The Washington herald., 1921-08-28
By RoBERr EDGREs.

ng events vii, be the International
notor boat race at Detroit, Begin
Iing September :. when Gar Wood
yfI defend the Harmsworth Cup
hat he captured in England last
sear. This greatest of all speed re-
sattas opened yesterday. with the
irst heat of the Gold challenve Cup
acn, championship Of America, In
Fhieh the Gar Wood boats are COM
citing
Motor boat racing has been a
hriiling sport ever since the Hard
soiled Egg ran % miles an hour on
he Hudson, breaking worlds rec
,rds and completely flabbergasting
III -the old salts. who said no gas
iriven craft would ever run at the
impossible speed Of a mile in two
minutes
Gar Woods latest Miss America,
will go at least. four times as fast
as the Hard Boiled Egg. Gar counts
N sustained speed of about
hnety miles an hour averaging
nile in 40 seconds. II the English
,ontende-s can beat that let them
Iave the cup. II will take some
5eati-C
Gar has become \ national fig
ire in amateur sport during the
sast three or four years. when only
thirteen he ran a motor boat for
he government at Duluth. and
earned a lot about engines. He
loved the water. and whom he could
afford 10, he bought a small launch.
when Gar was married, he and his
wife spent their honeymoon on a lit
Tie cruiser of the chuS-chug variety.
Mrs. wood. by the way. is as good
sportsman on the water, as her
husband. and she can drive a cruiser
- a speedboat at record clip on
alt water or fresh, with tho best of
lie skippers-
Later, Gar Wood invented certain
-flecanicaI devices. which he now
manufactures in an immense factory
n Detroit where he has made
,uoUCh money 10 have all the boats
lie wants. with no limit on any detail
Il their outfittinE. He lives in
.1ttsEe At Al=Onac. next door to
'hris Sr~ith's boat shop. where all
Iis racers and cruisers are built un-
Ter his own direction.
Cars house faces the street. and
ne st Clair runs through his back
Tard Behind the. house ne has a
sovel sort Of a garage. In one side
v Il stands big car on a cement
7InwIy. the other side IS a slip in
%tiCh lies his famous cruiser Gar II
-EEich he uses daily as q ferry to
md from from business. A little
say dow 80 river Is a new boat
Ihop IN which his racing boats are
Inu!ed out when not tuning up or
.Icing.
For a man who loves boats this
Eould be hari to heat
Take. Sport First Hand
Gar Wood always drives his
'acers himself. and Jay Smith han
Hes his engines. Gar doesn't take
. ais sport second hand. The reason
1e doesn't care for horse racing is
that he'd have to let the jockeys
Z nave all the fun.
His first jump into big league
speed racing was as part owner
II the first Miss Detroit. which won
the Gold Challenge Cup at Manhas-
sat Bay in 1915. Chris Smith was
builder. After that Gar had Smith
build all his speed boats, and he
has won the Gold Challenge Cup.
championship of America. years
n succession, with Miss Detroit II.
Miss Detroit III and Miss America
Last year, having won everything
Eorth going after in America Mr.
Wood took his two racers Miss
Detroit v and Miss America. to
England II cost him about $1,000 to
ship his racers on n steamer. and
propsbly rot less than $4,000 in
Incidental expenses Everything had
20 be taken from this country, for
the English rules don't allow even
! stick OF wood to be used in re-
pairs unless IL comes from the coun-
Try the boat represents.
He had a stan of mechar les, all
sorts of spare parts. and everything
be could need. As Il happened he
1idn't even use n rivet or a bolt
or a board. for his two boats went
through trials and races absolutely
without any repairs-a thing
1nknown in speed boat racing be-
FORE.
The English defender. Maple Leaf
". was guarded with all sorts of
mystery. When Cars rter watched
trial spin, the English boat re-
Hred to cover. The American boats
we're run openly. and hauled out
where anyone could look them over.
5ar had nothing. to hide. When
he English1en asked him how fast
Miss America could go he told
Them. Eighty r.iles an hour. -h-y
tried to conceal their smiles. They
thought he was "spoofinE."
But Miss America walked of with
he race, showing a speed of I9
niles an hour-smashing all rec
:. is
Miss America had two liberty
motors. They were built for the gov
srnment to be used in war planes.
which after the war were bought
BY Gar Wood, fna overhauled and
equipped for marine racing by Chris
smith, who Is as much a wizard
With engines as he is with boats
In all the time trials and racing
n English waters neither boat was
)verhauled and there was not even
valve ground on any of the mo-
.ors.
The new defender built this
JprinR In Chris Smiths shop car
-ies four liberty motors in place |
II two. Gar Wood expects eventu-
lilly to drive a speed boat at the |
:eriAie rate OF 100 miles an hour. |
fIe has already gone we'll over 30
niles an hour. When we consider
hat five years ago a mile a minute
vas laughed at by the best marine
Irchitects In America, as something
90 chimerical TO be taken seriously,
his 10 something of a feat.
In the International Race at De-
roit. each country can enter three
Ooats. Gar Wood has three that |