The Washington herald., 1907-09-22
MOORE'S BOAT WINS
Gliding Motor, the Mae, Is
Beaten Oh Potomac.
COVERS COURSE IN IS MINUTES
Remarkable Performance in Contest
for the Championship of the Pc
tomac River-Winner 600 Yards IN
Front when Finish Line Is Crossed.
4 Large Crowd Sees Test.

Special t., THE Washington Herald
Alexandria Va. Sept 2l.-IH a dash at
top speed. evenly sustained from start 70
finish, the motor-boat racer owned joint
IIy by William T. Moore. George T. Pet
tit and r. +. Kelly. defeated r. Bruce
Emersoa's gliding motor the Mae on
the river this afternoon, thereby winning
what is claimed 20 be "a clear title 70 the
championship Of the Potomac.
From the wharves along the river front.
as well as from a host Of small craft>Ia
the liver. several hundred people wit
messed a thrilling exhibition OF high We
|iocity attainment in aquatic travel Lead
ing by approximately 50 yards. the motor
Of Messrs. Moore, Kelly. and Petit. COM
monty known as Moore's boat passed the
hnish-stake boat sixteen minutes after
the race began. Allowing one second for
time obtained al the start. over a course
roughly estimated al six and q half miles.
the winning craft made the distance
= % seconds sooner than its competi-
tor
OF material difference in construction
and appearance the TWO boats furnished
o contest in which inc usual type was
pittcd against a design embodying new
theory in higt-specd IocCm0tiou on the
water Against the Moore CRAFTS feet
10 inches in length. with IT 4-foot beam.
and propelled by a 24-hOrsep0wer Brow
.ucil-Treberl gasoline onEiuc-the Emer-
son craft showed greater dimensions in
length and width. at the same time fur
uishiug less motive power The boat
Z measures IS feet. has an S-foot beam. and
is supplied with q u 10 20 horsepower
Fairbanks gasoline motor. II IT, said that
under The rules generally governing mo
tor-boat contests NJ Emerson would
have been entitled 10 a considerable
handicap, but this was neither asked nor
refused, all parties preferring 10 have
the issue decided on an equal test Of
speed.
Better Boat Won.
With ideal weather conditions and no
mishap Of any sort occurring, there was
nothing TO interfere with either boat in
showing its abilities BY all concerned
the race was declared 10 be an abso-
lUtcly fair and clean performance in
which neither craft showed al a disad-
( vantage nor was done any injustice.
/ When asked after the race If ne had any
statement TO make. Mr. Emerson simply
said that the faster boat had won. He
disclaimed having any explanations,
. either of the hard luck" character or
4. otherwise. TO make in accounting for the
defeat of his racer in the contest.
Mr.. Moore said he was highly pleased
. with the performance of his motor. and
was especially gratded that 10 accident
occurred. in recent trial spins the craft
/ had been somewhat unfortunate in the
I matter of mishaps when running at maxi
mum velocity. In reference 20 his com
petitors motor. Mr. Moore said II had
made greater speed than he had expected.
Starting from a point a short distance
below Fort Washington at 800 p. m. the
boats raced steadily up the river, sweep
ing along an avenue lined on both sides
with pleasure craft. from which interested
/ spectators followed the conteuding Yes
/ sells. There was but little j0ckeyinE Tor
position when the race began. but the
/ Moore motor crossed the imaginary line a
. length ahead OF the other boat Both
made a beautiful start. dsshing past the
starters boat II top speed. Up the river
they came. churuing the water and keep
ing close together, while many cheers
/ went up from the onIo0kers for their re-
! speotiyc favorites. For the first mile the
I race was close although even in that dis
tance the leading motor had managed TO
/ draw away from the other, until 1t was
~ or % yards in the lead.
At the Finish
As both motors set low in the water
il was impossible for the spectators 10
see them. even with the aid of strong
glasses, until they had gotten up in the
vicinity of Fort FCote. Il was even
later before the crowd was able to set
a line on the relative positions of the
racers. But when they passed Jones
Point it was ascer1ained that the Moore
motor was in the lead. Finally the vic
t0Tious motor maintaining maximum
/ speed. dashed past the stake boat, the
winner by a big margin and the ac-
knowIedged champion of these waters.
/ Differences in the behavior OF the two
boats under pressure were observed by
nauy Of the spectators. Il was noticed
/ that the Moore boat ran somewhat more
1 steadily, varying little from the straight
course and showing little vibrations. Or
the other hand. IL appeared that the
J Emerson craft sat much more lightly on
the waves, seeming TO pass over the
water rather than 10 glide through. In
/ addition. it seemed that the boat osci-
lated slightly in tie general direction
and vihrated more than its competitor.
This latter condition, it is said. was ex-
planned in part by the fact that the
/ Emerson craft had TO contend with the
swells thrown in the wake of the leading
motor.
Crew Of Two Men.
If the course covered should prove 70
be fully six and q half miles, the victori-
Gus motor made the distance at a speed
representing little over a Is miles an
hour Each boat had two occupants. Mr..
Emerson operated the engine of his motor
. and the steering was done by George
/ Geusmer. William Moore directed the
operation of the engine of his boat, while
the plotting was in the hands Of Joseph
Moore At the starting point the stake
/ boat was operated by Thomas Chauncey.
who represented Mr. Moore. W f Hall
was the official starter and A. r. Peake
Yves present as the representative of Mr..
/ Emerson. The launch Olga. in charge Of
! &. IT. Smythe, was the stake boat at the
finish. Il contained William Bryant, the
/ official timer. T. F. Kelly, representing
the Moore motor. and J. II. Miller, repre-
| ssntjug the Emerson motor. The leading
/ boat crossed the lire I'm All
The Moore motor was built in this city
in 1868 by MeSSrs Moore Kelly. and
Petit and ii was launched I'm the summer
of the following year. II was designed
bv Frank Sanford. of Washington. who
drew the plans for the 1T" the fastest
boat on these waters until the advent
m.