Category Articles

Articles about hydroplane racing

The Saga of Jim Harvey

Jim Harvey 1993

The Saga of Jim Harvey By Fred Farley – Unlimited Hydroplane Historian For four decades, Jim Harvey of Seattle, Washington, has been a major player in “Water Racing’s Greatest Show.” Starting as a crew member for one of the “budget” teams…

1982 Gold Cup Remembered

1982 Gold Cup

1982 Gold Cup Remembered (Source: Greenhow) Chip Hanauer leads John Walters and Dean Chenoweth to the start finish line during racing action at the 1982 Gold Cup. By Fred Farley – Unlimited Hydroplane Historian Following the death of Bill Muncey…

1952 President’s Cup Regatta

1951 Miss Pepsi

1952 President’s Cup Remembered By David Beach Beneath a sky that made photography a pleasure, the 1952 President’s Cup Regatta reestablished the Unlimited Hydroplane class as the most spectacular in APBA racing. Not one case of “gearboxitus” developed during the…

1947 Gold Cup Remembered

1947 Miss Pepsi V

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…

Two Winners in One Race

1955 Breathless Crane

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

Bernie Little Dean Chenoweth

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

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

U-77 Miss Chrysler Crew

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

Miss Madison Wins Gold Cup

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.…