1956 U-77 Miss Wahoo

What happens when a Cold War, pop-culture hero goes to work for one of the most influential families in the aviation world? You get the U-77 Miss Wahoo—a mahogany, maroon and cream unlimited hydroplane owned by Bill Boeing, Jr. and campaigned by the charismatic Mira Slovak. Named after the hometown of Boeing’s wife, the Miss Wahoo was one of the most popular hydroplanes during the golden-era of the sport. Slovak, who had dramatically defected from communist Czechoslovakia only a handful of years before, proved to be a natural behind the wheel and drove the Wahoo to several popular victories in 1957 and 1959.

Seriously damaged in the 1960 Seattle race, the boat would emerge again in 1963 as the Stoen Brothers’ Miss Exide.  Known as the “Happy Hydro” for being one of the first unlimiteds to utilize nitrous oxide, the Exide won several more races at the hands of Bill Brow. In 1966 the hull became the 3rd Miss Budweiser and was tragically destroyed at the ill-fated President’s Cup race in Washington D.C., taking the life of Don Wilson.