1953 Red Bank Regatta

Red Bank NJ, September 12-13, 1953

Bartley, Lombardo, Camp Share Regatta Honors

Guy Lombardo Owned - Boat Wins Gold Cup

Sweepstakes Won By Bartley; Camp Takes Skiff Race

Big Race Winners—B. G. Bartley, Sr., (center) doesn't have enough hands to accept top trophies his son, B G. Bartley, Jr., won when he copped the National Sweepstakes race at the National Sweepstakes Regatta yesterday ot Red Bank. At left, Dr Antonio Gonzales Cardenas, New York consul general from Mexico, hands him the Miguel Aleman Good Neighbor Trophy donated by former Mexican President Aleman,'while Erman Boskey, commander of the Shrewsbury American Legion post, gives him the Legion Trophy.
Guy Lombardo gets Gold Cup from Commodore Joseph I. Irwin (left), and Longme Clock Trophy, as his driver, Philip Moresco, (right) looks on. Lombardo drove his Tempo VI to a second place in the first Gold Cup heat, and Maresca brought it in first in final heat. The Lombardo craft, which has won three Sweepstake races, finished second in the National Sweepstakes.

Red Bank — Burnett G. Bartley Jr. of Columbus. Ohio, Guy Lombardo, popular orchestra leader from Freeport, L.I., and Jimmy Camp, Jersey speed skiff skipper from Newark, share the spotlight during the running of the 21st National Sweepstakes regatta held over the weekend on the Navesink River.

The huge crowd which lined the riverbanks as well as viewing the event from pleasure crafts anchored around the course were treated to two davs nl exciting action which saw Lombardo completely outclassed on the first day and then coming back yesterday to sweep both heats in the big cup events. Three world speed records were also broken in the inboard classes.

Bartley Wins

Bartley, 28 year old salesman from Columbus, Ohio captured the national sweepstakes event, the main attraction of tlie program. Saturday, Bartley easily captured the first heat of this event by racing his speedy seven litre (427 cu. in.) class inboard 'Wildcatter" to victory in the III mile test with a speed of 76.478 mult. "Sagana 13", owned by Frank Foulke of Essex, Md., and driven by Joe Wolf of Reading Pa, placed second. Guy Lombardo a former three time winner of this event, finished third in his gold cup boat “Tempo VI". Lombardo got off to a slow start and never threatened the leaders. His boat seemed Io be operating poorly with his engine sputtering as he passed the official barge.

Sunday, after working on the Tempo VI most of the night and installing a new driver, Phil Maresca, Freeport, L. I., hoat yard owner, into the cockpit, Lombardo's boat came on to win the second heat of the sweepstakes by some Alft yards over Bartley's “Wildcatter". "Chaz" owned by Charles Klein of Atlantic Beach, N. Y., placed third. Despite Lombardo's great showing in winning the final heat of the sweeps, the second place finish of Bartley was good enough to score 700 pts. and the sweepstakes title.

Gassner Second

Lombardo came right back in the second heat of the Red Bank gold cup event, a 10 mile free-for-all, to easily out distance the field. This victory coupled with a second place finish in the first heat Saturday gave the band leader the title with 700 pts. Ray Gassner of St. Petersburg, Fla., racing a 266 cu in hydroplane "Sunshine Baby III" , finished second to Lombardo yesterday which gave him 525 pts and second place overall. "Sagana 13" driven by Joe Wolf, Reading, Pa., finished third overall with 400 pts. Wolf captured the first heat of this event Saturday after a terrific dual with Bartley, the sweeps winner. Both drivers took turns in leading the way around the course when with one-third of a lap to go, Bartley broke down and Wolf went on to win handily. Lombardo came up from third place to take second after Bartley's breakdown.

Wolf and the "Sagana 13" were the victims of bad luck Sunday

During a trial run before the program started, he capsized and had to be towed in by the Coast Guard. After inspection it was found that the boat was too badly damaged to continue thus putting out a powerful challenger for the two big cup events.

In the second heat of the Red Bank Gold Cup, Charles Klein’s "Chaz" beat the starting gun and was disqualified. "Chaz" actually finished second to Lombardo in this race.

Lombardo's huge Gold Cup craft seemed to enjoy the choppy waters Sunday which cut down the speeds of the smaller crafts entered in the big events. This seemed to account for his great comeback after Saturday’s disappointing showing plus the fact that he had his boat in excellent shape vesterday.

Record Falls

Jimmy Camp, 38-year-old toolmaker from Newark, N J., twice cracked the world record for Jersey speed skiffs in winning both heats for the skiff title. Camp’s powerful Dodge 8 cylinder engined skiff "Slo-Poke" averaged 45.023 mph in the first heat and 46.153 mph in the second to set the new record. The old mark of 44.510 mph was set by Ray Morris of Red Bank at the Red Bank regatta in 1950. Second place in the skiff races went to George L. Gerlach of Lancaster Pa., racing “Falcon”, the boat formerly owned by Morris. Gerlach finished second in both heats behind Jimmy Camp to score 600 pts. Third place was taken by "Yankee Clipper", owned by Frank Camp of Newark with 450 pts.

Jimmy Camp walked away with both skiff heats as he easily outdistanced a field of nine starters in the event National champion, Danny Ardolino of West Long Branch, broke down during the first lap of the first heat and could not make repairs in time to enter the second heat.

World records were set by the winners of the 44 cu. in. runabouts and 136 cu. in. hydroplane classes. "Yankee Boy" owned and driven by national champion Bobby McAllister of Longport, N.J. set a new world record of 44 280 mph in winning his first heat in the 44 cu. in. class, lie broke his own record of 39.770 mph which he had set at Cambridge, Md. Arnold A. A pel of Absecon, racing his "Kranky Boy,” a 136 cu. in. hydro, hit 56.675 mph in the first heat to break the world record of 51.814 formerly held by Richard Sooy of Pleasantville, N.J.

Keansburg Winner

A local skipper, Jimmy Davis of Keansburg, captured the 48 cu. in. hydroplane event by finishing first and second in both heats for 700 pts. Bob McAllister, the 44 cu. in. winner, took second in the class with 525 pts.

The weather was ideal for racing Saturday but Sunday found it just the opposite. Sunday’s program, slated to start at noon, was put back until 2:40 p.m. and then the outboards didn't finish up until close to 7 p.m.

The outboards were competing for the northeast divisional championships to gain berths in the national championships to be held at Biloxi, Miss, in October. These little "Buzz-Saws” gave the crowd many thrills during the two-day program. A lady skipper, Mrs. Dorothy Mayer of College Point, N.Y. mother of two children, took the midget class "M" outboard title by winning both heats for a total of 800 pts, in the first heat of this event, Don Whitfield of Verona, N.J., the two time world champion, capsized but came back in the second heat to finish less than 50 yards behind Mrs. Mayer. Another local driver, George M. Andrews of Matawan, N.J., placed third in the class “C” outboard event which was won by Ben Janowski of Glen Head, N. Y.

The 135 cu. in. hydroplane event produced some thrilling moments as these fqst boats skimmed around the course. The event went to "Who Dat" owned and driven by Don Wilson, Dearborn, Mich, who copped both heats for 800 pts. in the first heat of this event, "Miss Hypo," owned by Doug Brockman, of Cincinnati, Ohio, cut through the spectator fleet barely missing several of the boats.

At the conclusion of Sunday’s racing program, trophies and cash nrizes were awarded to the winning skippers at the marine basin, ncluded in the many trophies were four presented by the Mexican government. These were given out by the Mexican consul general in New York and his counsel-aides to the winners of the sweeps, Gold Cup, 266 cu. in. hydros and Jersey sneed skiffs.

--- September 14, 1953