Speed trials over a one kilometer straight-away course.
Driver Curt Estes was driving about 125 mph on her return run.
Her trim is fine and there is a slight wind and ripple in the water.
Snow showers are falling.
For no known reason, Wa Wa too starts to become airborne and
a pronounced list to port.
The air pressure created against the bottom of the fast moving boat
starts the blow over.
Driver Curt Estes departs the cockpit from the boat.
This follows a mass of spray with the boat ending upside down and stern
forward.
These photos were taken by a former 280 driver Carl Harris. These photos
are very similar to a sequence that was in Yachting magazine shortly
after the flip. The boat went to Lauterbach's shop after the accident and
was rebuilt. Henry delivered the boat to Bill Ritner at the Orange Bowl
in Miami in December 1962...........Bob Moore
(Here is the article that appeared in Yachting magazine)
Photo caption:
Curtis Estes, pilot of the 266 cubic inch Wa Wa Too, speeds
up-river after completing two laps in speed trials at Port Indian Sunday.
The wind catches the front of his hydroplane.....flipping it up.....tossing
Estes out.
Photo caption:
Estes is wrapped in a cloud of spray as the boat crashes down from
its momentary tail stand.
WIND FLIPS BOAT
LANDS DRIVER IN MONTGOMERY HOSPITAL
"The wind really scares me", were the last words Curtis Estes said
before a sudden gust of wind flapped his 266 cu. in. hydro plane and landed
him in Montgomery Hospital with chest injuries. Estes, a 35-year-old speed
boat racer from Norfolk, Va., was out to speed through a marked one mile
course at 136 mph in sunday's speed trials on the Schuylkill.
Before pulling out from the pits, Estes expressed fear at brief but
sudden wind gusts which were churning up the river's surface. Estes said
to onlookers, he doubted he would hit the 140 miles per hour mark. His
course called for him to circle his craft just below Catfish Dam, accelerate
to peak rate and literally fly through the one mile pre-marked course.
Circle Called For
Executing this maneuver would leave the racer just north of Barbadoes
Island where he had to circle his boat, accelerate once again for a second
attempt at a speed record. Estes was then to turn his boat and steer to
the pits of the Norristown Boat Club......Estes never made the final turn.
Just as he left the last marked mile zone, his hydroplane was caught in
a powerful enough gust of wind to 1) uplift his craft vertically; 2) eject
him from the driver's seat; and 3) let the battered racer and pilot flounder
in the water. Estes lay in the water for several minutes before a lone
rescue boat reached him.
Still in the water, he was taken to shore where an ambulance took him
to Montgomery Hospital with possible fractures and chest injuries.
High Powered Boat
Estes was driving the Wa Wa Too, a Chevrolet Corvette engine
equipped craft owned by William Ritner. The boat is described as one of
the fastest hydroplanes on the water operated on an eight cylinder fuel
injection system. For Estes, Sunday's mishap added several broken ribs
to the three he had on entering the race. For the Port Indian area, Sunday's
mishap was the second of this year's boating season. But if past performances
hold true, Sunday's race will neither be the last for Estes nor for the
boating fans of Port Indian.
Thanks to Bob Moore for mailing in the
photos!
Thanks to Tami Castro for providing
the article!
Click here
to read more about Curtis Estes hydroplane racing career.
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Wa Too F-247 '58-'63 |
