontario Canada in 1986.

Alan Northam was a fantastic driver for "The Mist"  In 1986 he set and held the BAH record at Firebird Lake at 186 mph for several years.  Now the BAH run in excess of 200 mph.  Alan went on to race in the BGH class when the Marriotts' moved to Arizona.

10 years later, The family goes racing again. Butch always told Leah it was the best Father's day gift he ever got the day she purchased the 1969 Camaro SS in 1996. Radio control car racing had kept Butch busy for a few years but never in his wildest dreams did he think the family would be racing again.  Carburetors drove him nuts after all those years of blown motors.  This photo is from the first Friday night with the Camaro.  While Leah struggled to win rounds, it never seemed to matter to Butch.  He was just happy to see it run good and progressively get faster.  We had some great family moments when we started racing the car, just as we did with the boat years ago. 

Along with racing, one always picks up good friends along the way.

Butch was the "F" in team spirit for Firebird.

Butch Marriott passed away on Dec 11, 1999, a week before the wedding of Dan and Leah Collins.  He and Pam had just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on November 22. He spent that prior summer building a Nova with his future son in law.  While he was glad to finally see his daughter out of the house, he planned on keeping the Camaro in his garage. 
He is missed (or is that mist?) everyday by those who loved him