Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum

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1951 Gold Cup Remembered

By Fred Farley - Unlimited Hydroplae Historian

The first West Coast Unlimited hydroplane race to count for APBA National Points was the 1951 APBA Gold Cup on Seattle's Lake Washington. SLO-MO-SHUN IV had won the 1950 Gold Cup in Detroit and had earned the right to defend her title on home waters, as per the then-current rules.

SLO-MO-SHUN V emerged victorious in 1951 with Lou Fageol at the wheel. SLO-MO V set a world lap speed record of 108 miles per hour on the first lap of the first heat. The race was declared a contest on the basis of two completed 30-mile heats on a 3-mile course, after the fatal accident involving QUICKSILVER, a Rolls- Royce Merlin-powered step hydroplane from Portland, Oregon.

Also in attendance that first year in Seattle were MISS PEPSI, GALE II, MY SWEETIE, HORNET, SUCH CRUST, and GOLD'N CRUST from Detroit, HURRICANE IV from Los Angeles, and DEE-JAY V from Philadelphia.

Upon arrival in Seattle, the veteran Unlimited participants found themselves, to their surprise, to be the subject of a barrage of press, radio, and television interviews--more mass media exposure than they had dreamed possible. (This was in the days before there were any Seahawks, Sonics, or Mariners in the environs of Seattle.)

With a heavy emphasis on the spirited Seattle-Detroit rivalry for possession of the Gold Cup, a sport that had previously been little more than a rich man's hobby was thrust into the spotlight. For the next decade, any threat from the Detroit contingent--or any other out-of-town challenger--to wrest the Gold Cup from Seattle's grasp was a matter of civic nervousness and economic concern to the Pacific Northwest metropolis.

The 1951 Gold Cup was the start of a competitive tradition on Lake Washington that continues to this day. After 51 years, only Detroit, Michigan, and Madison, Indiana, have hosted Unlimited races longer than Seattle.

More on the 1951 Gold Cup!

Fred Farley writes...

I received the following note from Ernie Dossin III, whose family owned the MISS PEPSI racing team from 1947 to 1956:

"I remember my Dad talking about the trip West (to Seattle) with the boats. SUCH CRUST, MY SWEETIE, and our MISS PEPSI all traveled together.

It took a week to get the boats there, and the trek over the mountains was slow, dry, and hot. They had a car that they would use to go ahead and have a meal and wait for the caravan to catch up.

Going over the mountains, they were often only able to go 4 mph for miles on end.

When they finally got there, Dad said that the boats were a mess, dried out with dust over everything.

I know that when MISS PEPSI got back to Detroit, Dad and (driver) Chuck (Thompson) had it sent immediately to Les Staudacher's shop to be refinished and to have the hull tightened. Dad said that Les had to do some serious realigning of the hull to get it back in shape."

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