Hydroplane racing burst onto the Seattle scene in 1950, and local sports fans embraced it with a passion that is hard to imagine. Throughout the early 1950s, thousands of fans flocked to Lake Washington to watch classic races between Seattle's Slo-mo-shun boats and a fleet of East Coast challengers. For over 40 years, hydroplane racing was synonymous with summertime in Seattle. During its golden age, when hydro fever was at its height, drivers like Bill Muncey, Ron Musson, and Mira Slovak were sports heroes on par with today's Ken Griffey Jr. or Ichiro. Seattle became the hydro capital of the nation.
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The Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in Kent, Washington, is the only national museum dedicated exclusively to unlimited hydroplane racing. David D. Williams, the museum's director and author of Hydroplane Racing in Seattle, has been driving unlimited hydroplanes for over a dozen years and was the primary stunt driver for the movie Madison. This is his fourth book on the subject of hydroplane racing.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Hydro Fever,
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This review is from: Hydroplane Racing in Seattle (WA) (Images of Sports) (Paperback)
"Hydroplane Racing in Seattle" tells the story of the explosive growth in popularity of Unlimited Hydroplane racing in Seattle during the 1950s and the subsequent changes in the sport. This book is well-written and professionally packaged in terms of photo selection and page layout. The 125 pages are populated with approximately 200 mostly excellent black and white photographs of the boats and the personalities that made them go. You can do the math; the book is rich in photographs, and maybe a little thin in text. The front cover contains a small, tantalizing color photo of the restored "Slo-mo-shun V".
The scope of the book is limited to Seattle-based boats and Seattle races from 1909 through 1984. This corresponds to the piston engine era; one may conclude that the "hair dryer boats" (turbines) are out of favor with the author, but actually he has chosen a good cut-off point. The story of Stan Sayres and his legendary "Slo-mo-shun" boats is well told in Chapters One and Two. The ongoing controversy over who designed which parts of the "Slo-mo-shun IV" is examined. Not explored are the contributions of other designers and builders such as Rich Hallett and his client Paul Sawyer. Subsequent chapters focus on the heroes of the sport (Bill Muncey, Mira Slovak, Ron Musson, etc.) and the legendary boats (the "Miss Thriftways", the "Miss Bardahls", the "Hawaii Kai III", the "Pay N Paks", etc.) The fanatical enthusiasm of the Seattle fans is alluded to but not examined in any detail. No mention is made of the kids towing miniature hydroplanes behind their bicycles. Very little mention is made of the sometimes freakish "dream boats" such as the "Miss Skyway", the 24 cylinder "Scooter too" aka "Adios" aka "Miss Moses Lake", "Miss University District", "Shanty II", "Zephyr-Fury", and the first "$ Bill". The remarkable boat building career of Bob Gilliam is also pretty much ignored. Some of the other things that were omitted were the competition between TV stations for audience share (the battle of the long lenses) and the competition between newspapers for reader share. The sometimes bitter rivalry between Seattle and Detroit is given adequate coverage, but it would be nice to have a photo or two of some of the Seattle camp's tormentors like the "Miss Pepsi" or the "Such Crust III". The most glaring error in a mostly error-free book is the assertion that the "Slo-mo-shun V" qualifying flip in 1955 occurred in the first lap; most accounts state that the blowover was on the back straightaway in the third and final qualifying lap. There are many photographs of flips, collisions, and the resulting wreckage. Even Detroit-based boats are included in the photographic record of incidents that make hydroplane racing a truly dangerous motor sport. I was there for the fiftieth running of the Gold Cup on Lake Washington in 1957. Reading David Williams' book brought back memories of that race. I would recommend "Hydroplane Racing in Seattle" to anyone who thrills to the sights and sounds of Unlimited Hydroplane racing... the roostertails and the outrageous color schemes, a V-12 aircraft engine revving beyond its design limits and that deeper, ominous sound when the driver punches the nitrous oxide button. Bob Foley
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great but sad,
This review is from: Hydroplane Racing in Seattle (WA) (Images of Sports) (Paperback)
This is a very good book about the early history of unlimited racing in Seattle. Beware though, it is also very sad as it chronicles the butcher shop that unlimited racing was in those days. Nearly every chapter has some great memories but each section also brings back those sad days of seeing a favorite boat destroyed and yet another driver killed. It was tough reading through some parts of this book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
History at its Finest!,
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This review is from: Hydroplane Racing in Seattle (WA) (Images of Sports) (Paperback)
This book is well worth it, for those of you who are sparked by the idea of Hydroplane racing. It has some very in depth info as well as some great photographs. Enjoy
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Any way that you look at it, 1909 was an important year for powerboat racing in Seattle. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Bill Muncey, Ted Jones, Stan Sayres, Bernie Little, Lake Washington, Ron Jones, Jim Lucero, Lou Fageol, Miss Bardahl, Notre Dame, Ron Musson, Blue Blaster, Miss Budweiser, Miss Thrif, Russ Schleeh, Bill Osborne, Courtesy Jensen Motor Boats Archives, Golden Potlatch, Tahoe Miss, Ted Junes, Tony Jensen New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Any way that you look at it, 1909 was an important year for powerboat racing in Seattle. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Bill Muncey, Ted Jones, Stan Sayres, Bernie Little, Lake Washington, Ron Jones, Jim Lucero, Lou Fageol, Miss Bardahl, Notre Dame, Ron Musson, Blue Blaster, Miss Budweiser, Miss Thrif, Russ Schleeh, Bill Osborne, Courtesy Jensen Motor Boats Archives, Golden Potlatch, Tahoe Miss, Ted Junes, Tony Jensen New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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