1948 APBA Gold Cup
Detroit River, Detroit MI, August 28, 1948


The Casualty List of 1948

bullet More Power to You
bullet Italian Speedboat Here for Gold Cup Race
bullet Italian Boat Lacks Oil for cup Tune-Up
bullet 21 Craft Entered in Gold Cup Today
bullet Entry Grid
bullet Foster Speed Boat Annexes Gold Cup; Lombardo Is Hurt
bullet Lombardo Hits Rules
bullet Editorial
bullet To Race or Not to Race
bullet The Casualty List of 1948
bullet The 1948 Gold Cup Regatta
bullet Mass Destruction at the Gold Cup

Twenty-nine boats were entered, by far the largest field in the history of the Gold Cup. Of these, fifteen started and two barely managed to finish.

Miss Great Lakes, driven by Danny Foster, squeaked through the three 30-mile heats and was declared the winner but she sank before they could get out of the water when got back to the pits. Miss Frostie, formerly Notre Dame, paddled around the course, was waved off for cluttering things up in the first and second heats and managed to putt-putt across the finish line of the third heat to be given second place.

Most spectacular smash came soon after the start when Guy Lombardo, driving Tempo VI, swerved his speeding craft to dodge the propellerless California boat, Hurricane. In the swerve, Tempo went out of control and flipped her driver high in the air. Tempo promptly sank and Lombardo was taken to the hospital with a broken left arm. He was lucky.

The casualty list of the other boats follows:

Sant' Ambrogio, from Italy, after coming more than 4,000 miles and knocking off a qualifying run of better than 78 miles an hour -- sank.
Miss Pepsi, Detroit, had a hole knocked in her side -- withdrew.
My Sweetie, Detroit, stern damaged. Beached in sinking condition.
Skip-A-Long, from San Francisco, damaged and withdrew.
Miss Canada, from Picton, Ontario. Hole in hull and rudder troubles. Withdrew.
Such Crust, Detroit, planks split, hole in bow. Withdrew. Established time for fastest lap, 68.4 miles an hour, and fastest heat time, 57.4 miles an hour, before folding up.
Lahala II, sank at pits in second heat.
Bee-Jay, a Detroit 225 cubic incher, broke down and withdrew.
Will-O-Wisp. Waved off course.

Pre-race casualties were 

Katy-Did of Detroit
Jay-Cee, of Cincinnati

both of which sank.

As George E. Van of the Detroit Times said:

"The Gold Cup race was a swell advertisement for sail boat racing."

(Reprinted from Motorboat Magazine)


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