Legend at the lake

In the 1920s and ’30s, speedboat racing was big-time in the world of sports entertainment. Newspapers reported that hundreds of thousands of fans lined the Detroit River to watch the world’s most powerful boats compete for the Harmsworth Trophy, the sport’s top prize.
    Back in the day, no one was more famous in speedboat racing than Gar Wood, his name as renowned as that of baseball great Ty Cobb. Designing and building boats – each more powerful than the last – was an obsession for Wood, an entrepreneur and inventor whose patents made him a multi-millionaire by the time he was 40.
    Against the toughest competition – primarily from England and France – Wood claimed the Harmsworth a record eight times between 1920 and 1933. Included in those victories was the 1930 race in which Wood and longtime mechanic Orlin Johnson piloted Miss America IX, a 30-foot mahogany beauty that featured two thundering Packard airplane engines capable of producing 2,200 horsepower.
    The following March, Wood took Miss America IX out on placid waters near Miami Beach, Fla., where it cemented its place in history by becoming the first boat to reach 100 mph, topping out at 102.256 mph.
    The historic vessel, now owned by Chuck and Diane Mistele of Bluffton, S.C., will be on display at the 21st Annual Smith Mountain Lake Antique and Classic Boat Show, which will take place Sept. 17 at Mariners Landing in Huddleston.
    The boat is one of only five from the height of the Harmsworth era still in existence and the only one that still gets run in the water, said Chuck Mistele, “so when we show up at boat shows, people ooh and ahh.”
    Mistele, whose grandfather was a business associate of Wood’s, first saw Miss America IX in 1968 when he was 25 years old. He was surprised to find it sitting in disrepair on a trailer at a waterfront park in Algonac, Mich., near where he lived with his wife and two young daughters.
    “It was not in good shape,” Mistele said. “It had not been in the water since 1932. There were no engines. It was basically a bare boat with no utility value, just historic value.”
    Mistele gave his card to the owner with a note to contact him if he ever planned to sell the boat. Two years later, he got the call. If Mistele still was interested, he needed to come to Algonac immediately because another potential buyer would be there the following day, said the owner.
    So, the Misteles drove 75 miles in heavy fog that night to get a closer look at what was left of Miss America IX.
    “Someone has to preserve and protect this boat,” Mistele told his protesting wife.
    “Yes, but does it have to be you?” she replied.
    Despite the objections, Mistele bought Miss America IX that night for “almost nothing.”
    “I told [the owner] I could make a commitment to the boat and put it in front of people where it belongs,” he said.
    Mistele, who obtained two Chevy engines to replace the Packards, was able to get Miss America IX back in the water. And while he occasionally took it to boat shows, a a demanding job in the coal and oil industry and a busy, growing family meant Mistele used the boat infrequently over the years. In 1992, he placed it in storage.
    In 2006, Bill Morgan – an old friend and the man Mistele learned he had “bought the boat out from under” in 1970 – took on Miss America IX as a preservation project. The owner of Hacker Boat Company, one of the world’s oldest builders of wooden motorboats, Morgan replaced the boat’s bottom, which was fractured and leaking. With a few other exceptions, Miss America IX still features the same wood it had when Gar Wood raced it in the 1930s.
    “It looks better now than it ever has,” said Mistele, emphasizing that the boat has been preserved, not restored (a higher standard). “Every ding and dent in that boat has a history in it.”
    Several years ago, the Misteles committed to traveling more with Miss America IX and now display it at eight to nine shows each year. Organizers of SML’s annual event had requested a visit for the past four years, but scheduling conflicts prevented it until now.
    “It’s huge for us,” said George Blosser, president of SML’s chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society, which organizes the annual show. “The boat is one-of-a-kind, a true piece of American history. In the world of racing in the 1930s, Miss America IX was the boat, and the fact that it’s preserved, not restored, makes it extra special to see.”


Want to Go?

21st SML Antique and Classic Boat Show
 
What: In-water display of approximately 50 antique boats from up and down the East Coast. Family oriented event with music, food and a variety of craft and collectible vendors.

When: Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: Mariners Landing Resort Community and Conference Center

Cost: Free. However, donations will be accepted for the SML Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society, which supports local charities.

More info: 540.296.0501, woodenboats.net