Fatal Accidents in Motorboat Racing

[jon66w]

To think this list doesn't contain any of us kneel down racers. The names that jump to mind that I raced against are Jerry Waldman, A guy whose Name I don't remember was driving Jerry's Honker F hydro at Frostprof FLA which well over 100 mph,. I never saw a boat ride with sponsons out of the water so high. The boat took off on the backstretch and threw the guy out who hit the water head first while still going forward at over a 100 snapping his neck. And of course my good frend Hank Menzies who was killed at Mass. Nationals in C hydro, getting tossed out late in the day and driver behind him hit Henry's helmet from behind snapping his neck from which he never regained consenceness. I don't know how any of these could have been prevented. Jn Walters

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

To think this list doesn't contain any of us kneel down racers. The names that jump to mind that I raced against are Jerry Waldman, A guy whose Name I don't remember was driving Jerry's Honker F hydro at Frostprof FLA which well over 100 mph,. I never saw a boat ride with sponsons out of the water so high. The boat took off on the backstretch and threw the guy out who hit the water head first while still going forward at over a 100 snapping his neck. And of course my good frend Hank Menzies who was killed at Mass. Nationals in C hydro, getting tossed out late in the day and driver behind him hit Henry's helmet from behind snapping his neck from which he never regained consenceness. I don't know how any of these could have been prevented. Jn Walters

Actually Jon, Henry's tragic accident was at the SO nationals in Lake Placid, NY

[FurnalFlyer]

Actually Jon, Henry's tragic accident was at the SO nationals in Lake Placid, NY

John,
Hank was killed at Saranac Lake 1978 Stock Nationals. It was in the 35 SSH class.
Leigh,

[seacow]

So I would like to ask those who just detailed the kneel-down accidents particularly the fast alky ones that they knew about: does it seem that canopies would have prevented these fatalities?

[Steve Litzell]

I Think the cabover you refer to was that of Ben Perry. A very tragic day indeed as we lost a great competitor and good friend. There have been a few kneelers KIA over the years. Not as many though as the unlimited and OPC crowd. Offshore to has added many. Steve

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I had six friends killed in the alky category, one I knew who he was and one much after I was out of it. Capsules would have probably saved most of them, although in a couple of the accidents, these were smaller classes and I'm not sure capsules would allow them to be competitive.

Without doing research, this is a brief recap of what I remember.

The first was Jerry Waldman whom worked with my Dad, Marshall Grant, Tim Butts, Steve Jones, Harry Bartolomei and Lee Sutter and myself to put on an invitational race at Catherine Lake outside of Hot Springs, Arkansas. It was 1972. It was one heat racing, winner take all, teams chosen by Captains from the North, South, East and West. It was judged to keep the D and F Hydros down to a ten boat field for safety. Even then it was the most hair raising start I ever made. Everyone made a great start and we were only inches apart side by side as we were all over 100 mph at the start and nobody wanted to back off too soon before the first turn. I can still clearly feel the apprehension waiting for someone to back off. Billy Seebold was just to my right, and I was on the inside. When we made the turn, I was gone and halfway down the straight with Billy close behind before we saw the black flags. They weren't just waving them, everyone in the two pickup boats on the bottom half of the turn was furiously waving flags and arms. The video was scary looking. You could see everything, but you could see nothing of the accident. The whole turn was covered in spray. All the boats were turning together and you could see the big splash but no details. Jerry drove under a boat that had flipped, and he ran into the bottom with his upper body. Both arms were broken, but the doctor said a younger man would have survived. He had a full face helmet which protected his face, but the impact was just to much for his brain. He had a steel plate from a previous accident, and the trauma was just too severe. A capsule I think may have protected him. However, I'm not sure how safe a field full of capsule boats would have been at this particular time, and this particular race. Having never driven a capsule, I am not qualified to say for sure, but in my opinion the limited visibility would have probably resulted in a pileup in the turn if everyone started like we did that day. However, maybe in capsules we wouldn't have been running so close together.

It was several years until the next tragedy. UIM OD World Championships at Laredo, Texas in 1980. This was a freak accident like Dale Earnhard'ts. We had entries from Germany and Austria, and Leif Ahlborg from Sweden came as an observer. We had Canadian licenses and a Federacion de Motonautique official was there to issue Mexican licenses, but first we ran qualifying heats to get the five American entrants. The water was good, but with a little chop. I had just completed my two lap circuit and Jim Stone went out for his. It was a little bumpy on the front straight, but not that bad. Just after Jim completed his first lap, he clipped the top of a wave. His hydro seemed to be running downhill the way he set it up. The nose was low to the water and the transom was light. When he clipped the wave, the front portion leading wing section broke off but not the sponsons. The boat continued on for a long way before it coasted to a stop. The initial hit though was enough though to sling shot Jim ahead of the boat. The way he laid in the boat was a contributing factor most of us think. He kind of wedged himself in almost in a laying position and kind of angled from the transom to the throttle. He went out head first and his neck was broken as soon as he hit the water. There has also been speculation that he may have contacted the steering cable on the way out. A capsule would have saved Jim without a doubt.

Erwin Zimmerman was killed at a race in Europe near the same time as Jim. I don't remember what class it was, but he was a big guy and mostly drove OC and OD. He just was starting a successful OPC career when he was killed. He was a multi World and European champion and drove kneelers. This was the very first race he ran a proprider. He was thrown out in a turn and was hit in the helmet by a lower unit. I'm not sure capsule boats would have been competitive in the class or the type course he was running.

Erwin Zoller died a few weeks within when Erwin Zimmerman did. He was run over in the OB World Championships. He lasted several weeks before he passed away. That class could not support a capsule boat.

A Canadian named Raymond, (I'm sorry I cannot remember his name right now) was killed at Acworth, Georgia during the rescheduling and moving of the remaining heats of the 1980 Pro Nationals. We did not attend that race and so I do not know the details of the accident, but it was either 250 or 350, and so would not be a class for a capsule boat.

George Andrews was killed while setting the outboard speed record. My understanding is that he made consecutive passes good enough for the record, then was making another run when he lifted off. I don't know how badly the boat was torn up, but I'm guessing a capsule might have saved him. John Sherwood might provide some insight. John Schubert may also know something about that.

Jerry Drake was killed at DePue. He blew over his 700 hydro and most likely he would have survived with a capsule.

[Ron Hill]

Actually Jon, Henry's tragic accident was at the SO Nationals in Lake Placid, NY

I wasn't very old in 1957, in fact I was 13. Stock Outboarding was fairly new in '57, we raced 16 boats per heat. Little that I really know about the U.S.'s geography, but that summer of 1957, it rained from Flagstaff, Arizona to Worchester, Massachusetts. Where I lived we got rain, 5-6 inches a year, in Massachusetts, they got 5-6 inches in a day. Chet McClung was defending C Stock Hydro National Champion, becasue of the rain, the race was on Monday. As we left Worchester on Monday morning I remember looking down at the race course as we cross a bridge. I could not really see the water on the lake, but I did see C hydros. When I got home, I heard that Chet had been killed. To prevent this type of accicent in the future, heat races were cut to 12 boats. That was APBA's answer to safety.

I almost crashed my BeZoats D Hyrdo/35 Hydro at the 1977 Nationals. Both rigs went bewteen 73 and 74 MPH. I quit Stock racing to race MOD VP. At the time, my 21 foot Daytona Eliminator went 78 MPH. I quit MOD VP when we were doing 100 MPH!

[T2x]

After Hank's death, every OPC boat had a kill switch. I drove a Glastron, at Havasu 1966 like Hank was killed in. My boat had kill switches.

Hi Ron:

Hank Bowman was killed at the 1966 Orange Bowl 9 hour marathon. He was not in a Glastron, although he did race one previously. He was in a Mercury owned Sea craft I believe and was sitting at deck level on the stern next to the engine and was pitched over board only to have the boat turn circles before it ran over him. As you noted that led to the kill switch rule which has, no doubt saved many lives and prevented even more injuries. I was in that race and it was restarted a day later, but Mercury had pulled all of their factory boats in the interim.

[Ron Hill]

Hi Ron:

Hank Bowman was killed at the 1966 Orange Bowl 9 hour marathon. He was not in a Glastron, although he did race one previously. He was in a Mercury owned Sea craft I believe and was sitting at deck level on the stern next to the engine and was pitched over board only to have the boat turn circles before it ran over him. As you noted that led to the kill switch rule which has, no doubt saved many lives and prevented even more injuries. I was in that race and it was restarted a day later, but Mercury had pulled all of their factory boats in the interim.

I knew, or at least I remember Dick O'Dea and Hank Bowman driving a Glastron with two in the boat. I guess I thought it was the sale boat. The 16 Glastron I drove at Havasu, 1966, had been driven by Jim Hinigan from Garden Grove, OMC told me that Jim had been injured at the 1966 Orange Bowl (It was in January, correct??), but un like Hank Bowman he was not killed.

[Ron Hill]

He mentioned two SST 45 drivers that were killed, one in Wisconsin, one at the PARKER KILOS (Peliese) and the Sport C, 16 year old girl at Kanakee a few yearback.Mac McCune, Bob Ellis and Jimmy Gordon were all killed driving in the 9 Hour. Red Hinman and one of the Drosde brothers was killed in MOD VP. Jimmy Hauenstein in a Formula One tunnel. Was Jimmy Mertens on that list? Loud and Proud's dad was killed in a Super Sport at Parker. Lance Faulkner and Mike Hoban we both killed in Gn's at Parker. Ted Whalen, Miller (at San Diego) Buzz Miller at Havasu (These three were all in SST 140). Brian Daley's co-Driver at Yamaha.