NOTES: 
We received a letter from Ed and Dixie Sims. They tell us that Fred Wickens is now 89, in pretty good spirits and reasonably good health. Given “that my parts are wearing out,”as Fred puts it. We are sure that Fred would enjoy receiving mail or calls at (503)838-1110.  Fred still has three Wickens Whirlwind hulls, (condition: like pieces of fine furniture), that have never been raced. They have always been kept in dry storage. A 7L Hydro cabover, built in 1970, with a stock engine;  145L Hydro cabover, 1988, no engine, that needs the running gear installed; and an SS Wood/glass Runabout with a Chevy engine. If you have any interest, please contact Fred directly.

Art Asbury, the fastest Canadian on water, wrote us a letter. He really wanted to attend the Spirit of Detroit Thunderfest with his Miss Canadiana, but his doctors advised him against any lengthy travel. He is having additional surgery July 19th, on his neck.  He would like to rehash old boat racing stories, so if you get a chance drop him a line at Box 204 Dorset, Ontario, Canada P0A 1E0 Phone #(705) 766-2942. On a side note, Art is one of the very few recipients of the “World Medal of Honor” presented by the Union of International Motorboating.

Millie Foulke is on the mend and would love to hear from our readers. Her address is:  7124 Willow Street, Sarasota, FL  34243 Phone #(813) 355-6660. Millie was the first woman to run 100 mph in the history of boat racing.  She was known as the “Queen of Speed.”  Get well soon Mildred!

Steve Sharp of Baltimore, MD tells us that he enjoyed reading our article on Red Bank. He sent us a copy of a 1930 program from the Havre de Grace, MD Yacht Club Regatta. Guess who was the announcer? Al Bauer (deceased)!!  As a teenager this was where Steve got bitten by the racing bug...but it was quite a few years later before he had his own boat. Steve included a lot more information in his letter that we will include in a future Propeller article.

We want all our members to know and please pass the word, that we are having an Inboard Racing Legends of the East reunion at Hampton, Virginia on August 18th thru 20th. This will be in conjunction with the Inboard Summer Nationals. A guaranteed good time will be had by all. Legendary drivers driving legendary boats!!  Yo’all come...

CHALLENGES: 
John Henry Falk  from Hollywood, Florida has answered the challenge on Where is the Ghost Rider Offshore racer?  Barry Cohen of Florida owns the Ghost Rider. Glad to here that this famous boat is still around.  Ray Maloney of Key West, Florida is looking for his old Lauterbach 280 cubic inch hydro last known as Miss Key West formerly E-45 Bald Eagle.

VINTAGE REGATTA REPORTS: 
The Vintage portion of the Detroit Gold Cup Regatta was a first rate success. This was the first V & H event for 1995 season, which was highlighted by fly-byes on the original Gold Cup course. The Detroit fans really loved seeing these old race boats. A crowd favorite was Geoffery Magnuson’s IT’S A WONDER, G-88, which last competed here in 1939. Yours truly received quite a ride in this historic craft on Friday of Race week. The boats ranged from the smallest 135 class to the larger 7 Litre class hydros like the Bob Cunningham prepared beautiful Miss Chrysler Queen owned by Buddy Byers. We rounded out the program with a championship offshore boat. Former champion drivers to pilot these crafts were: Ed Barko, Ann Fitzgerald, Larry Lauterbach, Bob Lueckenhoff, Joe Tate; and IMSA CHAMPION and INDY CAR DRIVER: Pete Halsmer. Vintage Race Boat Members: Jon Bartell, Diana D’Eath, Mark and Nancy Edmonson, Bill Fisk, Skip Gabler, Ike Kielgass, Hall LeDuc, Geoff Magnuson, and Bob Walters. Static Displays were of Hayden Harris’ 7 Litre Sunshine Baby and Bryan Mitsch’s Vintage Outboard Display. These guys had a ball driving on the Gold Cup Course!!! We will being doing this again next year.  We wish to extend special thanks to all members of the Spirit of Detroit Association and the Detroit Yacht Club  for making this a memorable event.

BOB SILVA’S WEST COAST REPORT:      SKY HIGH HYDROS
 Bill Stead, wearing white flannel slacks and a white, long sleeve turtleneck sweater, stepped into the driver’s seat of the unlimited hydroplane HURRICANE IV. Next to him sat a man wearing a long, flowing woman’s wig. Stead fired up the Allison V-12 and pulled away from the dock. As the hydro sped along, Universal Pictures had their movie cameras focused on the bounding boat, recording the opening scenes for the 1953 film, MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION. Stead was the stand-in for Rock Hudson’s irresponsible playboy character, and his co-pilot was sitting in for co-star Jane Wyman.
 The above is a scene from Lake Tahoe’s diverse boat racing history. Crystal clear waters and sandy beaches, lined with tall pine and fir trees, made California’s Lake Tahoe one of boat racing’s most scenic race courses. Along with the majestic beauty of the lake, state line gambling was also a popular attraction.
 The races were given titles like “Mile High” and “Sky High” Regatta for a good reason -- Lake Tahoe’s elevation is 6,240 feet above sea level.  For that reason, mechanics were always challenged to find the right air-fuel mixture for their engines.
 Here are more scenes from Lake Tahoe’s boat racing history:
 After winning the 1949 Harmsworth Trophy in Detroit with SKIP-A-LONG, Stanley Dollar took her on a test run on Tahoe’s waters. The boat developed a gear box leak that sank her. She lay on Tahoe’s lake bottom for about 35 years, until being raised, and now rests in Seattle’s Historic Boat Museum.
 Several world water speed record attempts were made on Tahoe’s waters. In 1966, Bill Harrah’s TAHOE MISS, with Mira Slovak at the controls, made a 2 week long effort to break the mile record of 200 mph. They didn’t hit the jack-pot, but instead went home with an array of destroyed engines, parts, and Slovak left with burns and bruises.
 In 1980, Lee Taylor came to Tahoe with a rocket-powered hull in search of the water speed record. His attempt ended in ill-fated disaster.
 The California Speedboat Association conducted inboard regatta’s from 1953-1957, drawing top West Coast racers such as off-shore star Tom Gentry and his LITTLE MIXER, and the famous LITTLE RACKET of Jack Colcock from Seattle.  Both Eddie and Bud Meyer drove their AVENGERs there against the first 135 hydro to officially crack 100 mph, Buddy Holloway’s SCREAMING EAGLE.  The team of Keith Black and Richard Hallett’s FLYING SAUCER dueled with George Mattucci in CALIFORNIA KID for 225 trophies.  Chuck Hickling’s 136 hydro THIS-A-WAY, and record holders BLUE BLAZES, of Tom Caldwell, and Bob Boehm’s JERKY, raced on Tahoe along with Bob Patterson’s crackerbox HOT CINDERS, and famous engine man Guy “Red” Wilson in the E racing runabout SLIPPER-E. Unlimited chauffeurs Kenny St. Oegger, in Henry Kaiser’s HAWAII KAI, and Jay Murphy, in BREATHLESS, dueled for Tahoe’s Mapes Cup. Tahoe was also a stop for the Unlimited’s race tour from 1962 to 1965, and the Lake Tahoe Yacht Club’s flag was on some of those boats’ tail fins.
 August 10th through 13th the Lake Tahoe Yacht Club will host the Vintage and Historic Sky High Regatta, featuring exhibitions and fly-byes. It’s your chance to share in some of Lake Tahoe’s boat racing history. I hope to see you there!

Special Comment: We want to announce that Bob Silva is our New West Coast Correspondent and representative.  His address is:  P.O. Box 1443 Fort Bragg, CA  95437, Phone # (707) 964-1711.  Anyone with west coast information can either contact Bob or this writer.

VINTAGE HOT BOAT OF THE MONTH: 
One of the more unusual boats to race at Lake Tahoe was the Unlimited U-9, HONEYMOON. It was co-owned by Dick Davis and Jack Kalash, both from the San Francisco Bay area. The step hydro was 24 feet long and had an 8 foot beam.  Power for this 4,200 pound behemoth was from a Packard Aero V-12. At the 1953 Lake Tahoe Regatta, Kalash drove her to a 3rd place finish behind Stanley Dollars’ SHORT SNORTER (formerly Miss Peps V) and Bill Stead in HURRICANE IV.
Kalash also raced his 135 hydro RECOIL. The RECOIL was the former 1950-51 Champion ETHEL XX from the East Coast.
 

©1995 Tom D'Eath