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Motor Boat Races Today |
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Dispute at Launch Races |
1908 Labor Day Races
Dispute at Launch Races
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Rain interfered with the races which had been planned by the Willamette Motor Boat Club for Labor day. Only two races were run and the third one on the programme was called off. The latter was the handicap event, and a large amount of protesting on the part of boat-owners against the method of the management forced abandonment of that race.
The Class A event, for scratch boats over a course of 9½ miles, was won by Otto Ranft’s launch Happy Heine. Barb was second and the Greenhorn came in a poor third. Bad steering on the part of the last-named craft put her well to the rear at the start. The prize for this race was the J. Wesley Ladd cup.
Boats in Class B had trouble and the owners each entered protest. There were five entries—the Comet, Kittie, Mercury, Rochester and Ethel. They ran over a course of 4¾ miles and came in in the following order: Comet, Kittie and Rochester.
Class C, a handicap event, was called off because of differences between club officials and boatowners. The handicaps were figured out on the showing made in tryouts by the contestants. The owners thought the officials wrong, and vice versa.
A fairly large crowd braved the elements to witness the races. They sought shelter spots along the docks and on the bridges. The first race held them, but they thinned out before the second event started.
(Transcribed from the Morning Oregonian, Sep. 8, 1908, p. 4.)
[Thanks to Greg Calkins for help in preparing this page --LF]
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