Demolition Derby

OCEAN RACING

If Monaco was a dice with disaster, the Bahamas 500 ocean powerboat race last week turned into what one contestant aptly termed "a demolition derby." The general idea of ocean powerboat racing is to take a boat out into the deep, open her up to 50-60 m.p.h., and pray. The Bahamas 500 was designed as the granddaddy of them all--a 512-mi. circle around the islands from Grand Bahama, and all for $50,000 in prize money. It should have been $1,000,000, considering the carnage.

On race day, a stiff 22-knot wind built up 6-ft. to 10-ft. waves. But out they went, 63 of the fastest, most expensive outboards, inboards, diesels and stern drives ever assembled on one patch of water. Bill Petty's Pussy Cat, a 23-ft., 550-h.p. Sportsman worth $20,000, was barely clear of the harbor when it caught fire and burned to the water line. Minutes later, Bill Lewis' 40-ft. Formula came apart and sank. Only 32 boats reached the initial checkpoint at Bimini; of these, twelve never reached Nassau.

At that point, the leader was Bill Wishnick's 32-ft. Maritime, Big Broad Jumper, powered by two monstrous 700-h.p. Holman & Moody engines. Then the rudder fouled. That left the race to Mono. Lou III, another 32-ft. Maritime powered by twin 427-h.p. MerCruisers and piloted by Florida's Odell Lewis, 34, who used to wrestle alligators for sport until it got too tame. Bounding along at an average 50 m.p.h., he finished in 12 hr. 36 min. 20 sec., just as darkness closed in on Grand Bahama. "I ain't afraid of alligators," he said, "but nothing is going to keep me out there on that ocean after dark."

Skippers of the 15 other survivors had to live through some dark moments before they came limping in during the next 22 hours. By what seems a miracle, no one was killed in the race, or even seriously injured.

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