San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-01-28
YOU KNOW YOU
ARE TRAVELLING
IN HYDR0PLANE
Edgren Says It's the Great
est Sensation Of Speed
Taa in the World.
DESCRIBES HIS TRIP
Gets Thrills Dodging Logs
and Trying to Keep
Seat in Cockpit.
DESCRIBES HIS TRIP
By ROBERT EDGREN.

The greatest sensation OF speed III
the world is in a fast hydroplane driven
a.. inst a choppy sea, 30 mill out
from the mainland.
I've raced speed boats in inland wa
tiers, ridden in .irplanes that dropped
thousands of feet in air pockets driven
JOG miles an hour on a board track in
a racing car, gone down a mountain
side on skis, and done bit of about
everything else.
: / went down 10 ride in Miss Detroit
vi with Gar Wood in the deep sea race
around Catalina Island, off the south
, ern California coast We stood in the
h .ouse marking our course on a
chart. Gar hadn't taken trial trip.
when you get around the northern
end of the island" said a local yachts
man, you want to keep off shore 8
E,sle If there is any sea running. There
a thousand feet of water right up to
{ the cliffs. and il you break down, the
ocean swells will sweep you in on the
rocks in no time. They go straight up
mo beach or landing place. I've seen
waves break up those cliffs a hundred
feet, high. Don't hit and drift wood
along there!" :.
Chapman of New York will drive and
jaw and Bernard Smith will run the
engine, and you and 1 will sit in the
cockpit forward to keep q watch ahead.
ItIl be rough riding up there, but this
is one time we don't mt TO hit any
thing. 4 log might take the bottom
right out of the boat. Wed go down
in a minute"
"Fine!" l said.
Aboard the boat Gar picked up life
preserver and began strapping it on:
Going to wear that thing in this
big bost?' I asked.
You bet your life" said Wood. You
put yours on, too. And I've got my two
Teddy Bears in the boat for luck. Never
race without EN-"
Mystery Breaks Valve.
Coming to the starting line, one boat.
the Lincoln. struck a log and lost
propeller and shaft, being put out Of
athe race.
3 The rest started, and Frank Gar
butts Mystery, powered with two Lib
aerty motors like Miss Detroit VI, shot
away in the lead.
4 We. in Miss Detroit, took her pace
"a hundred yards to starboard. Wewete
looking for driftwood. The sea was
almost smooth, We lodged floating
kelD HOW anu I0eu. Il SllCk VI WV uAN
a bit Of floating plank ten miles off
sh re.
But the old Pacific was fairly clear.
Five miles from Catalina, Mystery,
which had been running like a sea
witch, cutting smoothly through the
choppy weaves that Miss Detroit
skipped over, suddenly sent up a few
puffs of black smoke and lost speed.
A valve had broken.
Gar Wood slowed Miss Detroit down
until he got a signal that Mystery was
in no danger, and we speeded up again
and went smashing through the tide
rip around Catalina's northern cape.
NJ High rocks rose from the sea.
q Around the cape we were on the
ocean side. For miles great perpendicu-
lar cliffs rose from the sea, the Pa
cific rollers crashing at their foot and
K tossing white sheets of spray high up
~ the face Of the rock. Above were Jagged
Z mountains, their slopes covered in
places with soft green brush, but fol
the greater part volcanic peaks and
ridges, like rows Of sharks teeth II
lava.
twenty-five miles along the rock wal
that Catalina opposes to the Pacific
far enough off shore for safety Mis-
q Detroit was running smoothly as thu
swell rolled under her. The ocean wa
lonesome place. Far out ahead, alont
in the race, we throttled down ant
loafed along easily. One steam trawlel
in sight to seward.
Eh Up and Down the Waves.
& Then we clipped around the southern
ecape and left the island behind. A low
brown haze of smoke driven by an off
shore wind obscured all land but tn
snow covered top of Old Badly, so mile
: away in the Sierra Madres.
/ 9 We took compass bearings and head
ed into the haze, which seemed to lif
Scontinually few hundred yards away
n Running ahead Of the big ocean swell
Miss Detroit dived again and again a
Tshe reached the bottom of the holloy
sbetween and started up the wall Q
! water ahead, but throwing great whit
walls Of spray on either side rose buoy
santly and climbed over the ridge, t
spiunge into the valley oil the other sid,
And then, suddenly, we were out {
9tbe rolling swells and in a chOpp
Nhead sea where a shifting wind ble'
against the tide.
Miss Detroit VI is a big boat 8
feet long, feet beam, high sided an
eight as a cork. The engines are we
T..
clianics sit squarely in the stern.
= The cockpit where Wood and / wei
is well forward, and Miss Detroit
light and buoyant in the bow. Rul
mig at anything over 40 miles an hou
Miss Detroit rises nearly out Of Il
water, sliding along on top like a SCI
-on frozen snow.
On the rough water she began
Jump. In the bow it was like riding
bueking COW pony. Wed leap oil
wave and drop three or four feet in
the hollow, only to strike another wa
rising and be thrown violently upwa,
again.
1t was impossible to sit on the sc
in spite Of a thick cushion. We we
bouncing up and down like kernels
corn pepper, sometimes thrown a
sideways and nearly out of the coo
pit, only TO come down ON the combi
and slide into the scat in time for a
other bounce.
] tried TO hold myself down in t
seat by gripping the edge Of a plan
Next bounce broke my grip and to-
some skin OF my hands
1t seemed as il Bernard and Jay h
thrown the throttles wide open as Z