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Cantrell Captures National Sweepstakes Speed-Boat Title with My Sweetie |
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National Sweepstakes Regatta |
1949
National
Sweepstakes and Red Bank Gold Cup
North Shrewsbury River, Red Bank, NJ, August 14, 1949
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Wild Bill Cantrell of Louisville, Kentucky, drove Horace E. Dodge's Gold Cupper, My Sweetie, to win the Sweepstakes crown at Red Bank, New Jersey, August 13 and 14. To do this he had to sweep past some of the world's fastest boats and break the 1940 Sweepstakes record, established by Dan Arena driving Notre Dame, of 76.14 miles an hour. My Sweetie's speed for the ten mile distance stands at 87.464 miles an hour.
Cantrell's win was by no means an easy accomplishment, for competition there on the Shrewsbury River was stiff. The first day of the regatta he emerged runner-up (after being penalized an extra 2˝ mile lap) to Etta, driven by George Sarant of Freeport, Long Island.
Cantrell had beat the gun, so the usual four lap heat for him became five. Nevertheless My Sweetie's speed was such that she caught and outdistanced the rest of the fleet with the exception of Etta, and placed second.
The next and all important heat on August 14 was a different story. This time Cantrell led the fleet to the finish in 6 minutes 51.3 seconds, followed by Harry Lynn in Lahala and the Sarant entry, Etta.
The third big event was the Red Bank Gold Cup, and here again Cantrell drove the sleek My Sweetie to victory, attaining a speed of 82.080 miles an hour and heading the next boat, Sid Street's record breaking 225, Z-Z-Zip, by half a lap. Street had set a five mile world record for the 225 hydroplane when he drove Z-Z-Zip at a speed of 76.524 miles an hour earlier in the day.
Competition in the outboard classes, both amateur and professional, was heavy. A total of 283 boats (125 of them outboards) participated in this year's regatta, twenty-two more than in 1948.
National Sweepstakes
Ten Mile Heats
First Heat—1, Etta, George E. Sarant, Freeport, L. I.; 2, My Sweetie, William E. Cantrell, Louisville, Ky.; 3, Lahala, Harry Lynn, Lake Hopatcong, N. J.; 4, Sunshine Baby, Ray Gassner, St. Petersburg, Fla.; Blitz II, John Bogie, Saranac Lake, N. Y.; Tempo VI, Guy Lombardo, Freeport, L. I.; and So Long, Lou Fageol, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, did not finish. Time—10:03.2. Speed—59.662 m.p.h.
Second Heat, Ten Miles—My Sweetie, William E. Cantrell, Louisville, Ky.; Lahala, Harry Lynn, Lake Hopatcong, N. J.; 3, Etta, George E. Sarant, Freeport, L. I.; 4, Sunshine Baby, Ray Gassner, St. Petersburg, Fla.; 5, Mercury, Oliver M. Elam, Jr., Ashland, Ky.; 6, Spot Cash, Al Sunshine, Aljo, Joe Van Blerck, Freeport, L. I., did not finish. Time—6:51.3. Speed—87.464 m.p.h.
Total point score—Cantrell, 700; Sarant, 625; Lynn, 525.
Red Bank Gold Cup
One Heat. Ten Miles—1, My Sweetie, William E. Cantrell, Louisville, Ky.; 2, Z-Z-Zip, Sid Street, Kansas City; 3, Etta, George E. Sarant, Freeport, L. I.; 4, Tempo VI, Guy Lombardo, Freeport; 5, Aljo, Joe Van Blerck, Jr., Freeport; 6, Blitz II, John M. Bogie, Saranac Lake, N. Y.; 7. Sunshine Baby, Ray Gassner, St. Petersburg, Fla.; Bon Bon, Frank Dubester, Bayside, L. I ; Barracuda, Lou Butler, Zanesville, Ohio; Lahala, Harry Lynn, Lake Hopatcong, and So Long, L. J. Fageol, Cuyahoga Falls, did not finish. Time—7:18.3. Speed—82.080 m.p.h.
Total Point Score—Cantrell, 400; Street, 300; Sarant. 225.
(Excerpt reprinted from The Rudder, October 1949, p.9)
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