WILDWOOD — A trip across the pond for the thrills of America’s famous roller coasters wouldn’t be complete for Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain without a ride on the Great White, Sea Serpent, or Great Nor’Easter.
On June 10 Morey’s Piers was the fourth stop on their “Stand Behind the Yellow Line” tour and the “first proper amusement park the group has visited,” said Andy Hine, Chair-man of the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain (RCCGB).
Hine created the club in 1988 to unite people with the same passion and enthusiasm for roller coasters.
He told the Herald that the main aim of the club was to unite coaster enthusiasts in a social way, promote amusement parks as fun and safe places and encourage parks and manufacturers to create and install new and more exciting and daring rides
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As of 2008 the club boasts 1000 members from over 17 countries worldwide. The average club member will have ridden over 100 different coasters, spent 8 hours in each park they have visited and ridden 40 times in one day.
In addition to its normal events, the club organizes trips to America on a bi-annual basis, with at least one coach load of “coaster crazy” folks touring the theme parks and riding be-tween 80-100 coasters during the excursions.
The age of members range from four-years-old to 90-years-old, said Hine. However on this particular trip the youngest member is 19 and the oldest is 65.
The goal of the 55 members from the GCCGB on the 2009 tour is to visit 14 parks in 14 days. In that time they’ll ride have ridden 100 of America’s most famous coasters.
“What we’re most looking forward to is the Great White,” Hine said, referring to the 100 foot tall, 3,300-foot long wooden coaster that takes up most of Adventure Pier.
After the group a few photo by the Wildwoods sign, some authentic English tea at the Star-lux Hotel, the group headed out for two hours of exclusive ride time on the piers.
The Sea Serpent and Nor’Easter got rave reviews. When it was time to ride Hine’s favor-ite ride here, The Great White, the roller coaster enthusiasts joked that “real coasters are made of wood.”
The club members filled the train for the first ride with many opting to wait for the second or third train to ride in the coveted front seat. With a chant of “Olly, olly, olly” the RCCGB was hurtled under the boardwalk down the Great White’s first hill.
When the passengers returned, their hair might have been windblown but the coaster received big smiles and round of applause.
For more information onteh club, go to www.rccgb.co.uk
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