1957 Silver Cup
‘Life Guard’ Captures Silver Cup
Hawaii Kai Pilot Makes Diving Save Then Wraps Up Race for Seattle
By Joe Dowdall
Wiry Jack Regas won the applause, boat whistles and sirens plus the warm admiration of Detroit boat racing fans Saturday — twice.
Regas received a large ovation when he flashed across the finish line 1,000 feet ahead of Bill Muncey in the final heat when he won the Detroit Yacht Club’s 12th annual Silver Cup race.
But it was no louder than the one he received minutes before when he stopped his boat to dive in to the water to aid a Detroit driver who had been thrown from his boat.
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Regas and his Hawaii Kai had the spectators on their feet in every heat he competed. In the first elimination heat Regas and Mira Slovak in Miss Wahoo exchanged the lead six times before Wahoo edged Kai at the line by 100 feet.
In his next elimination heat, Regas and Fred Alter in George Simon’s new Miss U.S. 1 churned the Detroit River at a record setting pace for two laps, when Alter was thrown from his boat in the upper turn of the third lap.
Regas immediately wheeled his boat to Alter’s aid. Before his boat had stopped, the diminutive 5-foot-4, 130-pounder was in the water to rescue Alter.
Alter fortunately was unhurt and a patrol boat pulled the two drivers from the water.
The heat was re-run and Regas won with ease over Bob Schroeder in Wildroot Charlie.
That victory tied Hawaii Kai at 700 points with Bill Muncey in Miss Thriftway and Mira Slovak in Miss Wahoo. Thriftway had placed second in the first heat and won the fifth. Miss Wahoo won the third heat and finished second in the fifth heat.
— Detroit Free Press, September 1, 1957