WHERE ROOSTER TAILS FLY

[Music] burning a boat's not really common in Puget Sound neither are pirates Tibbits living and most of its fun to the sea so each year the boat and the Buccaneers are part of the ten-day splash of the Seattle area where there's water water everywhere hardly a drop that isn't being sailed on dived into swum through or otherwise festively splashed in every known form of aquatic sport all year-round [Music] hunting upon the salt reaches of Puget Sound and act up by the vast freshwater expanse of Lake Washington Seattle has over 192 miles of waterfront in the city itself it was a natural that her annual festival should be a carnival of the water a sea fair here is the city which typifies the constant challenge of the sea the city which conquered the waters for its livelihood and uses them for its pleasures for in this Northwest Country almost everyone goes to sea at least a little with over a thousand islands and thousands of miles of Puget Sound shoreline with an easy reach by craft of any sort Seattle is credited with having more pleasure boats per person than any other city in America during the seafarers feste of 10 days in August Lake washington plays special host to its annual sailboat regatta and the world's flatty sailing championships indian canoes sped through these waters long before captain Vancouver first dropped his sails in Puget Sound over a hundred and sixty years ago the waters of the whole Northwest were a way of life and a source of food to the many tribes that range this great Inland Sea then as now their Swift canoes were hollowed from a single long dead cedar log smooth and surfaced with timeless patience some even rigged for voyages to the open ocean there to hunt down and harpoon the great whales for over 80 years now the tribes have gathered annually to test their strength and skill on the waters to match their prized canoes and most skillful cruise [Music] down from Cookeville northward on the sound from Seattle sweep the war canoes still the oldest tradition of the waters that once belong to them - emission Wallops gadgets and Samish lemis and Tulalip the tribes of the Great Northwest [Music] modern war canoes of the University of Washington have become respected the world over since the Huskies adopted crew racing in 1910 under the persuasive megaphone of coach Al ulrickson the Husky oarsmen sweep Lake Washington the year round where their dynasty of leadership forms another inseparable part of Seattle's water heritage a horde of rugged drivers have made the annual hundred mile outboard marathon a new classic in stamina and staying power first run over 20 years ago the marathons have been a proving place for engines holes and fuels from which have developed much of a safety and dependability of today's out warding seven different classes now compete in the wake bedeviled hundred miles of this big two and a half hour marathon during which jumping Judy and fireball iron pants and little stinker and the rest upend more than a dozen drivers for the Coast Guard to fish out for downright thrill a second action the annual Sammamish Slough race is the best knockdown drag a mouth boat event of all time each succeeding year since its first running in 1929 has put a new premium on sheer unadulterated nerve 20 or 30 boats take over the sluggish little 13 mile stream known as the Sammamish slough which flows from Lake Sammamish to Lake Washington and has about enough water in spots to accommodate a dozen minnows comfortably it's the crookedest race in the world and the most exciting [Music] the chief hazards are half submerged logs or stacking ones boat on the beach are tracking up on a bridge somewhere along the route and they're pretty effective less than a third of the starters usually last the rugged chase and when somebody gets tossed into the drink and is in peril of being run over by the flying outboards the gang cuts throttle to fish him out before gunning back into the chase other branches of the outboard sport may make more speed on the wide open lakes and rivers but none of them give the beating that these slew jockeys undergo from the twisting and turning to the choppy waters and the wakes of rival boats and cramped quarters from which to operate they're plunging mounts and the all-around soap bruising discomfort of trying to cling to a bucking boat keep it at the top safe speed avoid logs banks and bridges and hang on for the full agonizing 13 miles to the winner goes a mere trophy and a bruise for every wave along the route not far from the rigorous outboard - the crew of the slow-motion four have spent weeks readying their pet for a new assault on her own world speed record set in 1950 her 12 cylinder Allison aircraft engine gets a careful last-minute grooming by the crew of mechanics who have helped slow motion for win more triumphs than any other racing boat is ever won with fuel tanks already filled the final topping off with Mobil Oil gets the critical attention that lubrication for this high speed engine demands [Music] crash helmets and lifejackets are required items under American powerboat Association rules today's attempt at setting a new world speed record fine Stanley sayers the owner of both slow-motion four and slow-motion five again at the wheel of the four with Elmer linen Schmidt riding his co-pilot mechanic two years ago sayers drove the same boat at the nearly unbelievable speed of over 160 miles per hour his three ton 28 foot bolt of lightning is ready water is right and from his home at Hunts Point on Lake Washington they start for the measured mile the slo-moes engine develops over two thousand horsepower at 3900 RPM turning a small two bladed propeller at nearly 12,000 revolutions per minute through a Pacific Western step-up gearbox [Music] all that power she'll run away from most private planes while slow-mo warms up official referee Mel crook and timer archery check the intricate electronic timing devices capable of accurate clocking down to thousandths of a second over a mile course that has been precisely surveyed and marked by boys the rooster tail is flying slow-motion for what a contrariwise name for such a roaring speedster it ought to be named Commodore rocket earth goodness knows what but slow motion this short sprint of less than 20 seconds running time is being run at the fabulous rate of over 185 miles per hour over three miles per minute but it's not just one - it takes two to make a record an average of the dashes in both directions must be taken to determine her speed the electric eye timing devices clocker as she breaks out of the measured mile [Music] in fact she comes from a northward rod the news headlines tell the story a new record of better than 178 miles per hour the fastest ever set by man on water biggest impact of the record run is held on the Detroit River homeport of many of the slo-moes rivals for the Gold Cup races coming up in Seattle and Gold Cup fever is always high through all the voting centers of the East Speed alone won't win on a closed course and the furious warm-up trials and civic send-off for the contenders indicate Detroit's confidence she can bring the trophy back down in Los Angeles owner driver morale and vice already sees hurricane four and shoves off on the 1,300 mile jaunt up the coast to make his pitch for honors in the annual Gold Cup race most pleasure boat enthusiasts aren't concerned primarily with speed like most of us they just want to enjoy the wide open highway of the waters cruise a little maybe fish a little drink in the fresh sea air and the beauty everywhere but for many of them there is one kind of race that brings them out throughout the summer sometimes over a course extending as far as Juneau Alaska these are the predicted log competitions where skippers must predict two minutes and seconds their arrival times that specify destinations while cruising at a fixed engine speed the tides and the currents of the sound are old companions to many a cruising powerboat man but it's still a challenging test to figure the tide and the compass speed and wind and drift together and estimate the exact cruising time to some evergreen clad point many miles away from the moment king Neptune's royal yacht slides into the government locks at Ballard August becomes a seagoing stew of racing boats and great good cheer it's Seafarer time the Mardi Gras and the World Series wrapped up in a sailor suit even King Neptune discards his traditional undersea attire to come ashore and take command and as he officially gives the word of the mayor that the sea fair is now underway members of his royal court including a few ex rulers of the deep are quick to presenting with another royal symbol of the Northwest dependence upon the Seas the Magnificent king salmon princesses and queens make up half the fun or half the reason for having a festival and the overnight blooming of a 24 year old secretary into queen of the Seas is still evidenced that America's most imitated heroine is Cinderella this year's English born iris atoms will be Seattle's Queen for the whole year but the seafarers a time for everything nautical there has to be a homegrown Davy Jones and Captain Kidd and his crew to challenge good King Neptune capture his princesses burn his barge and generally keynote the carnival atmosphere that turns the staid waters and streets of the Seattle area into a pageant of uninhibited excitement and color with real pop king Neptune's float leads off for no festival even a Seafarer could do without a parade so down through the streets of Seattle the bright ribbons unwind salmon's big business in the northwest and the big fish is the king fish during sea fair every parade must have its clouds the old stories and stunts are ever new really amazing through a child's eyes [Music] but it's the great dragon loom that captures Seattle enticed forward by the whirling Chinese dancer that speeds before it he his great head rolling and body writhing requires a team of twenty young men to keep him spirited a relief crew keeps pace with a hundred and two foot dragon to spell off the weary men inside loom was created in Hong Kong to the special order of the Chinese community of Seattle over 200,000 spectators stand a quiet sea till the 75 flow parade passes by race days not too far off now as the Detroit boats breached the Cascade Range through the snow follow me pass and head for the modern cup of gold despite the competing thrills of mile-a-minute wave hopping and mile-long parades the granddaddy of water sports puts on its showbusiness garb and turns precision pinups and springboard experts into a two-and-a-half-hour Broadway hit few racers ever topped the 60 mile an hour clip with which Bruce Harlan hits the water from the high tower their precision figures draw the applause but it's a marathon swimmers stamina that helps the 27 aqua tears as the intricate routines go on without a breather [Music] with sites like this new and indescribable pinwheel effect even the half mermaid half salmon population of the Northwest had to admit that the aqua Follies champions Katy rolls Earl Clark and Bruce Harlan could go the fish one better [Music] [Applause] Lake Sammamish the last few earthbound miles for the Gold Cup hopefuls not everyone can own a gold cup speedboat or even a cruiser or an outboard job but a pair of skis comes cheaply and all that's needed is open water and a stray rope hooked to a speedboat to make human hydroplanes out of otherwise normal people an old pair of shoes mounted so the feet can kick free just in case there's a spell and a pair of five or six foot tapered cedar blades take the championship see fair skiers at 30 to 40 mile speeds past wrongs that line Mount Baker Beach the good ones can ski for hours without ever getting wet except from the flying spray once up to speed it's possible to ski on just your own bare feet but the variety of possible substitutes is amazing there's even a water skiers Flying Saucer complete with spinning [Applause] [Music] other Seafarer activities speed on as the technical crew readies Lake Washington for the Gold Cup when the American Power Boat Association specifies a three-mile course that course measures three miles on the nose and the 19 marker boys are meticulously spotted the Gold Cup competition annually brings to the home port of a previous year's winner the nation's leading hydroplane this is the big one the Kentucky Derby of the boating world this year's running is the 45th for the old gold-bug technically known as the a PBA's challenge trophy Detroit wants his gold cup back and it's powerful miss Pepsi is the number one challenger with such rust for as the Dark Horse others can join the fun but the Gold Cup crews spend their week in the pits but this is a race where the best mechanics win these veterans know the gold cups not just a race a vote against boat but a rugged endurance contest where power plant and hulls strain under a grueling racking pace that pushes metal and would be on every calculated limit just to finish the race is a mechanical wonder there's tender loving care for the slow mo Forrest 12-cylinder engine and her volunteer mechanics know the old lady goes a lot faster with a smooth skin the day of the gold cover today Lake Washington's perfect racing water hosts 90 miles of furious speedboat competition three heats of ten laps each 30 laps around a three-mile course the to my log boom serves as a front row Anchorage for over 500 spectator filled crash many down from Canada and the far reaches of the sound vantage points on the shoreline and floating bridge hill early and before race time the official barge gets the news that it's hosting 300 thousand people the largest crowd ever to witness a sporting event they're all set to go today and a properly balanced fuel and top lubricants are the best good wishes they can take aboard the slow-motion forest fuel tanks drink just enough gasoline to last one heat it's a surprise to many milling about the pits that no special concoction lubricates her high-powered engine against the fantastic demands to be made honor but that a regular stock Mobil Oil has proven best to carry the load kept on land for inspection and fuelling the boats take to the air for launching smallest entry in the race with her 27 foot length Los Angeles hurricane 4 is reported to do 175 on the straight runs when a hydroplane like Miss Great Lakes is up to speed she's almost out of the water only the pontoon like projections on either side of the bow and her propeller and rudder are actually immersed to 12-cylinder Allison's geared to a single shaft power the slim 36 foot Miss Pepsi and have driven her 10,500 pounds to a new qualifying record of over 103 miles per hour Gold Cup Chairman Jerry Bryant and referee Mel Brooks give hurricane owner moral and bycel a few final words the best drivers in the world are here today Joe Taggarts got great hopes for Miss Great Lakes and Wild Bill Cantrell hopes to repeat his 1949 Gold Cup triumph Chuck Thompson will drive miss Pepsi Hart the fragile sayers and dollar hope the two slo-moes can push her to the breaking point that smile of mrs. dollar will go to tears and back again many times it's almost race time now even the press used to the classics of every sport tenses expectantly not much to say now not much to do a few last-minute precautions and it's in to the votes [Music] final word of the pit crews and they're off for the warm-ups and the starting line no time to worry now if such crust day-old engine is broken in Miss Great Lakes slow-mo for defending champ the slow-mo 5 and the roaring hurricane clearly visible a mile and a half away the 10-foot pie face of the starting clock starts the last 60 seconds under the bridge around the North turn boys the flying hydros roar toward the starting line this is the night you can win the race at the start or lose it if you're a second early and have to run an extra lap 12 seconds it's going to be quite 120 miles an hour it's easy to guess wrong the race is on slow mo 5 is over the line uh knows ahead of missed Pepsi and Miss Great Lakes the pre run dope that blue fragile and the five would do just that is panning out Pepsi and the fiver ought to run each other off the water the first five laps find each of them averaging over a hundred miles an hour Pepsi games on the sweeping turns slow-mo fall and hurricane snake goes behind slow-mo five picks up on the straightaways hopping 150 miles an hour the expert soon to have this to thumbnail battle is the greatest speed boat race in history [Music] leads the thing with the big ones it takes more speed to fight up through the wake of the leader in battle his rooster tail spray even it speeds over a hundred steering these mahogany giants is much like having a racing car here the big problem is staying with the boat end swapping is the big hazard on the turns turning a circle at these speeds could be fatal only for boots left now as they swing into the rough North turn warning Rockets leap as a roar and flash marked the exploding such crust his a tense moment as the speedy hydroplane swerves crazily hurling Wild Bill Cantrell a flame into the water ten seconds of the Coast Guard rescuer grabs him four minutes and he's ashore and safe the slow-mo 5 and Miss Great Lakes such crust and the Pepsi they're all dead in the water now from the unrelenting pressure and pounding the murderous pace of the wildest Gold Cup of them all just the slow-mo fall and the hurricane miraculously fitted with the dead slo-mo fives propeller between eats after throwing her role in the first heat the slow-motion four is still the one to beat hard into the third heat hurricane for trails by a rooster tail and comes whirling up for her challenge faster faster dollar and ISIL wind them up like watch spring so the hurricane hits her peak map of the heat absurd live Shaq hurricane for dead in the infield the ruggedness race in history's been too much for five of the votes to take when steel gears shatter and propeller shear drive shafts twist and blocks crack the Wonder is that men can bear the strain that metals can't there's no cheering yet the atmospheres grown tense no one speaks but the questions are there can the old lady do it can the slowmo for last out the heat or did the hurricane push her to the limit as the slow-mo five pushed Pepsi she's found the last hurt she's got the checkered flag she's done it again she's a grand old lady the slow-motion four and her second gold cup is a victory well shared with her youthful driver Stanley dollar and it shared in true traditional form by a wet mic Welch and his pit crew that did be impossible in the greatest test of drivers and mechanics holes engines fuels and lubricants yet devised three times in a row now has owner sayers had a gold cup winner but this is the big one it's a big one too for all of us who go down to the Seas and the lakes and the rivers and all kinds of boats for the rooster tail and the wake of the family cruiser have a lot in common the advances in hull and engine design may be the shape of a new propeller the development and testing of fuels and lubricants that come out of races like the Gold Cup means more pleasure on the water for us all it's a nice thought to have whizzing along