CHALLENGES:
Does anyone know what has happened to Johnny Landaiche’s 150 cubic inch hydroplane The Belle, A-66? Johnny raced from 1952 to 1969 and this was his last boat. The Belle won 3 Nationals. Landaiche sold the boat in 1969 to Gary Fritz from Louisiana. His son Richard is trying to locate the boat or information as to what happened to it?
APBA member, John Fitzgerald of Rio Grande, NJ responded to the October Challenge regarding the 1972 Jones Cabover Mike Endres’ THIRD GENERATION/ 8 GREAT TOMATOES. John knows the boat and is researching for its current owner and location. The boat is believed to be in New Jersey.

EVENTS:
February 1  Detroit, MI: APBA 100th Anniversary Annual Meeting. Vintage & Historic Meeting scheduled for Saturday at 9:00 am.
June 19 thru 22  Detroit, MI: Chrysler APBA Gold Cup. Contact me if you wish to attend (941) 792-7554 or email: tomdeath@msn.com
July 4 - 6  Madison, IN Contact Joe Johnson (812) 866-8940 or email: drummerjoe_55@yahoo.com
Sept 5 -7  Grand Island, NY  100th Anniversary of Buffalo Launch Club Contact Bill DeGlopper (716) 773-6093 or squeegeede@adelphia.net
Sept 26 - 28 Wolfeboro, NH Contact Bill John (603) 569-6598 or email: john 1948@metrocast.net

REPORTS:
Race Boat Modelers!! The Boat Racer’s Reunion in Pomona CA, to be held at the NHRA Museum, June 5-7, 2003 is inviting scale model race boat owners to display speedboats. Open to all scales, whether R/C or static, it will be a rare opportunity for scale modelers to show their boats at the famous Museum and participate in the Reunion activities. There is no entry fee for this event. For further information contact: Bob Silva (707) 964-1711 email: hiosilva@mcn.org or Richard Parks (714) 963-2409 or email: rnparks1@juno.com 

BOB SILVA’S WEST COAST REPORT: 
Famed California race boat designer/builder Fred Wickens’ name came to national prominence in the late 1940’s following the racing success of his 135 ci hydroplane creations YANKEE DOODLE, owned by Merlin Culver, and TOMMY BOY, with owner/driver Joe Palmer. During the following decades Wickens was commissioned to design and build a variety of hulls from Limited to Unlimited hydros, PODH’s to Crackerboxes, flatbottom SK-racers to drag boats. In 1968 one of the last racing hulls Fred built in his Southern California shop was designed for the same class for which he first became noted, the 135’s (then known as 150’s).
Wayland Fink of Patterson CA contacted Wickens shortly before Fred’s retirement and asked him to build a conventional design 150. The hull was to run a Red Reeder-built Falcon Six. The engine previously set a kilo record and won a National Championship in Fink’s B Racing Runabout JO, 8-B, named for his wife Josephine. The new A-23, also named JO, was first launched in the spring of 1969 and it was a head-turner. Exotic yellow and black fiberglass cowlings, built by Jack Kelly, complimented the birch-skinned hydro. Wickens and Fink agreed that veteran racer Allen Ford of Concord CA was the best choice for driver.
The signature Wickens short-sponsoned hydro design proved lightning fast down the straights, but the 16-footer proved to be a handful in the turns. The first time Ford tried to broad slide JO into a single buoy turn over the salt water of Long Beach Stadium she hooked a sponson and went over. In an attempt to make the hull handle better, a decision was made to convert the A-23 into a cabover. The conversion made JO slow and ugly, sans her cowlings, and lasted for just one race.
Fink decided to accentuate the positive, that being JO’s top speed. Though fighting problems trying to find the correct “pill” to match the methanol/fuel injection combination, a kilo run was attempted at Modesto CA. The run almost ended in total disaster. On the first pass, just before exiting the timing lights, the Falcon engine blew. Although the boat stayed right side up, it sent Ford skipping across the water like a rock and left him sore and bruised.
Despite the kilo mishap, the boat proved to be stable at high speed; never showing a tendency for kiting or blow over and the team enjoyed some success on the big 1 2/3rd mile courses. The Western Divisionals at Dexter Dam, Oregon in June of 1971 looked to be the perfect place to showcase the potential of the 150 Wickens…SPEED! (The “old” Dexter 1 2/3rd mile course of ’71 featured long straights, unlike its modern day layout.) The top 150’s from up and down the West Coast showed, including the 83 mph competition record holder, LA CUCARACHA, A-67. The 3-lap heat found JO scorching the field. Riding in a perfect 3-point stance, its six 24” tuned exhaust pipes screaming out 8,000 rpm, JO was running 4 mph over the existing record. It looked like the Wickens creation was finally going to enter the APBA record books. Then, with less than half-a-lap to go…BAM! The two-bladed prop shed an ear and the shaft snapped the strut off the bottom like it was made of tin foil and bent the Monel shaft like a strand of cooked spaghetti. In a blink, Lady Luck quit smiling and so did the team of Ford, Fink, Reeder and Wickens, as JO fished-tailed and shuddered to a dead stop.
No doubt disappointed by the bad luck that plagued his boat and finding less time to race, Fink parked JO inside the airfield hanger at his flying service in the mid-seventies. The little Wickens sat there until the next decade when, after Fink’s passing, his son sold the hull and engine separately. Unfortunately, he is unable recall who purchased the hull and trailer. We’d sure like to hear what became of the last Wickens 150.

VINTAGE HOT BOAT OF THE MONTH:
Photographer Sherry Burkart captured the 150 hydro JO, A-23 racing at Dexter Dam’s Western Divisionals in this 1971 shot. Powered by a Red Reeder built Falcon Six and driven by Al Ford, the Wayland Fink owned hull was the last 150 hydro to come out of Fred Wickens’ So Cal shop
 

©2002 Tom D'Eath