#hydroplanes

Lorna Wilson is seen here climbing off of her hydroplane the MISS CANADA IV in Detroit’s Kean’s Marina, c. 1948.  Her husband Harold Wilson stands beside her.  The pair had a successful racing career which included winning the 1937 Gold Cup in the MISS CANADA II.  Harold acted as driver, while Lorna was the on-board mechanic.

Hydroplane racing has long been a summertime tradition in Detroit.  In 1915, the MISS DETROIT, built by Chris Smith, won the Gold Cup race in New York, bringing the following year’s race to the boat home water as was then tradition.  Over much of the next decade, Detroit’s own Gar Wood emerged as one of the first superstars of motorsports to help keep the Gold Cup on the Detroit River.

Wood, along with his boat the MISS AMERICA IX,  appears these recently discovered amateur films which span 1930 to 1938.  The reel includes footage of the 1930 Harmsworth Trophy Race on the Detroit River, summer days on Lake Orion, the 1931 Harmsworth race, and the 1938 Gold Cup Race.

In 1957, the Canadian hydroplane MISS SUPERTEST II briefly held the distinction of being the world’s fastest unlimited class propeller-driven motor boat.  This photo shows the boat the previous year, in a hoist at Kean’s Marina in the Detroit River.  The boat’s driver, Danny Foster, is among the group gathered on the dock in the background.

The Fujifilm 200mm F2 shoots planes, cranes and hydroplanes: Digital Photography Review

As autumn rolls in in the northern hemisphere I always find myself wishing that summer would stick around just a little bit longer. So, in the spirit of summer, I’m going to take you for a voyage in the wayback machine all the way to August, when the sun was bright and the temperatures warm.

One of the highlights of the warm(ish) season here in Seattle is Seafair, a summer-long festival that…