1953 Red Bank Regatta
Red Bank NJ, September 12-13, 1953

Bartley’s Craft Red Bank Leader
7-Liter Wildcatter Beats Gold Cup Entrants in Opening Heat of Sweepstakes
By Clarence E. Lovejoy, Special to The New York Times.

bullet Red Bank Cancels Speed Boat Races
bullet Boat-Racing Peak Set This Month on Navesink and Potomac Rivers
bullet Bartley’s Craft Red Bank Leader
bullet Tempo VI Takes Red Bank Gold Cup as Wildcatter Gains Sweepstakes Title
bullet Red Bank Regatta
bullet More Power to You
bullet Statistics - National Sweepstakes
bullet Statistics - Red Bank Gold Cup

RED BANK, N.J., Sept. 12 [1953] —The script for any regatta normally calls for a Gold Cup speed boat or one of the unlimited class to beat anything in sight. But Burnett G. Bartley Jr. of Columbus, Ohio, departed from the script today on the opening program of the National Sweepstakes on the Navesink River.

Driving his Seven-Liter Class Wildcatter, powered with a Fageol bus engine of 427 cubic inch piston displacement, Bartley swept the river in the first ten-mile heat.

Bartley beat two Gold Cup entrants. These were the pre-race favorite, Guy Lombardo’s Tempo, Jr., and another boat, which, like Lombardo’s, had an Allison aircraft engine of 1,710 cubic inches piston displacement. In horsepower the contrast was more vivid, 1,500 against 350 for Bartley’s craft.

The best Lombardo could do in the initial heat, which will be followed by two more tomorrow, was to finish third. In the runner-up spot was a 246-cubic inch craft, Sagana XIII, owned by Frank Foulke of Essex, Md., and driven by Joe Wolf of Reading, Pa.

Bartley led from the start of the first two and one-half mile lap. At the finish Wildcatter was at least 600 yards in front of Sagana XIII, with Tempo VI nearly 200 yards farther astern. Another 266 class boat, Wee Tommy Tucker, piloted by Ed Aleksandrowicz of Baltimore, finished fourth and the other Gold Cup entrant, Chaz, was fifth.

Lombardo got a slow start, but even if he had led the pack he couldn’t have caught Wildcatter. Tempo VI was slow and sluggish, with a sputtering out of the exhaust and some black puffs of smoke that suggested bad carburetion.

In the closing event, a ten-mile free-for-all, the Red Bank Gold Cup, Bartley tried to repeat his performance and almost did. For four laps, he waged a close race with Wolf in Sagana XIII, but on the final lap, after he had lost his stern stabilizer and after smacking a turn buoy, he finally conked out and Sagana led the pack to the finish by 400 yards.

Lombardo took the runner-up spot, ahead of Ray Gassner from St. Petersburg in Sunshine Baby III.

Although to the crowds in Red Bank’s Waterfront Park and on the estate lawns in Fairhaven south of the Navesink and in Middletown north of the stream, the racing weather seemed windy, the water was reasonably good for racing. The little wavelets gave a sort of cushion to the speeding hydroplanes. Most pilots prefer that kind of racing water to a flat, mirror-like slick and before the afternoon was half gone, two new world records had been set.

Bob McAllister of Longport, N.J., who held the speed mark at 39.77 miles per hour in the class now called 44-cubic inch runabouts with his Yankee Boy, raised this to 44.28 M. P. H. in the first heat.

Another South Jerseyite, Arnold Apel of Absecon, a member of the third generation of a family of boat builders, won the first heat of the 136-cubic inch class in 05:17.6 for a new world mark of 56.675 M. P. H., apparently erasing the 51.814 M. P. H. record held by Richard M. Sooy. On the required inspection, however, Apel’s engine was found to be non-stock, and therefore illegal. His record will not be allowed.

The second boat, Sooy’s Double Eagle III, also beat the old record and on inspection his speed of 56.11 M.P.H. was approved as the new mark. Sooy, incidentally has been hospitalized for the past two weeks from third-degree burns received in the Salem, N.J., regatta.

In early heats of the outboards the diminutive Flushing housewife and mother, Mrs. Dorothy Mayer, captured the popular Class M, with a perfect 800 points. To accomplish this, Mrs. Mayer had to beat the national champion, Dr. R. D. Frawley of Pittsburgh and Don Whitfield of Verona, N.J., who formerly dominated this so-called "midget" class.

In the first heat, Whitfield’s boat capsized and then Dr. Frawley was flipped out of his on a rough patch of water. Whitfield got his outfit in shape in time for the final heat, in which he placed second, but the doctor did not re-appear.

Another double winner for 800 points was Ben Jankowski of Glen Head, L.I., in the powerful Class C. His first heat victory was as close as they come. The judges finally ruled that Jankowski beat Emil Mayer Jr. of Flushing, the husband of the Class M victor, by six inches. Mayer also was runner-up in the final heat, taking second place with 600 points.

Gil Petermann of Malverne, L.I., was another to have bad luck in the first Class A heat. This former champion turned over and had to take an ignominious "D.N.F." (did not finish). That ended Petermann for the day and he did not come out of the pits for the second and final heat.

Red Bank Regatta Summaries
(All Heats Five Miles)

CLASS A OUTBOARD HYDROPLANES

FIRST HEAT: 1. Ken Wolff, Buffalo; 2. James Campbell, Canville, Pa.; 3. Joseph Wotowitz, Hartford, Conn.; 4. Fred R. Spiess, Paterson, N.J.; 5. Richard O’Dea, Paterson. N.J.; 6. William Gardberg, Valley Stream, L.I. Bob Leach, Wheaton, Md.; William W. Guldin, Coateville, Pa.; Jim O’Connor, Buffalo; James P. Hauser, Tappan, N.Y.; Gilbert F. Petermann, Malverne, L.I. and Harry R. Dearborn, Indian Orchard, Mass., did not finish. Time—07:14.2. Speed—42.445 m.p.h.

SECOND HEAT: 1. Wotowitz; 2. Campbell; 3. Spiess; 4. Dan A. Worcester, Manchester, N.H.; 5. Dearborn; 6. O’Connor; 7. O’Dea: 8. Wolff; 9. Robert W. Thronton [Thornton?], Atlantic City. Gardberg, Guildin did not finish. Time—06:56.9. Speed—42.867 m.p.h.

POINT SCORE: Wotowitz 625; Campbell 600; Wolf 453; Spiess 394.

CLASS C OUTBOARD HYDROPLANES

FIRST HEAT: 1. Ben Jankowski, Glen Head, L.I.; 2. Emil Mayer Jr., College Point, N.Y.; 3. George H. Andrews, Matawan, N.J.; 4. Byron Shannon, Audubon, N.J.; 5, Vic Scott, North Bellmore. L.I.; 6. Rudy Reisert, East Meadow. L.I. Ken W. Thronton [Thornton?], Atlantic City, and Ken Wolff, Buffalo, did not finish. Speed—52.925 m.p.h.

SECOND HEAT: 1. Jankowski; 2. Mayer; 3. Andrews; 4. Dean A. Worcester, Manchester. N.H.; 5. Victor C. Bieda, Buffalo; 6. Scott; 7. Reisert. Shannon did not finish. Time—5:40.4; Speed—54.480 m.p.h.

POINT SCORE: Jankowski 800; Mayer 600; Andrews 450; Scott 222.

CLASS M OUTBOARD HYDROPLANES

FIRST HEAT: 1. Mrs. Dorothy Mayer, College Point. N.Y.; 2. Steve A. Gaal, Garfield, N.J.; 3. Mrs. Jane H. Bartlett, Little Silver, N.J.; 4. Bruno Pierguidi, North Bergen, N.J. 5. Marston Grevatt, Montclair, N.J.; 6. Paul J. Birbarie, Branford, Conn. Jim Bosland, Packanack Lake. N.J., disqualified. Dr. R. D. Frawley, Dravosburg, Pa., Don Whitfield, Verana, N.J., and Richard M. De Bree, New York, did not finish. Time—8:43.1. Speed—34.418 m.p.h.

SECOND HEAT. 1. Mrs. Mayer; 2. Whitfield; 3. Pierguidi; 4. Birbarie; 5. Joe Berletic, McKeesport, Pa.; 6. Grevatt; 7. Bosland; 8. Mrs. Bartlett; 9. De Bree. H. A. Cislo, Dravosburg, Pa., did not finish. Time—8:39.1. Speed—34.674 m.p.h.

POINT SCORE: Mrs. Mayer 800; Pierguidi 394; Whitfield 300; Gaal 300.

266-CUBIC-INCH HYDROPLANES

FIRST HEAT: 1. Sunshine Baby III, Ray Gassner, St. Petersburg. Fla.; 2. Sagana XIII, Joe Wolf, Reading. Pa.; 3. Mar-Vel, W. Curtis Martens, Hampton. Va. Wee Tommy Tucker, Ed. A. Aleksandrowicz, Baltimore, disqualified. Time—3:55.9. Speed—75.032 m.p.h.

136-CUBIC INCH HYDROPLANES

FIRST HEAT: 1. Kranky Boy, Arnold A. Apel, Absecon. N.J.; 2. Double Eagle III, Richard M. Sooy, Pleasantville. N.J.; 3. Maggie X, Jack Cook. Marydel. Md.; 4. Wee Mite, Wallace M. Rowland, Elkton, Md.; 5. No. 711, George W. Cooper, Portsmouth. Va.; 6. Lil Red II, Stanley H. Jones, St. Michael’s. Md.; 7. Kilowatt Kid, W. Spence Brown, Pleasantville, N.J.; 8. Cold Rod, Ed Carhart, Vineland. N.J.; 9. Little Hope, Johnny Rex, Delmar. N.Y. Time—5:17.6. Speed—56.675 m.p.h. (new world record).

SECOND HEAT: 1. Apel; 2. Maggie, Glen Coot, Wyoming, Del.; 3. Sooy; 4. Cooper; 5. Carhart; 6. Brown; 7. Rex. Time—05:30.9. Speed—54.399 mph.

POINT SCORE: Apel 800; Sooy 525; Cool 525; Cooper 396.

44-CUBIC INCH RUNABOUTS

FIRST HEAT: 1. Yankee Boy, Bob McAllister, Longport, N.J.; 2. Ballerina, Mark Roberts, Washington: 3. Ciba, C. A. Van Tassel, York. Pa.; 4. Shaky, Bill Shuey, Baltimore; 5. My Gal, A. K. Souders, New Cumberland, Pa. 6. Pocoloco, Dick Kell, Baltimore: 7. Thunder Mug, Horace E. Burgard, York. Pa.; 8. Smokey, Alfred D. Cardillo, Pittsburgh. Jr. 2d, E. B. Davidson, Tampa, Fla., did not finish. Time—06:46.5. Speed—44.280 m.p.h. (new world record).

SECOND HEAT: 1. McAllister; 2. My Joe, Frank Buck Jr., Menden Hall, Pa.; 3. Souders; 4. Roberts; 5. Van Tassel; 6, Burgard; 7. Cardillo. Shaky, Bill Shuey; Pocoloco, Dick Kell, and Craw Bait, Edward Tomaini, Long Branch. N.J., did not finish. Time—07:29.9. Speed—40.009 m.p.h.

POINT SCORE: McAllister 800; Roberts 469; Souders 352; Van Tassel 352.

48-CUBIC INCH HYDROPLANES

FIRST HEAT: 1. Jim Boy III, T. C. Bain, Norfolk, Va.: 2. Me-Teen-Ta Too, Jimmy Davis, Keansburg. N.J.; 3. Dragon Jr., Bob McAllister, Longport, N.J.; 4. Lauderback, F. C. Moor, Miami. Fla.; 5. Skitter Bug, Charles Strickland Jr., Beach Haven. N.J.; 6. Hi-Toots II, Russ Hawk, Enola, Pa. Jacwal, F. B. Wells, New Castle, Del., disqualified. Time—05:19.8. Speed—56.285 m.p.h.

COND HEAT: 1. Davis; 2. McAllister; 3. Moor; 4. Hawk; 5. Strickland. Bain did not finish. Time—05:32.8. Speed—54.087 m.p.h.

POINT SCORE—Davis 700; McAllister 525; Bain 400: Moor 394.

NATIONAL SWEEPSTAKES

FIRST HEAT, TEN MILES: 1. Wildcatter, Burnett G. Bartley Jr., Columbus, Ohio; 2. Sagana XIII, Joe Wolf, Reading. Pa.; 3. Tempo VI, Guy Lombardo, Freeport. L.I.; 4. Wee Tommy Tucker, Ed A. Aleksandrowicz, Baltimore; 5. Chaz, Charles Klein, Atlantic Beach. N.Y.; 6. Sunshine Baby III, Ray Gassner, St. Petersburg, Fla. Time—07:50.7. Speed—76.478 m.p.h.

RED BANK GOLD CUP

FIRST HEAT, TEN MILES: 1. Sagana XIII, Joe Wolf, Reading. Pa.; 2. Tempo VI, Guy Lombardo, Freeport, L.I.; 3. Sunshine Baby III, Ray Gassner, St. Petersburg, Fla.; 4. Gangway, B. G. Bartley Sr., Pittsburgh: 5. Chas, Charles Klein. Atlantic Beach, L.I. Fo Mo Co Kid, Stuart A. Wilson, Dearborn, Mich. and Wildcatter, B. G. Hartley Jr., Columbus, Ohio, did not finish. Time—8:08.1. Speed—73.764 mph.

[Reprinted from the New York Times, September 13, 1953]

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