The APBA Nationals for ALKY, was 1956 at Long Beach marine Stadium...I was racing AU in those days, but I watched the ALKY NATIONALS as only a boat racing loving kid could...
Ann Strang, Charlie Strang's mother, had explained to my dad that Jerry Waldman was going to win A and B hydro with a Mercury...My dad explained to her that HIS A would win A Hydro with Orlando Toraganti behind the wheel and the Keith Sorensen in a Hubbell SR on a Terrill Hydro would win B Hydro and that Doc Ingels, with an engine that he fit the psitons for, on a DeSivla hydro, would win C Hydro...
Well Orlando won and and Keith won B... Tommy lead the first heat won, seems their were several restarts and won ....In between heats, Tommy discovered a broke point spring and he ran around like a "CARZY MAN" fixing the spring...(My brother will probably tell the correct story)...Anyway Tommy was a straight away a head, on the last lap, looking like a sure winner, when he barrel rolled this DeSilva hydro...
Tommy quit after this race...He said he was tired..He had raced most of his life. He was a dentist...In the Navy, during the war, he drove PT Boats, thanks to a man named R.A. Rust who got Tommy his Commission...
My brother saw Tommy about 15 years ago, Tommy had had Ralph DeSilva build him a new hydro just like the one in the picture...
Tommy's dad, Doc, owned an airplane and he's fly over my dad's shop and BUZZ us, if my old man wasn't busy, he'd way at Doc and we'd meet him at the airport...We'd go fly out over the ocean diving through clouds. My dad and Doc were great friends...
Doc had this fuel tank on his C that had castor oil stains all over it, and many prople carved their names on the tank....I thought this was pretty cool, as our tanks were always polished...
This DeSilva hydro was always very fast.
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