I found a notepad I kept. I didn't start taking notes yet for race coverage for my photos or a story. Harry Echols taught me a lot, but I didn't have any Journalism skills at all then. I used the notepad to record a brief summary of what happened at a race for reporting to the IRS.
This brought back memories. I don't recall what the trouble was with one cylinder in the A Konig, but I remember B Hydro very well. It was a surveyed mile and a quarter course. I broke out into the lead and was never challenged. I had a big lead, and was runnning all out. I saw Dan kirts go wide in the bottom turn of lap three, and as I was lapping him, I figured his motor was not doing so well and just making laps to finish. I took the inside track. Just when I got into the turn, Dan turned a quick left to hug the center pin and knocked me into the bouy. It was like he never even saw me. I don't think he did it on purpose, it seems like he just picked out a line to close on the center bouy and slide out on the exit pin. For some reason my motor died, and Dan kept going. I never mentioned it to him and I don't think he ever knew it happened.
C Hydro is self explanatory. A good race.
D Hydro I got a good start. It was a restart from Jerry's accident. Nobody realized how serious it was yet. I had a good lead, but on the front straight about halfway down on the second lap my motor started to vibrate very seriously. I instantly backed off, confused. I applied the throttle again and big time vibration. I sensed lower unit problems, but something was different. I had never broken off a propeller blade before, but that's what is was.
F Hydro, first up. Good start, big lead. Front straight beginning the third lap the motor just quit. Coasted to a stop. No sense or a fuel problem, lower unit OK...just quit. We had a 10 gauge stiff wire for a ground to the motor. The recoil of small waves echoing the wakes off the island made a washboard of ripples along the front straight. All that jittering up and down of the stiff wire broke off at the terminal at the motorl.
All rememberd from a little note pad.
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