1910 Vancouver (Washington) Harvest Show Race
Seattle Boat Victor
Seattle Spirit—Pacer II Wins Race At Vancouver
Portland Craft Has Engine Trouble
Course Covered in 38 Minutes and 46 Seconds.
VANCOUVER, Wash, Oct. 1.—(Special.)—The Seattle Spirit—Pacer II won the motorboat race at Vancouver’s harbor today, defeating the Wolff II, of Portland, which had engine trouble. The course was 20 miles and the time was 38 minutes and 46 seconds.
On a flying start the two boats got away at 3:20 o’clock amid the cheers of 2000 people. The Seattle boat was slightly in the lead, but in a few seconds the Wolff II had drawn alongside. The reverberation of the powerful engines was carried back on the strong wind for a mile, the Seattle Spirit-Pacer II gaining.
On the first lap the Wolff II came in more than a minute behind and it was evident that John Wolff, her owner, was having trouble with the engines. On the second lap she was four minutes behind and on the third lap she stopped at the judges’ stand. Wolff said that the first cylinder went out, he coming in on the other five. However, in a few minutes he had the engine in good shape and returned to Portland shortly after the Seattle Spirit-Pacer II finished, completing the 20 miles in 38 minutes and 46 seconds, an average speed of 30.9 miles per hour.
The fastest lap was made in 18 minutes and 55 seconds, or 31.17 miles per hour. The strong wind made the Columbia River rather rough, but this did not seem to affect the racers.
The Seattle boat was manned by Charles Binkley and E. Crowley, while John Wolff and Orth Mathiot handled the Wolff II. Commodore C. W. Boost, of the Portland Motorboat Club; F. F. Barbour, of Portland, and Harry Bancroft, of Vancouver, were the judges.
[Transcribed from the Sunday Oregonian, Oct, 2, 1910, Sect. II, p. 5]
(Thanks to Greg Calkins for help in preparing this page — LF)