happy & heart broken

[mayday51]

I have not been able to manage a run to Rene fo over a dozen years.
No air shows for quite some time either.

Yet, I find enjoyment from the sharing that does manage to come across this forum.

.......sorry to just ramble a bit....
...but "Guys" thanks again for sharing......it keeps part of me alive!

Speedy>>any old boat pics? (piston engine, so it is related)

Wayne>>Thanks for the base to roost !

[Desertdawg]

Re: happy & heart broken

Did you say old boat pics? Heres some I'll share with you.

[xmh53wrench]

Re: happy & heart broken

For anybody who has an appreciation for things mechanical, and fine art, the Lake Tahoe Concours D'Elegance Wooden Boat Show is a MUST SEE!!! Put it on your bucket list, you will not regret, and be truly amazed.

[gp70442]

Re: happy & heart broken

Wow. Mechanical things of beauty for sure.

GP

[wolfee]

Re: happy & heart broken

I fell in love with those old wooden CrisCraft boats at Tahoe as a kid. Thanks for the reminder, will def be going up this year with the game to see them.

[AirDOGGe]

Re: happy & heart broken

Man, it's like going to a water-bound Rolls-Royce auto show. Gorgeous hardware. Thx for sharing.

[spinner]

Re: happy & heart broken

Here ya go. Bill Harrahs old Thunderbird 50 footer powered by two P-38 momos with PT boat trannys. Still very active on Tahoe.

[mayday51]

Re: happy & heart broken

Thanks guys !
I do enjoy the pics, and like and fully appreciate the wooded "classics".

I was hoping Speedy would show some unlimited hydro pics ( I managed to give a bit of time/help with the Schoenith (sp) boys and other local Detroit boat people (Fred Alter & others) back in the day)

I was hoping to help connect the aircraft engined boats directly to the air racers (crews,mechanics, engine development...) any help in linking these together ? (not that hard....really.)

[Big_Jim]

Re: happy & heart broken

Okay, here's a few from my collection....mostly prints by the late Bob Carver. I've tracked down and hounded old drivers to sign them...unfortunately, well after Lee Schoenith and Wild Bill passed on. Low resolution scans, but some fun none-the-less. Hope this holds you over for a while. I have more if anyone would like to see.

1. Jack Regas driving Edgar Kaiser's "Scooter Too" in 1956 Lake Tahoe. This boat was powered by the 24-cylinder 'Super Allison'.

2. Jay Murphy driving the "Breathless" at the 1957 Gold Cup in Seattle.

3. Jack Regas in the 1957 National Champion "Hawaii Kai III" named after the Kaiser family's villiage on Oahu...which is still there.

4. Mira Slovak in the 1957 "Miss Wahoo" at the Lake Chelan race...the famed "Flying Wahoo" photo.

5. Col. Russ Schleeh (who passed away yesterday, ironically, after a long battle with alzheimers) in Bill Waggoner's "Shanty I". Schleeh was a famed Air Force test pilot who also raced a P-51 at the 1966 Los Angeles Air Races at Fox Field.

6. "Fearless Freddy" Alter in Jack Schafer's big "Such Crust III" powered by twin Allisons at the 1957 Gold Cup in Seattle.

7. The late Bob Schroeder in the 1957 "Wildroot Charlie", pride of Buffalo, New York.

8. Brien Wygle (who these days lives next door to Chuck Lyford up here in Seattle) in the fan-favorite "Thriftway Too" at Lake Chelan Apple Cup in 1958....leading the final heat at this point, only to strike a submerged log and DNF two laps short of victory.

[ShermB]

Re: happy & heart broken

Thank you, Speedy. Some fond meories of my Seattle days.
The only thing prettier than racing aircraft has to be Thunderboats.

[mayday51]

Re: happy & heart broken

Thank-you Speedy !

Is fun to see the alternate (Seattle vs Detroit) selection of boats.
There sure was quite the rivalry between the two sites.

>>my time "wasted" was minor "add a crew" on Gale IV,
Such CrustIII,IV...mostly....Towne Club and Miss Vernors got a lick or two also.....just basic wrenches and rag stuff (I was young once upon a time)

...ready to hear some tales of "cross over crew,crewcheifs drivers
(some of the roots of Reno derived from the boat guys,and would like to see the knowlge shared)


.....it's not alzheimers....it's nostalgia

[Big_Jim]

Re: happy & heart broken

...ready to hear some tales of "cross over crew,crewcheifs drivers
(some of the roots of Reno derived from the boat guys,and would like to see the knowlge shared)

Well, I had that article in the Reno program a couple years ago, but it kind of got butchered for 'space limitations'....But you're right, the crossover between the two cast a wide net. The way it was explained to me is that the actual genesis for reviving the races came on a road trip to the American Power Boat Association annual meeting in Ohio. Chuck Lyford and Bill Stead on a side-trip to the USAF Museum in Dayton just doing a "wow, it's too bad we missed out on all the fun at Cleveland", and it just sort of spiraled from there. Gave Stead the idea to take to the Nevada Centenial Commission.

A LOT of cross-over guys. Bill Stead, Chuck Lyford, Mira Slovak, Dave Allender, Russ Schleeh, Leroy Penhall, Dwight Thorn, Dixon Smith, Dave Zeuschel, Randy Scoville, Bill Kerchenfaut, Pete Law, Jim Larsen, Ralph Payne, Jack Cochrain, and many of others through the years. Heck, most of the administrative staff on RARA were the people that had helped Bill Stead run the hydroplane races at Lake Tahoe for a couple of years. And the reasons why Harrah's, Harolds Club, Smirnoff, Bardahl, and other corporations were even involved in the air races from the start were because of relationships made while racing hydroplanes.

But as a close friend of mine once explained it, it was a time before racing was 'big business', and 'racing' itself, no matter what form, was a common thread amongst all the guys. That's why the drag racing guys got involved in the '60's. I mean, how many people remember that Darryl Greenamyer was the guy that got Dave Zeuschel involved in air racing...by Zeuschel encouraging Greenamyer to race a dragster? Tis a large, tangled web.

Some more photos (I believe they are all Bob Carver photos from my collection):

1. The hated Detroiter Lee Schoenith 'stealing' the 1955 Gold Cup from it's rightful Seattle home. (Sorry...once a Seattle guy, always a Seattle guy.....even if he won it fair and square.)

2. Bill Stead running the 2nd Maverick at the 1959 Diamond Cup in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. Stead won the National Championship and Gold Cup that year.

3. Fred Alter in Jack Schafer's Such Crust IV at the 1961 Gold Cup on Lake Mead.

4. Mira Slovak in the ill-fated '63 Miss Exide. Later the same afternoon as this photo was taken, the boat took a nose-dive and exploded into a bajillion pieces, severely injuring Slovak.

[Box A35]

Re: happy & heart broken

Mmmmmmmore please!!!!

[Big_Jim]

Re: happy & heart broken

"Mmmmmmmore please!!!!"




Well, if you insist. Let's just skip to the most important cross-over behind the scenes one of all.....yours truly. (Sorry...couldn't resist.)

[Pylon Valhalan']

Re: happy & heart broken

A "BIG THANK-YOU" for these pictures! Brings back fond memories, at least of the sixties. In San Diego, I was in the car with my dad and heard a noise I can only describe as "heavenly" coming from the water. I kept after dad until we finally found a spot and watched the thunderboats. I remember even getting wiff's of the av-gas. Even at a tender age, it still shot straight into my heart and planted itself, where it will always remain. It would be the samething with Air Racing, only more so.

I love the "retro" demo's at the hydro races. Talking with most people, they all still love the sound and smell of the thunders.

Also, I'm wondering if you could help me with locating a brilliant water painting I saw years ago done by ?? of the thunders all coming around the final turn for the start of a heat race. You could literally stand back from this painting and swear it was a photograph!

Again, keep the stories and pictures coming!


PJ