Remembering Brownie: High-Performance Marine Community Loses A Great One
Earlier this year, Bud Lorow and Val Jenkins got a call that their longtime friend, Allan “Brownie” Brown wasn’t doing too well and had been told to get his affairs in order. The three were former employees at Cigarette Racing Team and had stayed close through the decades that followed their departures from the company.
During the 2020 Thunder On Cocoa Beach, longtime friends Steve Curtis and Allan Brown (right) caught up in the dry pits. Photo by Matt Trulio/Speedonthwater.com.
“Val and I went over to his house and visited with him,” said Lorow, who was a test driver at Cigarette and ran the shop at Hawk Marine Power. “A month later, I get call from Brownie and he called and wanted to know where to get some marine plywood to finish a boat he was restoring.”
That was Brownie. As long as he was vertical, he was thinking about multiple powerboat projects, whether it was restoring a classic Boston Whaler or building a custom red high-performance yacht that had taken much of his time in the past decade.
Brown died yesterday. He was 98 years old.
“Brownie was the rarest of human beings,” said powerboat racing historian and enthusiast Rich Luhrs who knew him for 60 years. “He could design, construct, rig, repair, manage, diagnose, improve, race, win and report brilliantly. He possessed the greatest sense of humor in the history of our sport, the greatest depth of knowledge and experiences, and without a doubt the greatest people skills. He was admired by folks worldwide without benefit of a major marketing effort and no inflated ‘brand building.’ He was simply…special.”
Brown’s contemporaries included the likes of Bobby Saccenti (left) of Chief Powerboats fame.
Added Fred Kiekhaefer, the former head of Mercury Racing, “Brownie was involved in so many boat projects, it’s almost impossible to do ‘Brownie’s greatest hits.’ His time with Don at cigarette was most memorable. I knew him as my competitor at Aeromarine as we sold many similar products.
I enjoyed his personality, but we fought for business,” he Kiekhaefer added. “He made us better. I will miss him.”
During his career in high-performance boating and offshore racing, Brownie also had a long stint with Clive Curtis’ Cougar Marine, which was based in the United Kingdom but had a shop on the famed NE 188th Street in North Miami, Fla.
“I have so many great memories with Brownie,” said Steve Curtis, son of Clive and one of offshore powerboat racing’s legendary throttlemen. “When I came to the states at 17, he really took me under his wing making sure I didn’t get into too much trouble in those crazy ’80s days in Miami but he also made sure I had plenty of fun.”
Curtis continued,” He used me as his guinea pig test driver and was always there to give me pointers and teach me from his vast knowledge of high-performance boats. He was a one-of-a-kind great friend and a true legend in our industry.”
Another legendary throttleman, Bobby Moore, had his shop, Bobby Moore’s Custom Marine on NE 188th Street and he and Brownie were intertwined in their accomplishments in offshore powerboat racing and performance boating for decades.
“As long as I can remember my dad being around the boat business, Brownie was involved at the same time,” said Bobby’s son and current Pro Clas 1 world champion throttleman Billy Moore. “I would see him a lot in passing, but I always made it a point to sit and talk with him because it was a respect thing and he was an old family friend.”
Even when Brownie wasn’t running boats, he still wanted to know what was going on in the performance industry and Moore did his best to keep his friend informed. Towards the end of his career, Brownie spent years working at Stainless Marine and friends would plan extra time while picking up parts to visit with the industry legend.
Brown was one of the driving forces behind the Old Friends Forever group.
“Growing up in the industry when I was younger, I always knew who the real pioneers were,” said Billy Moore. “He was one of the guys who was innovative and always trying to come up with something new.”
Craig Barrie was the president of Cigarette Racing Team during some of its best years and remembers fondly the relationship with Brownie. “We spent many years on 188th Street. I learned a load of education on boats, but a few things at night in North Miami Beach after work. There is only one Brownie.”
Veteran marine journalist Marilyn DeMartini remembered Brownie, saying, “He was my go-to-guy for any boat research and I wish I had written down more to record the things he shared. But mostly, I’d just sit and listen, trying to absorb whatever he cared to share. I’m grateful for all the time I got to spend with him, riding motorcycles, sitting at bars, all the OFF (Old Farts/Friends Forever) events.”
A New Generation
In 2018, Brownie published a book called “Tales of Thunderboat Row” that regaled his time at NE 188th Street and his adventures in performance boating and racing.
Steve Miklos owns and throttles the 29-foot Extreme, El Bandito Tequila/Sunprint, in offshore racing’s Mod V class. He met Brownie through Scott Porta, owner of Porta Products, which is best known for its outboard brackets. Like many enthusiasts, Miklos knew of Brownie, but he didn’t know the breadth of his accolades he read the book.
“I read his book and became a super fan,” said Miklos. “I had no idea of what he had done. He’s such a smart guy. He was liberal with his knowledge and just larger than life.”
Offshore racer and owner of Nick’s Creative Marine in Riviera Beach, Fla., Nick Scafidi said of Brownie, “It is truly an honor to have known him and a privilege to have had the opportunity to get to know him. Brownie was one of the few people who ever ‘got me’ for that was his biggest gift to me. I will miss you deeply my friend. Race in peace Brownie.”
For Scott Porta, owner of Porta Products, a manufacturer of outboard jack plates and other products, the relationship between two marine industry innovators grew over time.
“He had called me about a week ago to let me know about his upcoming birthday party,” said Porta. “He had been having health issues for months and told me he was coming out of it and feeling pretty good. Me, being the smartass, said, ‘Remember in the old days when a two-stroke would start running really good just before it let go?’ We had a laugh and went on with our conversation planning to see each other at his party.”
Needless to say, the party didn’t happen, but Porta remained upbeat when remembering his mentor/friend.
“What an easy guy to love,” said Porta. “Every conversation with him was an adventure. He was a real offshore racer when the tough guys crossed the finish line often with broken bones after at least 100 miles of pounding.”
Authored by Brown, Tales Of Thunderboat Row captures the high-performance powerboat world’s golden era.
At the end of those conversations, he would be wearing that wry Brownie grin that always had you wondering what he was thinking about—and then without realizing it, you grinned too
Editor’s note: An award-winning veteran marine industry journalist, Eric Colby covers offshore racing for speedonthewater.com.
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