The Great Boat Race: History of the Winnebagoland Outboard Marathon

The Great Outboard Race is the history of the Winnebagoland Outboard Marathon. Hundreds of boats started and few finished.. The grind was 88 miles of rough water through 4 different lakes in central Wisconsin. Drivers came from 27 different states with some as far away as California. The best of the nations outboard pilots came to the Winnebagoland which had the best prizes. Hundreds of boats would start the race providing a spectacular sight for the large crowd. Over 100,000 people witnessed the last race in 1961.. The Mercury Thunderbolt engine provided speeds of over 60 MPH in 1949 when outboard racing was most popular. Outboarders would race from Lake Winnebago up the Fox River and into Lake Butte des Morts.. From there it was on to Lakes Winneconne and Poygan. Navigating the cut-off they entered the Wolf River and proceeded to Fremont where they turned raced back to Lake Winnebago. The cities of Neenah and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin were hosts for this race. . Media coverage of the race had a national flavor. The Milwaukee Sentinel, Boston Globe, Look Magazine Lakeland Yachting Magazine, Boat Sport Magazine, Outboard Magazine, New York Times, The International News Service, United Press, Associated Press, Radio Stations and Television covered the event.. This book covers the thrills and spills of the roughest and toughest outboard race in the country. Boats crashed, flipped, and broke. Motors failed and drivers were injured. Exhausted drivers were happy to just finish the race. . The book has all the finishers with their model of boat and engine. The people behind the scenes are included. The organizers, the prizes and the officials are all listed along with 31 Photos of this great outboard event. Today this race is stilled talked about among the outboard racing circles.