THE FORESTER, Thursday, September, 4th, 1958.
A Muskoka speed-boat driver dared death on Fairy Lake on Sunday afternoon
in attempt to save the life of a man, whose encouragement and advice has
helped place the Muskoka man's name in the top bracket of world speed boat
pilots.
Ignoring the danger of death beneath the churning propellers of the
two leading boats in the second heat of the $10,000 Duke of York race,
Art Asbury, of Huntsville, leaped from his green-hulled Miss Muskoka
to go to the assistance of Waterdown, Ontario's, Bill Braden, who had been
raked from his Aerial V cockpit by the American hydroplane Sir
Ron II in an unavoidable collision, and plummeted into the depths of
Fairy Lake. Death had been almost instantaneous for Braden; his chest had
been torn open and only a life preserver kept him afloat.
Unaware of the accident on the farthest leg of the two-mile course
at a point off Big Island, the leaders in the big race, Bud Schroeder's
American boat Suddenly, closely followed by Canadian Bill Hodgson's
Miss
Canadiana, skimmed around the turning buoys, close to the point where
Asbury was groping in the water for the man who had helped give him his
start towards world speed boat honors.
Before officials of the race could flag down the leading boats, Asbury
said they roared past him twice as he swam to a white helmet bobbing in
the water. "I lifted Bill Braden's head out of the water, with one hand
and put my other hand on his chest. When I felt his chest, I knew he was
dead." Barely able to hold back the tears, Asbury, from his bed in Huntsville
Memorial Hospital where he had been taken for treatment for shock, told
of his frantic search of the water for his 44-year-old friend of more than
10 years standing.
As he raced Miss Muskoka around the last of three turning buoys
on the farthest reach the 2-mile triangular course, Asbury, in fifth spot
came upon the scene of the collision between Braden's boat Aerial V
and Sir Ron II driven by Joseph Albee, of Dearborne, Michigan. These
two boats had been in a ding-dong battle for third place, with Braden having
a slight edge for third slot and Sir Ron 11 racing only 10 feet behind
him, and in a good tactical position on the inside of the course,
Asbury said.
ASBURYS' STORY
Art Asbury, in fifth place and more than 200 feet behind the dueling
Aerial V and Sir Ron 11 gave a graphic description of what he saw as he
plummeted along in the wake of the two hydroplanes. "I had decided to let
the two of them fight it out for third and fourth place and had made up
my mind to make my bid to take the race in the 10th lap. "I throttled down
to 75 or 80 miles an hour as I hit the first of three buoys not too bad.
While I was making a turn of the first buoy, Aerial and Sir Ron
II were racing around the third and final buoy of the turn. There was
probably not much more than ten feet between them, and I believe Aerial
V was in the lead as they turned the last buoy. Sir Ron II was
on the inside and Braden and Aerial V was outside of him. As Aerial
V took the corner, from what I saw, it nearly tipped over. It's
too bad it hadn't, for I believe Bill Braden would have been alive had
he been flung from his boat. When I came past the third and coming to a
stop in the water, with the Aerial V wedged on to the hull of Sir
Ron II. They were about 100 feet down the stretch past the final buoy
of that
turn. The driver of Sir Ron II was pointing to a spot back by
the final buoy of the turn," Asbury said, "and he guided his boat to the
point. I knew he was trying to direct me to where Bill Braden was. I became
frantic trying to find him and I felt he would be unconscious and realized
the life jacket he was wearing would not float an unconscious person, so
his face would be out of the water."
FINDS BODY
"I didn't see Braden until I got 10 feet from him and then I recognized
his helmet in the water but it didn't look as though there was anyone under
It. All I could see was torn pieces of his life jacket collar. The color
of the water around the helmet indicated he was bleeding, and seriously
hurt. He was floating face downwards. I stopped Miss Muskoka and
dived in. I was alone. I reached him and lifted his face from the water
and when I touched his chest with my other hand I realized that what I
feared worst had happened to a great friend and without a doubt the finest
gentleman that Canada has ever known".
Asbury said that shortly afterwards a patrol boat driven by one of
the Olan boys of Huntsville, and containing Ian Barrie of Toronto, a course
judge in the Duke of York race, pulled alongside. "I was in the water with
Bill Braden until then. They immediately took him from me, I was overcome
with shock."
Asbury clambered back into his own boat and the first inkling that
Bill Braden had been killed came when Asbury raced Miss Muskoka
across the course to the official starting barge. He zoomed in, cut his
motor and announced in three words tersely, "Bill Braden's dead." |
