Miss Goodwin Story
by Doug Whitley

APBA Record - 1960

The story of Miss Goodwin begins when I was about 8 yrs old. My first boat ride was in an outboard, which I think was J class runabout. This was on Loon Lake near Spokane, Washington. The owner of the boat was my uncle, my mother’s twin brother, Virgil Fortune. Our family spent most of our summers on an Island owned by my aunt Ruth, my Dads (Jake) sister, near LaConner, Washington. At age 11, I remember running up and down the pier dragging a stick in the water to make a rooster tail. I got so involved watching the water spray, I ran right off the end of the pier. I didn’t know how to swim. Fortunately for me, my sister Pat jumped in and pulled me to safety but, in the process, she ruined a brand new dress she had just a few minutes before, put on for a family dinner party that evening. When I was about twelve years old, my Dad, my brother Duane, and I were working on Dad’s boat on the Snohomish River near our home in Everett. Duane decided I could take the boat out to see if I could make it plain. He was right, it ran pretty well except, neither my Dad, nor my brother told me how to shut it off, not to mention how to dock. So, I just drove the boat up and down the river until it ran out of gas.

In 1950 the Slo Mo IV became the pride of Seattle. Slo Mo won the Gold Cup in Detroit and brought the Cup to Seattle. All throughout the fifties I never missed any unlimited hydroplane race that was televised. Huge crowds would line the shores of Lake Washington and all three Seattle television stations were on hand during what was with out a doubt, the best years of unlimited racing. I remember Bill O’Mara of King TV and Keith Jackson when he was with Komo TV. Great Drivers like Bill Muncey, Lou Fagael, Joe Taggart, and Mira Slovak, just to mention a few, all made the sport very colorful. I don’t wish to take anything away from present day unlimited racing, the sport just continued to evolve. But, there was just something special about the roar of the Allison and Rolls engines. Not to mention the ongoing disputes between Seattle and Detroit drivers and owners. Continue Reading…