Two boats headed the casualty list. One sank, and the other burned.
Pak jockey George Henley of Eatonville, Wash., fought off a hard challenge by Howie Benns in the Miss Budweiser to win the championship head in rough waters and approaching darkness.
It capped a marathon day on Lake Washington in which delays forced the final heat back until 8:10 p.m. PDT, as the sun was setting.
It was the first Gold Cup for Pay 'n Pak owner Dave Heerensperger, who in 10 years of racing had won plenty of other trophies with his Eagle Electric and Pay 'n Pak boats.
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| George Henley in the Pay 'n Pak duel Howie Benns in Miss Budweiser in Heat 1-C of the Gold Cup Regatta on Lake Washington in Seattle. Photo by Bill Osborne. |
There were no injuries Sunday, but the U-95, the first competitive turbine-powered unlimited in the history of boat racing, sank in more than 150 feet of water during Heat 1-C.
In an attempted re-run of that heat, the new Miss U.S. of Detroit, piloted by Tom D'Eath, blew an engine in the second lap of the six-lap event, then caught fire and was totally destroyed.
In both cases volunteer race workers manning rescue boats around the 2½-mile course were strongly criticized by race participants and spectators who felt they did not act fast enough to save the respective boats.
D'Eath said the blaze which eventually gutted the Miss U.S. beyond repair started "as a minor fire" in a hard-to-get spot under the engine but rescue crews "were squirting it from 30 feet away."
"A $50,000 boat has been ruined because they had a bunch of chickens on the course handling fire equipment."
Despite the controversy, the Pay 'n Pak had a perfect day, winning three preliminary heats and the championship finale.
The Gold Cup place finishers:
- Pay 'n Pak, Seattle, driven by George Henley.
- Miss Budweiser, Lakeland, Fla., Howie Benns.
- Pizza Pete, Detroit, Fred Alter.
- Atlas Van Lines, Detroit, Bill Muncey.
- Kirby Classic, Seattle, Bill Wurster.
But the site was not as attractive nor as sprawling as the old one and the crowd was well below the 100,000-plus of past years.
Henley's victory Sunday widened the Pak's lead in national point standings over the second place Budweiser. He now has 7,000 to the Budweiser's 5,713.
Henley's championship heat victory was anything but certain for the first two laps. The Pak and the Bud were locked in a deck-to-deck duel as they roared around the course at speeds of over 150 miles per hour on the straightaway stretches.
At times the two three-ton thunderboats were so close it appeared the drivers could have shaken hands.
The Pak was pulling ahead slightly near the end of the second lap when it went up on on sponson and appeared in danger of bumping into the Budweiser. Bud driver Howie Benns appeared to back of just slightly at that point and it may have cost him the race. He never caught up.
Earlier, in the best single head of the day, the same two were locked into battle for 5½ laps of the six-lap Heat 1-C before the Pay 'n Pak pull away to win.
The sinking of the U-95 could mean an end to turbine-powered hydroplanes. The boat was sponsor-less and reportedly had no assurance of financial backing beyond Sunday's race. Now it appears questionable whether the boat could be raised from the lake floor and made ready to run again this year anyway.
A spokesman for the boat said over $500,000 had been spent in just developing the revolutionary craft.
There were other, less spectacular, casualties.
The Lincoln Thrift, which had the second fastest qualifying time during the days of pre-race testing, withdrew from competition before the opening gun. Owner Bob Fendler, of Phoenix, Ariz., said the boat was not riding smoothly and was potentially dangerous.
And the Australian Solo, representing the first foreign entry in U.S. unlimited racing in a quarter century, did not finish a heat all day.