Mona Lou and others Bertrams 31'

[Toasty]

There is a race boat here in NJ (mayslanding). I think it has 1 v drive and the other is straight inboard infront of the cocpit. The owner of a marina, Gary, i believe put big block GM motors in it. Runs very well but is not setting any speed recs. let me dig i may have a pic or 2, not sure. I think its now black with white deck and gold boot stripe white bottom
~Christian

 

[olli]

...American Moppie...

The one with the windscreen?

 

[Top Banana]

The one with the windscreen?

That's the one.

 

[FLYING FISH]

American moppie

Same boat,unless told otherwise.

 

[Black Tornado]

The London - Monte Carlo race dispatches in 1972,state Miss WD 40 was purchased from Bill Wishnick.

In 1968 existed a Patty Lou Bertram 31' for Rautbord.
In 1969 a Fino Bertram 31' for Rautbord and a Boss o'Nova for Wishnick.
In 1970 always a Fino and a Boss O'Nova both Bertram 31.'
And also in 1971 in the Rio De La Plata of January 09 Wishnick drives the Bertram 31' while to the Hennessy Grand Prix of July 15 a Fino Bertram 31' it is driven from M.Adler.
On the bow of WD40 of Trost there was the writing Fino.
There was two Bertram Boss O'Nova and two Bertram Fino?
Wishnick and Rautbord have exchanged their Bertrams?
Seem me unlikely the thesis of the ex Boss O'Nova.

 

[Top Banana]

Wishnick only had one 31 foot Bertram....Boss O Nova which he bought from Carl Kiekhaefer. Bill told me a couple of years ago that when he was racing in South America, he blew an engine after one race....maybe Argentina??

Balestreri helped him find a local who would rent a boat to him so he could compete in the next scheduled race...a week later..maybe Uraguay??

Later in the year when either Balestreri or Wishnick could not compete in a race, the other party did not compete either so it would be fair. Real gentlemen.

Bill was the Chairman of the Board of Witco Chemical Co....a billion dollar company even back then. The company was publicly owned and he took his responsibility very seriously and only raced around the world when his vacation days allowed him the time.....as we all know, he was World Champion that year ....done all on his vacation days.

On the HORBA website, there is a link to the website of Balestreri's son. Maybe there is more info on that site re the old Bertrams.

 

[FLYING FISH]

Case solved

Miss WD 40 was driven by Dr.O.Trost of Sportship distributors for Chris Craft,Donzi and Fino.
In actual fact the Fino colours were more of a vivid red than the more blood red of the Boss O Nova boats.
Not a bad rouse to put the offshore devotees off the scent!

 

[FLYING FISH]

Red Tornado

Another diatribe to fox the devotees.

1970 F.Cosentino drives Red Tornado in Cowes - Torquay.`This boat was built and designed in 1968 and used by Balestrieri the following year`.End quote.Either the dates wrong or there were two Sternwinders,another one in 1967?

 

[FLYING FISH]

Postscript to Red Tornado

There are several reports that state Red Tornado was a new boat for the 1969 Wills Trophy.At the moment I tend to go with this ,and that because it was Balestrieri it is assumed it must have been the old Yellow Tornado.I think even our Italian detective has a furrowed brow over this!

 

[tommymonza]

American Moppie lines i had laying around.

 

[Black Tornado]

Reopened case

Miss WD 40 was driven by Dr.O.Trost of Sportship distributors for Chris Craft,Donzi and Fino.
In actual fact the Fino colours were more of a vivid red than the more blood red of the Boss O Nova boats.
Not a bad rouse to put the offshore devotees off the scent!

Unfortunately this photo from your archive on Boatmad and that I had forgotten it brings the disbandment of the ship on the other side.
The photo withdraws a Fino version with the different colors from the WD40. The hull in white as the original Patty Lou - the name Fino great in the middle of the side - but above all - an anxious space and race number in the style Mona Lou (red) - Boss O'Nova 1969 version.
They are all 'signs' that could be modified in the time but they leave me a little perplexed.
I must to go in the darkened room for a millimetric comparative.

 

[Brownie]

You 'furriners' have left out a whole group of raceboats, largely raced in the US and the Bahamas. The cut-down 28' Donzi. Prototype 008. 1967 Sternwinder and Rhonda Lee were "Magnum Donzi's" 1967 Mona Lou was a 32' Maritime with Mercruisers.

 

[Black Tornado]

The Sternwinder and the Red-White Tornado

There are several reports that state Red Tornado was a new boat for the 1969 Wills Trophy.At the moment I tend to go with this ,and that because it was Balestrieri it is assumed it must have been the old Yellow Tornado.I think even our Italian detective has a furrowed brow over this!

In the article in PDF that olli posted is said that in the yards Tornado born near Rome in 1968 the first built boat was a Bertram 31' shortened to 30' for Balestrieri. The photo attached to this show however the Yellow Tornado that we know how to surely be the old Sternwinder.
In the darkened room a first comparative test has induced me to think that the Red and the White Tornado were not the Sternwinder-Yellow Tornado.
My conclusion for the time being it is that the Red and the White Tornado were built in Italy and that the Yellow Tornado stayed in USA after the rental of Balestrieri in the last US races in 1968.

 

[Black Tornado]

You 'furriners' have left out a whole group of raceboats, largely raced in the US and the Bahamas. The cut-down 28' Donzi. Prototype 008. 1967 Sternwinder and Rhonda Lee were "Magnum Donzi's" 1967 Mona Lou was a 32' Maritime with Mercruisers.

Sorry Brownie but in 1967 the Sternwinder,the Ronda Lee and one of the three Mona Lou were Bertram 31'.
Two others Mona Lou(II and III) were Maritime 32'.

 

[Top Banana]

Sorry Brownie but in 1967 the Sternwinder,the Ronda Lee and one of the three Mona Lou were Bertram 31'.
Two others Mona Lou(II and III) were Maritime 32'.

Sorry Marco.....Brownie is correct. You made me go to the secret files of HORBA photos to bring this one out.

We have to remember that we can compare photos of various boats, but Brownie was on the scene at the time.

Here is a photo of the Magnum-Donzi named Sterndriver and driven by Billy Sirois.

 

[Brownie]

That #48 boat is the first staggered engine boat. John Bakos drove it in the 500, and then in the Around Long Island race.

 

[FLYING FISH]

From the foreigner

All those boats you mention Brownie, both Marco and myself have a record of.The problem is in the very early days there was hardly any record made both on film and in magazines,which anybody trying to make a history of offshore find it`s really hard going to piece together.A typical example is,where are all the 16mm films of offshore racing in the U.S.Only HORBA has shed light on a couple.Now go on Boatmad.com and see dozens from the 60`s as a comparision.Other than HORBA we have yet to see any U.S. devotees bring to the table all the relationships between the various boats in the early years.Marco is virtually the only other guy that has an in depth knowledge of this.OK,we know there are people out there like yourself that have a wealth of knowledge in that era,so would it be great if you imparted in detail all the Bertram,Donzi,Formula,Cigarette,Maritime,Memco,Magnum,Scarab,Thunderbird etc,etc boats so the overall picture will be recorded for all time,but that would take a special person as dedicated as Marco is to do this mammoth task.I think it is a pretty big can of worms that`s just been opened.Try making a history of the CUV boats if based in the U.S. and the problems will soon drive you ape.

 

[FLYING FISH]

Sterndriver iii

That photo was used on a mercruiser advert,cut down to look like an open sea shot.Is there one of the 1967 Ronda Lee 28ft with 2 x 450hp mercruisers.I wonder why so much was in black & white.All my stuff was in colour right from 1964.

 

[Black Tornado]

Sorry Marco.....Brownie is correct. You made me go to the secret files of HORBA photos to bring this one out.

We have to remember that we can compare photos of various boats, but Brownie was on the scene at the time.

Here is a photo of the Magnum-Donzi named Sterndriver and driven by Billy Sirois.

Any intention to want to know more of who those days was present.
But Brownie and I made reference to the 'SternWINDER' not to the 'SternDRIVER'.
And the Sternwinder was a Bertram.

 

[Black Tornado]

From the foreigner II

I must thank the creation of internet.
Is thanks to this that I have been able to know rare people as Graham, Nigel, Charlie, Richie, Brownie,Sonny...through websites as Offshoreonly, Boatmad and not last SeriousOffshore. My knowledge in the history of the Offshore in these last years is grown as an hyperbole of a graph.
I exchange opinions as of information and of images has been and it is fundamental.
Graham and I are trying to complete a gigantic mosaic to which still miss many wedges.
And this mosaic withdraws the history of the Offshore.
At times we perhaps seem some hungry hunters of photo for a mere spirit of collectors but it is not this way.
The images more than every discourse serve for understanding many distant facts in the time that together with the memoirs of the protagonists all of us are able to reconstruct the history of the sport that we love.
I hope that someone of us can continue in the future the work of reconstruction that man as John Crouse, Claudio Nobis,Antonio Soccol and few others have started to make many years ago.

Marco