Den Leads Motorboats

Hoadley Entry Makes Fastest Time in Huntington Bay Races

Motorboats to Race Motorboats in Storm Den Leads Motorboats Race Week of the Motorboat Club of America

Success rewarded the efforts of the Motorboat Club of America yesterday in holding its scheduled series of races in Huntington Bay, off the Chateau des beaux Arts. A number of motorboats were snorting about the bay early in the afternoon, their skippers anxious to go over the course, but suddenly a stiff northwest blow set in accompanied by a furious downpour of rain. The waves in the bay were quickly churned into whitecaps, and the frail craft hastily sought shelter. Within an hour there was another radical weather transformation, and with the appearance of Commodore Joseph H. Hoadley, who came into the bay with a party on boars his steam yacht Nushka, prospects brightened materially, and seven boats were soon eager to get away. When chairman Charles P. Tower of the Regatta Committee and the other officers went out to the Nushka, used as the committee boat, the water was delightfully calm, and at 4:35 the starting signal was given.

The seven boats got off well together, making a pretty sight. Commodore Hoadley's Den, which was one of the American defending boats in the recent international race, was first over the line, five seconds after the signal, closely followed by George C. Sutton's Scioto, a long, smooth-running blue boat, and then came the New Haven entry, a brilliant red boat aptly named Red devil. The others were Artful, Marie, Durno II, from Rochester, and Gobang, and eighteen-foot, twelve horse power boat, run by the Chesebrough brothers. Den was managed by Edward Sherman and Charles Hinks, and made a fast run for the first round, 11 3/4 miles, covering the distance in 31 minutes 33 seconds actual running time, an average of 22.29 nautical miles, or 25.7 statute miles an hour. She did better last year, when she won the Hudson River race from New York to Poughkeepsie and return. On her second round Den broke her clutch, requiring over 42 minutes to finish the round, but she easily led all the others. As none of the other boats were equal to her speed the committee placed her in a special class. Red Devil finished first in Class B, but lost on time allowance to Aymer Johnson's Marie, while Scioto, which was the second to finish the first round, was disabled.

In Class C Artful won, beating Durno by less than a minute, while Gobang was disabled and had to be towed in.

(Transcribed from the New York Times, Aug. 8, 1908, p. 6. )

[Thanks to Greg Calkins for help in preparing this page —LF]

Hydroplane History Home Page
This page was last revised Thursday, April 01, 2010 .
Your comments and suggestions are appreciated. Email us at wildturnip@gmail.com
© Leslie Field, 2001