1955 Detroit Memorial
3 Racers Wrecked in 4-Boat Regatta Crash
Pilot Thrown —My Sweetie Piles Up Field
Gale IV Wins as Cantrell Takes First Two Heats
By Joe Dowdall
A spectacular crash involving a wild, pilotless speedboat injured a driver, wrecked three costly craft and gave racing fans an unscheduled thrill in the annual Detroit Memorial Regatta Saturday.
The crash came in the opening 15 mile heat of the Memorial as an unwieldy field of 10 unlimited boats scrambled for positions as they raced down the straightaway past the Naval Armory and into the turn near the Belle Isle Bridge at a speed of over 100 miles per hour.
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The crash came when John Ban, piloting Horace Dodge's My Sweetie was caught in the wake thrown by the three leading boats, Gale IV, Miss U.S. and Short Circuit.
My Sweetie leaped high in the air and Ban was thrown clear of the craft. The pilotless Dodge boat then hit Danny Foster in the new Tempo VII on the right side and the impact tossed it back into the middle of the course.
Bud Saile in Miss Cadillac swerved in an attempt to avoid a collision with My Sweetie. In doing so he crashed into the Canadian entry of Miss Supertest, driven by Bill Braden.
After the multiple crash, the wild running My Sweetie plowed into the rear of the 36-foot cruiser, "Shirley II," which was serving as patrol boat. That brought it to a stop and it was towed to shore.
After being hit, Foster took Tempo VII into the middle of the course and circled until he saw Ban come to the surface and wave. The veteran Foster then took off in pursuit of the leaders again.
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Ban was taken to Jennings Memorial Hospital where he was treated for bruises and a lacerated knee.
Both sides of My Sweetie were ripped open and the boat was filling with water when a line was placed on it.
Miss Supertest and Miss Cadillac also were damaged severely and eliminated from the race. The left sponson of the Canadian craft was torn off and a hole ripped In the left side. A hole was torn In the side of Miss Cadillac, which a week ago won the Maple Leaf regatta at Windsor.
Tempo VII, the new $20,000 boat of band leader Guy Lombardo which was making its competitive debut, suffered minor damage to the right sponson but was able to remain in the race.
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The first-heat crash of the unlimited boats and the later fatal accident in the 135 Class race dimmed the luster of Bill Cantrell's triumph in the Memorial in Gale IV.
Cantrell won the first and second heats and finished third in the final heat to roll up 1,025 points.
The veteran pilot was clocked at 93.729 miles per hour for the first heat and won the second at 92.028 mph.
Joe Schoenith’s other entry, Gale V, piloted by his son Lee, took the third heat. The winner was clocked In 90.738 mph. The Gale V finished second in the final tabulation with 925 points.
Back of the leaders came George Simon's Miss U.S. in third place with 825 points, followed by Such Crust III with 565 points, Tempo VII with 391 points and Wha Hoppen Too with 283 points.
--- Detroit Free Press, June 26, 1955