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Gold Cup
Fever!
The
APBA Gold Cup is to power boat racing what the Super Bowl is to football,
what the Kentucky Derby is to horse racing, what the World Series is to
baseball, and what the Indianapolis 500 is to automobile racing.
Officially known as the "American Power Boat Association
Challenge Cup," it is the ultimate prize that every competitor strives to
win at least once, for those who win the great race are forever known as
Gold Cup champions.
This year marks a historic milestone for the event for this
will be the 100th running of the APBA Gold Cup, with the event to take place
this July in Detroit. To help put this historic race into perspective and to
help us understand what it means to hoist the Gold Cup trophy, we've
assembled a panel of champions. On Friday, June 20th, the Museum will
host a panel discussion featuring past Gold Cup winners Nate Brown, Chip
Hanauer, George Henley, and Billy Schumacher talking about their experiences winning the
world's greatest power boat race.
Doors open at 6:30 PM and the panel discussion begins at 7:00
PM. Admission is free to Museum Members and is only $5.00 to all others.
Hydro Fever
and the Unveiling of the new Dave Heerensperger Library
Our annual
Hydro Fever event kicks off at Saturday, May 24th at 10 AM and
features over a dozen tables of hydroplane memorabilia for sale.
“Casper Cup” electric models for the kids to play with, and at noon
we will unveil our new Dave Heerensperger Library featuring a
searchable electronic data base with over 12,000 hydroplane photos
and the incredible Crimmin data base of hydroplane history.
Admission to Hydro Fever is free.
Open
Microphone Night at the Museum
 There is a long
heritage of unlimited races have an interest in music. Gold Cup winner
Guy Lombardo was much more famous for his music then his racing. Bill
Muncey, the winningest driver in the history of the sport was a
superlative musician.
There are a number of very talented musicians
still associated with unlimited racing, and with that in mind we are
turning the Museum into a night club on Friday April 18th. We will
provide the stage, sound systems and drinks. The hydroplane community
will provide the talent!
We’ve heard from a bunch of people who will be
performing, including guitar legend Don Mock with his number one
student, Chip Hanauer! Also on the bill will be Nate Brown
and the SOB’s (short for Some Old Boat
racers) If you are interested in performing, call David Williams at
(206) 764-9453 ASAP. Slots are filling up fast. If you just want to come
on down and enjoy the fun, remember that the doors open at 6:30 and the
show starts at 7:00. Admission is free to Museum Members, all others pay
$5.00.
Vintage Hydroplanes to Test
April 17th
 The Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association, Inc. along
with Seafair and the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum announced they will
jointly produce Spring Training, 2008 for the Unlimited Lights, Thunderboats
(G-Boats), and Lighter than LIGHTS teams along with the 1955 Miss Thriftway
and the 1962 Miss Bardahl.
The event which has been ULHRA's pre-season open testing
session since 2003 will be held at Stan Sayers Pits on Lake Washington at
Genessee Park.
Unlimited Lights, Thunderboats (G) and Lighter than LIGHTS teams from the
three ULHRA racing series will be testing along with vintage unlimiteds.
Testing will be conducted on Lake Washington from 11:00 am till 2:00 pm on
Thursday, April 17th and the public is invited to attend.
Hurricane Nears Finish Line
The
luckless Hurricane IV never won a race, but she came close a couple of times
and almost won the 1952 Gold Cup! Only six boats qualified for the race that
year, they were led by the Miss Pepsi at 103.746 MPH followed closely by the
Slo Mo V at 102.564 then the Slo mo IV at 93 mph, the Such Crust IV at 91
mph the Hurricane at 89 and the Miss Great Lakes at 88 mph.
The first heat saw the Slo mo IV lose a propeller and coast
to a stop early in the race, then Slo mo V’s motor broke down and both
Seattle boats floated haplessly as the Miss Pepsi won the heat, Hurricane IV
was second and the Such Crust IV took third. The Great Lakes broke a gearbox
and was finished for the day.
More on the Hurricane
IV...
Thanks Lucile!
Harry
and Lucile Woods began volunteering to help put on unlimited races at the
first Gold Cup in Seattle in 1951. By the mid 50’s, Lucile was working as a
scorer and Harry as a referee. Mike Fitzsimons tells the story that in 1955,
it was Lucile who figured out that the Gale V, not Miss Thriftway, had won
the infamous 1955 Gold Cup race.
When unlimited racing moved to the Tri-Cities in 1966, Harry and Lucile
worked tirelessly to help put on the first race, and came back every year to
keep it going. The Woods were absolutely indispensable to unlimited racing
during the 1960s and 70s. Harry passed away in 1980, but Lucile continued to
come to the races for another 26 years!
This spring, on May 28, 2007 Lucile Woods passed away at the age of 94. In
her will, she left a very generous donation of $35,000 to the Hydroplane &
Raceboat Museum. While the Museum is profoundly grateful to Lucile for her
very generous gift, if we had our choice, we would much rather have Lucile
back!
Madison Movie Reunion
 On
Friday, March 21st, the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum will be hosting
a special Madison Movie Reunion. This event will feature a panel
discussion with drivers and crew members reminiscing and answering your
questions about making the Madison movie, followed by an exclusive
screening of the movie. Doors open at 6:30 with the discussion starting at
7:00 and the movie starting at 8:15. As always, admission is free to all
card-holding Museum
Members.
Lecture Series Resumes in February
 The
Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum kicks off the 2008 Museum Lecture Series with a
panel discussion hosted by unlimited hydroplane legends Ron Jones, Dixon
Smith and Ken Frankel. February's topic of discussion is Propellers -
Past, Present and Future. This highly technical discussion is sure to be
of interest not only to our Museum membership but also to anybody currently
involved in hydroplane racing. The panel discussion is slated for Friday,
February 15th at 7:00 PM at the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum in Kent,
Washington. The lecture is free to museum members and is only $5.00 for
non-members. Coffee and other refreshments will be provided. Come early to
reserve your front front seat!
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