BOB SILVA’S WEST COAST REPORT:       PICKING UP THE TEMPO AT CLAYTON ‘98
The Clayton Antique Raceboat Regatta is a wonderful place to get together with racing friends and share the lore of yesteryear. This year there were 150 Vintage/Historic boats so it looked like yesteryear too!
 Being from the West Coast, I was curious to see which boats would represent the left coast hull builders. There were: a 1968 Chuck Hickling-designed Unlimited called Tempus U-17 in which Bob Schroeder took people for rides; Hal LeDuc’s 1968 Rich Hallett-designed 266 Opechee; the 1980’s Ron Jones cabover Don’t Tell Mom, and ....That's it! This was really Lauterbach land and it’s a great testament to Henry Lauterbach’s craftsmanship that so many of his hulls still exist today.
 A focal point of the regatta was Joe and Marie Frauenheim’s 1937 Ventnor Tempo VI G-13. Watching this old 3-pointer glide over the St. Lawrence was like taking a step back in time. I was tempted to put a sepia toned camera- lens filter up to my eye while watching her run. The wall-clock sized tachometer was a sight to behold in itself!
 Another Ventnor I fell in love with was the Juno G-12 owned by Peter and George Kreissle. This boat was built in 1937 to carry a 500 lb. bomb in its bow and fight in the Sino-Japanese War as a suicide boat. It’s fortunate for all of us she was never shipped out but raced as a Gold Cupper instead, setting a record for the 1-mile in ‘38. These two boats alone would have gathered a huge crowd, but there were more... A LOT more!
 I’d love to be around when Geoffrey Magnuson is ready to take his replica of Miss America VII for its maiden voyage. The hull’s measurements were taken from the existing Miss America VIII in Seattle. Magnuson is a stickler for details and I believe Gar Wood himself is smiling down on this project. Launch date is targeted for June of ‘99 at New Hampshire’s, Lake Winnepesaukee.
 George Greer from Seattle spent many long days finishing his ‘56 Lauterbach 280 hydro for Clayton. The very first test run was at the regatta for the Miss Havana E-54. The boat looks brand new. It’s a great example of what the Seattle Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum is helping people turn out. Greer is still looking for history on his E-54.
 Miss Catskills S-110, a 136 Sooy-designed hydro built in 1955, drew quite a bit of attention - especially from Bill Steinfield. Bill drove an identical 136 called High Society S-96 during the 1956 thru ‘60 racing seasons. The High Society frequently appeared among APBA’s Top 5 for National High Points.
 Bill Mehan of New Hampshire found himself a gem of a Will Farmer hull in Southern California. The hull was never raced, had no number, no name, and had never even been in the water. It’s a beauty now, named Tip Back S-50. Mehan had a blast running the Falcon-6, 145 hydro at Clayton.
 I met some really nice folks from the outboard ranks. Don MacDonald started racing outboards in Canada in 1928 and was Canada’s 135 inboard hydro National Champion in the 50’s. Jeff and Hal Lytle are a father-son team from Canada that won Canada’s High Point trophy in 1980 and 83, with the De Silva runabout CZ-1. Hal is “the voice” for the wild Grand Prix inboard races. Thanks to Larry Downs, owner of Ups and Downs, for organizing a historic group photo of all the outboard drivers in attendance. Charlie Young was part of a mother-son racing team. His mother Dorothy built a B Stock hydro for him out of Kelly plans in 1958!
 How do you find information about a boat you’re looking for or want to restore? At the races in Dayton, Ohio, Phil Kunz and Jack Hines displayed the unrestored Miss Peg 266, just as she came from the Louisiana swamps (minus the foot-long lizards). They received a lot of information from the attending racing fraternity who recognized the boat and provided many hard-to-find facts about her. Curt and Ray Schmidt of NY have been looking for leads to their ‘58 Lauterbach 150 Short Cut A-87 for two years now. They built a remarkable 1/4 scale radio-controlled hydro from full-sized plans and brought the little attention-getter to Clayton. They left with a lead that their boat was last seen running as late as 1990.
 It was great to see my Canadian friends Chuck Boothby and Art Asbury again. Getting to spend seat time in the Miss Canadiana CF-11 was a thrill for me, even if I did get pulled along at only .2 mph.
 Dave Pagano and Terry Morin came from Sydney, Australia to see the show (that gives you some indication of its reputation). Pagano said conventional hydros sit idle in Australia since only capsule boats are allowed to race.
 East Coast Vintage rep Bob Moore had a 225 called Little Buddha in as-found condition on display. Bob has quite a collection of old racing photos and generously shared them with interested spectators. Skip Gillam led an armada of Jersey Speed Skiffs (5 in all) with his HOPS-A-LOT. The Skiffs had no trouble finding passengers at the event.
 Gene Fleming’s restored 48 hydro Crosley-Schroeder was a joy to see. 1 of only 3 left in existence. It would have gone to the junk pile and Fleming not recognized it even with an outboard motor clamped onto its transom.
 Just how badly do owners want to make the Clayton show? Will, Bill Markey’s 266 Pokey still had tacky-wet detail paint when he left Florida. Looking at the F.I. Chevy in the 16’6” hull reminded me of just how wickedly fast that class was.
 Don Meroth and his wife brought the only boat garaged in California, Bill Coberly’s Thundershower. Meroth restored the ‘71 Lauterbach over a 3-year period and the Buick powered 225 is gorgeous. With Terry Turner there to drive the boat in flybys, it was a disappointment to find broken parts in the engine that kept the boat on land. Everyone agreed it was like towing to the Nationals and having engine problems. I’m looking forward to seeing flybys by this boat at the next regatta.
 It was great to see the chairman of APBA’s Vintage/Historic division Tom D’Eath , and his wife Judy. Tom was kept busy at Clayton not only running his own 1 Litre Lil Leprechaun, but also helping others sort out their rig’s running gremlins.
 Since the Clayton show is held every other year, the next regatta will be on August 17-20, 2000. And for the West Coast there is talk of a Vintage/Historic Regatta at Lake Tahoe in the summer of 1999.

BOB MOORE’S EAST COAST REPORT:
It sure was great to see so many old friends. We also made many new friends from around the world who are fast becoming old friends. When we first formed the vintage group, that’s what it was all about, bringing together old racing friends, and developing new friendships. A reunion of “old” boat racers gathering together to tell stories, swap lies, look at the old boats and on occasion go for a “leisurely” boat ride. Let’s not lose sight of that original concept. Let’s keep that basic idea. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” 
 It was especially great for me personally to see the old Tempo VI. Growing up in Red Bank, I remember Guy Lombardo and that famous “speedboat”. It was the Tempo, Sid Street’s Z-Z-Zip, the Sunshine Baby and the like, which sparked my interest in the sport which has so dominated my life. To Joe and Marie Frauenhuim...great job!!! But do you think I could get a ride the next time?
 Another highlight, the Jersey Speed Skiffs, great job guys...every time you went out the race fans ran to the docks to see you run. Pappy Seaman, George Wolcott, and Pop Russell must have been smiling from ear to ear. 
 The weather was ideal, except for the water of course. But we’ve learned to expect rought water at Clayton. It was much like some of the race sites we used to race on. Hopefully, Bill Markey can put a show together on Lake Alred, Florida in the spring. Bill assures me that the water will be perfect for fly-bys and his wife, Judy, promises me that the weather will be in the mid to high 70’s...
 A few negatives, however, that we must address if the Vintage and Historic category is going to grow and prosper. First and foremost is the issue of safety. This is an area that we must work on. It will only take one incident to put us all on the beach. The Vintage and Historic group is an APBA entity and therefore there are APBA insurance regulations that we must abide by. We are there for a good time, but we have to be more cognizant of our safety rules and enforce them. If you have thoughts in this regard, please let either Tom or myself know so that we can address them at the Daytona meeting. Judging, another sore spot. Let’s leave that to the ACBS. Instead, let’s try to give a plaque or little brass plate to every participant. A race boat is a race boat...period! Be it wood, glass, inboard or outboard, cabover or conventional. Just bring it out, show it, run it, or whatever. Come, have fun, enjoy the boats and each other’s company. Leave the politics out of it. 
 But, I still think an inboard hydro should have the engine in front of the driver, but what are you going to do, anyway. Clayton ‘98 is history, and as they say, “A good time was had by all.” 

©1998 Tom D'Eath