1960 SI Article on the race

[SteveM]

Here's one I had not read yet. Excuse the repetition if this was posted already on the main site.
Great writing, makes you want to be there.
Interesting that the O'Day boat, probably designed by Ray Hunt is the boat in 2nd place.
50mph at 4100rpm, must have been a light boat.
http://www.si.com/vault/1960/04/25/5893 ... e-to-power

[Rawleigh]

Good article!!

[IRGuy]

Great read! Thanks for posting!

The very beginning of all our boats!

[Tony Meola]

I know Lilco used to Race, so Bob no offense but I think these gusy were a little crazy.

Great article though. About the best one I have read of the race.

[Pete Fallon]

SteveM,
I read that article when it first came out in 1960 , I was a freshman in Salem High School. I had met both Dick Bertram and Ray Hunt Sr. in 1958 while the Nefertiti at 12 meter challenger for the America's Cup was being built at Graves Upper Yard in Marblehead. At that time Dick Bertram was sailing on the Westerly or the Vim down in Newport, RI, I guess they were checking out the competition. If I remember correctly Nefertiti was traditional strip planked construction made out of cedar and mahogany. I used to take my 14' Amesbury Skiff with a 5 hp Johnson (RED & White engine 1956) from Salem Willows across the harbor just to watch them build a 12 Meter. At first the old French Canadian shiprights would try and kick me out of the shed, but I kept sneaking back in, so finally they put up with me, I used to bring them a dozen flounders I caught on the way over to Marblehead on Friday's. I watched the construction all the way to the launch day. I remember the day of the launch the harbor was buzzing with boats as she was towed to the inner yard on Front St. No fiberglass boats back then, lot's of Elco's, Richardson's, Matthew's and Down east style lobster boats along the harbor watching it being brought into the inner yard. Their was even a PT Boat that was owned by former Commander Alex Michuad of the Michuad Bus Lines. I still remember the yacht club launches completely decked out with the nautical flags welcoming the new 12 Meter, it was quite a show even for a 12 year old kid. A year later we moved to Miami and we lived in Coconut Grove across from the old PANAM sea plane hanger, my father bought a 1959 Goodyear 16' fiberglass skiff with a 35 Evinrude outboard from the dock master at the Dinner Key Marina. They only made 3 or 4 16 footers, I guess Goodyear Rubber Company decided that it wasn't worth getting into the boat building business. That boat had a modified V bottom with about 18 degrees of dead rise aft, It was set up with wood seating for helm and passenger and a full width back seat and a wood cockpit sole. I still remember that the Plexiglass windshield had a aluminum trim and it was made by Taylor Made, very similar to the windshields on the 20' Bertram Bahia Mar style windscreens. It was dark blue gel coated hull with a white boot stripe and a red bottom, we had that boat until 1964, my dad traded it for a bathroom tile job, just before I went to U of Miami in the fall. Reading that article brought back the felling I used to get running my 1961 31' Bertram Express with 454 Mercruisers, pushing the throttles all the way forward and feeling the boat actually leap on top of the seas, only an owner of a 31 can describe that feeling. Good article and yes you can feel that race through the soles of your deck shoes.
Pete Fallon

[SteveM]

Great story Pete. You were destined to have a 31 Bertram and be in the boat biz!

[Tommy]

Thanks for posting, Steve; yep, a great article about the boat and event that started it all! Yachting Magazine published an article the following year titled "Repeat Performance" where they chronicled the 1961 Miami-Nassau Powerboat Race also won by Dick Bertram and Sam Griffith in the Glass Moppie, a fiberglass production model of the 31 Bertram (the original Moppie was a wooden hull). The seas were calm this time, and they smashed their own record with a time of 4 hours, 20 minutes and 45 seconds. The B-31 legend was firmly established and carries on today. Thanks Capt. Patrick for keeping the legend alive on B-31.com!

[Rocket]

Pete, thanks so much for that story, how cool to be there and to be so interested and passionate, what an amazing time to be in that world with technology changing, but still very much a grass roots movement with wealthy amateurs racing in both power boats and sailboats and their crews were just regular guys with talent passion and experience. I bought up a few copies of that issue of SI on E-Bay, can't remember the date, I can find it when I get home and post it. Tommy, I would love to get my hands on a copy of the Yachting article, do you know the date of it and what was on the cover? My plan is eventually to put the stuff all in a man cave in a boathouse holding 2 or three Hunt designed boats, along with all my other boating memorabilia.

[Tommy]

Rocket, I don't know about the cover, but the date for the "Repeat Performance" article was the June, 1961, issue of Yachting Magazine.

[Tommy]

Rocket, I sent you a PM; email me at tdrake@intrex.us if you didn't get it.

[Rocket]

I saw it come in Tommy, I am traveling, so I have not opened the PM.

I am towing my Baron, my Sidewinder and an Opti from Ontario to BC. I can't figure out how to post a pic from my phone, I'll do it when I get to a computer because it's pretty good!