Articles about hydroplane racing
Two Winners in One Race By Fred Farley – Unlimited Hydroplane Historian The 1955 Lake Tahoe Mapes Trophy contains an unusual historical footnote. It had two winners. That’s right, TWO winners. Well, yes and no. The 1955 Mapes Trophy took…
Bernie Little Remembered (Source: Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum Collection) Bernie Little poses with his driver Dean Bernie Little Dean Chenoweth during the 1982 season. By Fred Farley – Unlimited Hydroplane Historian Bernie Little, the most successful owner in the history of…
1938 Gold Cup Remembered By Fred Farley – Unlimited Hydroplane Historian The U.S. team held back the foreign challenge in 1937 but bowed to Count Rossi in 1938. Rossi pushed his 19-foot 7-inch ALAGI, powered by half of an Isotta-Fraschini…
Miss Chrysler Crew Remembered By Fred Farley – Unlimited Hydroplane Historian In power boat racing, radical ideas have a bad habit of going nowhere. For every SLO-MO-SHUN IV that made it, there’s a ZEPHYR-FURY, a MISS LIBERTY, a LION BAR…
The Madison Regatta – 50 Years of Thunder By Fred Farley – Unlimited Hydroplane Historian 1950s For 50 years, the city of Madison, Indiana, has played host to “Water Racing’s Greatest Show,” the Unlimited hydroplanes-the Thunderboats of the racing world.…
The Mark Evans Story By Fred Farley – Unlimited Hydroplane Historian Norman Mark Evans first took the wheel of an Unlimited hydroplane when he attempted to qualify EVERGREEN ROOFING for the 1979 Tri-Cities (Washington) Columbia Cup. The boat, a former…
The Mike Hanson Story By Fred Farley – Unlimited Hydroplane Historian Nicknamed the “Boat Doctor,” Michael D. Hanson is one of hydroplane racing’s most versatile participants. He builds them and has driven them. In 1984, he piloted Dick Neeson’s MADAME…
The Saga of “Wild Bill” Cantrell By Fred Farley – Unlimited Hydroplane Historian Time: Saturday night, August 9, 1980. Place: Jack McGovern’s Music Hall in downtown Seattle. Occasion: the gala Unlimited Hydroplane Hall of Fame Banquet, honoring the great names…
Bill Wurster – Then and Now (Photo: Mike Johnson) George Wood JR returning to the pits during the 1992 San Diego race. By Fred Farley – Unlimited Hydroplane Historian As the story goes, Bill Wurster was sitting in his pleasure boat…
A Detroit Debacle (Source: Mark Douty) A Seattle Hydro Roared Home First In The Gold Cup But Then Officials Stepped In, And The Affair Became A Detroit Debacle. By Jim Atwater – (Reprinted from Sports Illustrated, September 10, 1956) Covered…