1948 Cambridge 225 Event
Sieck's Boat first in Maryland Race
Cambridge, Md., Aug. 15 [1948] -- A Long Islander from Rockville Centre, Henry Sieck, whose red and white speedboat Pearl IV made a brave bid yesterday for the Guy Lombardo Gold Cup event here, today became the winner of the featured 225 cubic inch class race in a chain of happenings typical of this unpredictable sport.
Trailing 300 yards behind the best boat in the five-mile race on the Choptank river, Joe Van Blerck Jr.'s latest Aljo from Freeport, L.I., found himself suddenly in front during the second lap of the final heat. Aljo's motor had suddenly "froze" and the quick halt in its momentum twirled Van Blerck in a complete circle.
Sieck flashed past the Aljo, recently delivered from the Arno Apel Ventnor boat year, and could have won the event without serious effort, but he actually made it the hard way.
Misses Marker Buoy
Speeding at better than sixty miles per hour and partly blinded by salt-sprayed goggle, Sieck missed buoy No. 5 but apparently he realized his mistake as he roared past the officials' boat. Sieck then employed a Gold cup rule and completed an extra two-and-one-half-mile lap to insure victory and the decision of the referee, although technically this extra distance is not provided for in 225 class rules.
The scores gave Sieck a winning tally of 700 points, including 400 for his second heat triumph and 300 for placing second behind Van Blerck in the first heat.
In early morning flat water one mile time trials today, Edison Hedges, the Atlantic City barrister, gathered in a new world's record mark for his long string but also lost one on the measured course where times were taken going both with and against the tide and then averaged.
Using his Red Eagle in Class F for service runabouts, Hedges rung up a new record of 47-306 mph to eras the 43.012 set last summer at San Diego, Calif., by Regg Schlemmer.
Class E Mark Set
The Class E service runabout mark of 46.095 set by Hedges in 1947 was bettered in another mile trial this morning by R.A. Bondy of Grandy, NC, in Peggy, whose average raised this speed record to 46.753.
One of the other features of this afternoon's program of the Cambridge Yacht Club was the Eastern championships for the Pacific One-Design Class, the pitching and gyrating little race category that demands a high degree of skill and navigation. Henry W. Tieman of Wyoming, Del., captured the title on points with his Here's Me.
The defending champion, Ed Nabb, a local Cambridge entrant, conked out in the first heat in his Black Magic.
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Summaries 225 Cubic Inch Hydroplanes Division I First Heat -- Won by Aljo V, Joe Van Blerck Jr., Freeport, L.I., Pearl IV, Henry Sieck, Rockville Centre, L.I., second; Yellow Jacket II, Ed Barowski, Baltimore, third. Time -- 3:42.2. MPH 54.631.Second Heat -- won by Pearl IV; Aljo V and Yellow Jacket II DNF. Time 9:09; MPH -- 32.786. Total Points -- Pearl IV, 700; Aljo V, 400; Yellow Jacket II, 225. |
(Reprinted from the New York Times, August 16, 1948)
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