1953 President's Cup
Potomac River, Washington, DC, September 20, 1953
From Slo-mo-shun V Invades the East
The President's Cup trophy race is laid out on the Potomac River. There were nine starters for the first heat of five, three-mile laps on September 19. The water was choppy with lots of debris, but with the Allison running perfectly Lou Fageol [in the Slo-mo-shun V] took a second place after the first turn and chased Danny Foster in Miss Great Lakes II until Fageol took over the lead in the fourth lap to win the heat.
The second two heats were on the following day. This time Fageol took the lead on the first turn and held it over the remaining laps. He was never pressed.
In the third heat Slo-mo-shun V narrowly escaped being wrecked. Chuck Thompson in Such Crust III took the lead, and Fageol was in second place. On the first lap, as Thompson cut over, Fageol had to choose between hitting Such Crust III or a buoy. He struck the buoy, badly damaging the left sponson of Slo-mo, and in falling back into the cockpit Fageol suffered a cut and painful injury on his leg. He kept the Slo-mo in second place for the rest of the heat, which gave him enough points to win the race.
Final standings showed the unlimiteds finishing in this order: Slo-mo-shun V, Such Crust III, Such Crust V, Gale II, Wayne, Miss Great Lakes II, Miss United States [Miss U.S.], Tempo VI and My Sweetie. Slo-mo ran this race at an average speed of 90.708 mph, a new record for the President's Cup race.
My Sweetie is a new boat entered by Horace Dodge and driven by Walter Kade. Kade was thrown out of his boat during the second heat and was picked up and taken to a hospital for observation.
The President's Cup will join the Gold Cup and Harmsworth Trophy at the Seattle Yacht Club. The presentation was made to Lou Fageol by President Eisenhower at the White House September 22.
(Reprinted from Sea and Pacific Motor Boat, Nov. 1953)
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