Evening star., 1939-05-28
Could Flock Trophies
In Summer Meets
With Ednandy
Acceptance Of Proposal
Would Make Him First
D. c. Gold Cupper
BY MALCOLM LAMBORNE, Jr.

Sandy-haired Andy Crawford, the
Capitals foremost racing driver,
faces an intriguing problem.
With his new 135-cubic- c-inch hy-
droplane Ednandy ~, admittedly
one of the fastest boats of its class in
the country, he can burn up the COM
Ing summers regatta circuits and
If the outfit stands the strain, end
the season with sea chest full Of
trophies. Or he can accept Horace
Dodge's offer to take over the De-
troit sportsmans Gold Cup boat
Excuse Me for the summer and pit
his luck against the cream of Amer
lean racing craft.
If he casts his lot with the latter,
Crawford will be the first Washing
tonian ever to race a boat in the
fast, expensive Gold Cup class.
He revealed this week that Dodge's
offer was received the last winter
while he was racing in Florida. Tenn
porarily retired from the sport, Mil
lionaire Dodge picked Crawford to
tune up and race the boat that
caused much comment among en-
thusiasts last year. The Excuse Me
In its debut at the Detroit Gold Cup
race sank after striking a submerged
log, according to its driver. 1t was
brought to the surface and has been
rebuilt at the Dodge plant in New
port News, Va.
Reluctant to Make Move.
Yet with this new 135 job on his
hands, Andy is reluctant to take
the big step just now.
Meanwhile, he has been tuning up
Ednandy and today will take it to
Atlantic City in time to prepare for
the Around -Absecon Island Race,
slated to start this Tuesday at 2 pm
This marks the first time a local
driver has been represented in the
23-mile steeplechase.
Racers have called it the marine
steeplechase for the very good rea-
son that the course runs the gamut
from breasting ocean swells originat-
Ing somewhere off Portugals coast
to lodging low bridges through the
twisting way back of Atlantic City,
Brainstorm of S. Mortimer Auer-
bach. racing sportsman, the event,
now in its third year, promises to
become one of boating's permanent
fixtures.
It's popularity is attested by this
years entry list. According to a
wire from Promoter Auerbach yes
terday, 20 drivers have signified
their intention of racing. Includ-
ed in the roster are two woman
drivers, Marion Mitchell and Jean
Cowan of Atlantic City, and such
crack racers as Fred Hahn, Len
Bailey and John Wanamaker of
Philadelphia, David GerH of New
York, William Gatewood OF Nor
folk, Merritt Twilley of Baltimore
and Arno APPEL of Ventnor, N. j.,
winner in 1885,
This represents healthy increase
over last year when II boats got
the starting gun.
Advantages Equalized.
From start in the ocean the
course leads down the coast to
Longport jetties, through the wind
ing cuts and channel of the inland
waterway, back out into the At
lantic by way of Absecon Inlet and
thence to the finish at the pier. The
larger boats are at an advantage
on the outside, while the smaller
craft take over in the narrow wa
terways. All of which tends to give
any one a chance at the huge
Judge" Emil Auerbach Memorial
trophy.
Ednandy Nv has every reason to
be world beater. 1t was designed
and built by Ventnor Boat Works,
with a hull of quarter-inch weld
wood, it's 100 pounds lighter than
the normal 135, it is powered with
a special Lycoming engine of 100
h.p. And on top all this, Andy is
no slouch as driver.
% Take for instance one week end
down in ST, Petersburg, Fla, last
February. In the boat, purchased
a short time before, Crawford won
IN his class against Sammy Crooks.
who is considered one of the best
In the sport. In that same regatta
he took the Southland Sweepstakes
in a field that included Jack Coop
er, top man in the 225-cubic- inch
class. He wound up the day by
winning special match race with
Crooks and his boat Dragon.
Crawford's racing career began in
1884 with class E run-about. The
following year. in the Ednandy III,
he took the Eastern States cham
pionships for 225's, not to mention
the Virginia Gold Cup event at
Hampton. Andy was one of the
flrst racers to employ the aero
plane cowl and low free-board, fea-
lures of his home-built Ednandy
III.
Unless he succumbs to the Gold
Cup proposition, Crawford plans to
take try at breaking the world S
one-mile record for 1855.
Andy is going to do without a
mechanic next Tuesday. He needs
that space for extra gas. Knowing
the traditional Crawford luck ccu-
Piled with all the other factors. it
wouldn't be surprise to see him
come home with the trophy.