Stanley St. Claire Sayres (1896-1956) was a hydroplane racer who broke the world water speed record with his "Slo-mo-shun IV" boat.
In the early 1930s, after moving to Seattle, Sayres owned the American Automobile Company, a Chrysler car dealership at 1001 Broadway in Seattle, an auto parts store in the University District, and the Jen-Cel-Lite Corporation, a manufacturer of cold weather clothes. From 1937 on, he owned a series of successful hydroplane racing boats called Slo-mo-shun I to V. Sayres purchased Slo-mo-shun I and II, then in 1947, Sayres began collaborating with fellow Seattleites Tudor Owen "Ted" Jones (1909-2000) and Anchor Jensen, and provided the backing for Ted Jones to develop the design of the Slo-Mo-Shun IV. In 1949 Slo-mo-shun IV was launched and within a year had set a world speed record for a mile straightaway, piloted by Sayres, and won both the Gold Cup and Harmsworth races. The Slo-mo-shun IV’s victory meant that the next year, 1951, the prestigious Gold Cup race came to Seattle for the first time, and Seattle's obsession with "thunderboat" racing was born. For more than a decade, Seattle hydros dominated the racing circuit; Slo-mo-shun IV and V earned the Gold Cup for five straight years and Slo-mo-shun IV, with Sayres driving again, set a second world speed record for a mile in July 1952. The boat became a prototype for hydroplanes and is now displayed at the Museum of History & Industry in Seattle.
In this image, Stan Sayers stands on a dock, probably on Lake Washington, surrounded by hydroplane crew members. The photograph is undated, but most likely was taken between 1950-1956, possibly after one of the boats won a race or set a speed record.
Signatures on photograph: Norm Erdman; Geo. McKernan; Joe Taggart; Fred Hearing; Lin Ivey; Bob Stubbs; Jim Ausland; Lou Fageol; Rod Fellers; Pete Bertelotti. SHS category: Groups
Caption information source: "Hydroplane Slo-mo-shun IV establishes world record on June 26, 1950," by Greg Lange, HistoryLink.org Essay 1465. Caption information source: http://thunderboats.ning.com/page/the-slo-mo-shun-saga Caption information source: https://www.kuow.org/stories/heres-why-old-seattle-obsessed-hydroplanes
ID Number: SHS10362
Date: Circa 1952
Physical Description: 1 photographic print mounted on cardboard: b&w ; 18.5 x 14.25 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
