H1 Unlimited Writer’s Panel Volume 7: Weather Woes
With the severe weather that the H1 Unlimited Series experienced in Guntersville and Madison earlier this season. Do you recall other races where weather became a factor?
Craig Fjarlie (Unlimited News Journal Writer & H1 Unlimited Volunteer)
Weather is a potential problem at any sporting event. The first time I experienced disappointment because of weather was at the 1963 Seafair race. A surprise rainstorm caused a delay of 90 minutes before the start of heat 2A. At that time, I was too young to have a driver’s license. I had come to the race with my father. When the rain hit, he wanted to leave and watch the rest of the race on TV. I had no choice but to go home, too.
In the following years, I have been at numerous races when weather was an issue. Sometimes the delay was for only an hour or two, other times the weather resulted in cancelation of a race before it could be completed. The type of weather problem has often been rain or thunderstorms, but there have been situations when strong winds made water too rough for racing. The 1960 Gold Cup on Lake Mead was declared “no contest” because of wind, and the 2008 Gold Cup in Detroit was called off for the same reason.
Brad Luce (H1 Unlimited Public Address Announcer)
Weather has been a factor at many H1 Unlimited races over the years. Be it rain, wind, thunder and lightning, or even heat, all can have an effect on the outcome of an event. A few of those memorable weather-related events come quickly to mind. Two APBA Gold Cup races (1960 and 2008) were declared “NO Contest” due to high winds that precluded further racing. The 1995 race in Seattle was run in heavy rain that made visibility a challenge for the drivers. The following year in Seattle wasn’t much better as high winds played havoc with the log boom, blowing most of it away by the time the final heat was run. Even darkness played a role in hydroplane racing as it did in Seattle in 1960 when the final heat was rescheduled for the following day.
But for those who witnessed, in person, the 1973 World’s Championship race on Lake Washington, they will never forget it. The weather was horrible that day. But it didn’t matter. Heat 1-C is often referred to as the greatest race no one ever saw. When it came time to run, a dense overcast, fog, heavy mist, and rain descended on the south end of the lake. The few fans remaining on the shoreline braving the poor weather, literally could not see across the racecourse. The Budweiser and Pay ‘N Pak, driven by Dean Chenoweth and Micky Remund respectively, nonetheless raced side by side at speeds never before seen on the big 3-mile course. Fans saw, kind of, the first 120+ MPH laps in competition. For me, it is the greatest single unlimited hydroplane heat I ever saw. And the weather was a big part of it.
Jeff Morrow (Former Sports Editor of the Tri-City Herald)
Never seen such a stranger season in which a final hasn’t been completed so far.
But weather has always been a factor in hydroplane racing.
Chip Hanauer once told me that’s what makes boat racing so hard compared to auto racing: the course (water) is constantly moving.
I seem to remember the 2008 APBA Gold Cup race in Detroit was blown out with constant 20 mph wins. Then-commissioner Sam Cole had to declare it a no-contest. The tough part was it was going to be the 100th running of the Gold Cup.
Instead, the 2009 Detroit race became the 100th running.
In the Tri-Cities, I can think of two instances where weather really played a factor — although both races would be completed.
First, in 2006, high winds at 30 mph threatened the race all day on Sunday. Delays happened, and it took Ken Muscatel to get his boat out and see if the waves on the Columbia River were navigable.
Muscatel said yes, but a number of drivers still weren’t convinced. And they still weren’t convinced when Dave Villwock flipped the Ellstrom boat on the day’s first heat race.
But the teams kept plugging away, the winds died down late in the afternoon, and wouldn’t you know it — the delays gave the Ellstrom team enough time to fix the boat and allow Villwock to win the final in what he called won of his greatest victories.
A Flip and Win.
The other situation was the 2021 Columbia Cup. For two years because of covid, no one had touched the Columbia River. An unusual hot summer had allowed incredible vegetation growth in the river.
A bed of sago pondweed about a football field in length and covering lanes 1 through 4 had grown on the Franklin County side of the river. It affected a boat’s ability to run through there as the intakes would choke on it.
No racing was held on Saturday, and the true heroes were the Columbia Cup water operations team, which spent much of Saturday evening using heavy chains to scoop the stuff up out of the water.
All of the weekend’s racing was held on Sunday.
Andy Muntz (Unlimited News Journal Editor & H1 Unlimited Board Member)
It’s not unusual for hydro races to be impacted by adverse weather. Wind is a particular culprit, given the fact that the boats are actually flying across the water’s surface. One notable example was the APBA Gold Cup of 1960, which was scheduled for Lake Mead near Las Vegas. The rules at the time said that the winner of the Gold Cup had the honor of selecting the site for the following year’s race, so when Maverick won in 1959, its owner William Waggoner opted to bring the race to Las Vegas for the first time.
After four successful days of qualifying, race day arrived with sunny skies and a six-hour delay for no apparent reason. When Heat 1A finally got underway, Ron Musson drove Hawaii Kai III to an early lead until a broken engine valve reduced its pace to a crawl, which allowed Dallas Sartz in Miss Seattle Too to roar past and claim the victory. Then the wind kicked up, whitecaps appeared on the lake’s surface, and swells rolled across the racecourse.
The drivers scheduled for Heat 1B voted three to two vote that the conditions weren’t safe, but race officials were now pressed for time started the heat anyway. Only two laps later, the sponson of Gale V dug in to one of those swells, the boat spun around, and Bill Cantrell was pitched from the cockpit with a severely cut foot. After fumbling around trying to get the flare gun from inside a locked cabinet, officials then stopped the race.
The wind continued to blow harder, whitecaps appeared in greater numbers on the lake’s surface, and eventually it became obvious that the race could not continue. Drivers and owners huddled several times with officials until finally it was announced that because “it was impossible for the sponsors to meet the minimum requirements—financially and physically,” the event would be declared “No Contest.”
That was then followed by more arguing because, since there was no winner, how would the location of the 1961 race be determined? Willard Rhodes of Seattle, the owner of Miss Thriftway, suggested that choice should be made by the boat that finished second in 1959—his boat. George Simon of Detroit, the owner of Miss U.S., thought the honor should instead go to the fastest qualifier for the race—his boat. When it finally came, the 1961 Gold Cup was held in Reno, Nevada, but how that came about is another story for a different time.
David Newton (Publisher of Roostertail Talk Podcast)
H1 Unlimited is such a unique sport for so many reasons. One being that weather has a huge impact on racing. Unlike other motorsports as hydroplanes race on water the track can continually change throughout the day with the weather. Wind and rain can affect so much with the water conditions as we have witnessed this year. I have heard teams comment that they lost a race as they set up for water conditions that changed in the minutes before the final heat could take place.
Both of the races so far have ended early without a complete running of the final heat due to weather. This is not the first time this has happened, and this will not be the last. Gold Cups have been cancelled (1960 in Nevada and 2008 in Detroit). I can remember H1 Unlimited trying to run in St. Claire in 2004. The race was called halfway due to extremely rough water conditions. Several of the drivers could not see while driving on the racecourse as the water conditions were so poor and had to rely on their spotters to make sure they could safely navigate the course. Even in calm conditions I have seen delays in racing. A few years ago in Seattle there was no breeze on a very hot Saturday afternoon. After the airshow the planes left a heavy cloud of smoke over the racecourse that caused very poor visibility. The organization had to delay the heats until the smoke could dissipate, which took some time with no wind.
Hopefully we will not have any other delays or cancellations of races for our last 2 races as Tri-Cities and Seattle typically have good weather in July and August. Let’s hope for a great end to the racing season!
H1 Unlimited Writer’s Panel Volume 7: Weather Woes
With the severe weather that the H1 Unlimited Series experienced in Guntersville and Madison earlier this season. Do you recall other races where weather became a factor?
Craig Fjarlie (Unlimited News Journal Writer & H1 Unlimited Volunteer)
Weather is a potential problem at any sporting event. The first time I experienced disappointment because of weather was at the 1963 Seafair race. A surprise rainstorm caused a delay of 90 minutes before the start of heat 2A. At that time, I was too young to have a driver’s license. I had come to the race with my father. When the rain hit, he wanted to leave and watch the rest of the race on TV. I had no choice but to go home, too.
In the following years, I have been at numerous races when weather was an issue. Sometimes the delay was for only an hour or two, other times the weather resulted in cancelation of a race before it could be completed. The type of weather problem has often been rain or thunderstorms, but there have been situations when strong winds made water too rough for racing. The 1960 Gold Cup on Lake Mead was declared “no contest” because of wind, and the 2008 Gold Cup in Detroit was called off for the same reason.
Brad Luce (H1 Unlimited Public Address Announcer)
Weather has been a factor at many H1 Unlimited races over the years. Be it rain, wind, thunder and lightning, or even heat, all can have an effect on the outcome of an event. A few of those memorable weather-related events come quickly to mind. Two APBA Gold Cup races (1960 and 2008) were declared “NO Contest” due to high winds that precluded further racing. The 1995 race in Seattle was run in heavy rain that made visibility a challenge for the drivers. The following year in Seattle wasn’t much better as high winds played havoc with the log boom, blowing most of it away by the time the final heat was run. Even darkness played a role in hydroplane racing as it did in Seattle in 1960 when the final heat was rescheduled for the following day.
But for those who witnessed, in person, the 1973 World’s Championship race on Lake Washington, they will never forget it. The weather was horrible that day. But it didn’t matter. Heat 1-C is often referred to as the greatest race no one ever saw. When it came time to run, a dense overcast, fog, heavy mist, and rain descended on the south end of the lake. The few fans remaining on the shoreline braving the poor weather, literally could not see across the racecourse. The Budweiser and Pay ‘N Pak, driven by Dean Chenoweth and Micky Remund respectively, nonetheless raced side by side at speeds never before seen on the big 3-mile course. Fans saw, kind of, the first 120+ MPH laps in competition. For me, it is the greatest single unlimited hydroplane heat I ever saw. And the weather was a big part of it.
Jeff Morrow (Former Sports Editor of the Tri-City Herald)
Never seen such a stranger season in which a final hasn’t been completed so far.
But weather has always been a factor in hydroplane racing.
Chip Hanauer once told me that’s what makes boat racing so hard compared to auto racing: the course (water) is constantly moving.
I seem to remember the 2008 APBA Gold Cup race in Detroit was blown out with constant 20 mph wins. Then-commissioner Sam Cole had to declare it a no-contest. The tough part was it was going to be the 100th running of the Gold Cup.
Instead, the 2009 Detroit race became the 100th running.
In the Tri-Cities, I can think of two instances where weather really played a factor — although both races would be completed.
First, in 2006, high winds at 30 mph threatened the race all day on Sunday. Delays happened, and it took Ken Muscatel to get his boat out and see if the waves on the Columbia River were navigable.
Muscatel said yes, but a number of drivers still weren’t convinced. And they still weren’t convinced when Dave Villwock flipped the Ellstrom boat on the day’s first heat race.
But the teams kept plugging away, the winds died down late in the afternoon, and wouldn’t you know it — the delays gave the Ellstrom team enough time to fix the boat and allow Villwock to win the final in what he called won of his greatest victories.
A Flip and Win.
The other situation was the 2021 Columbia Cup. For two years because of covid, no one had touched the Columbia River. An unusual hot summer had allowed incredible vegetation growth in the river.
A bed of sago pondweed about a football field in length and covering lanes 1 through 4 had grown on the Franklin County side of the river. It affected a boat’s ability to run through there as the intakes would choke on it.
No racing was held on Saturday, and the true heroes were the Columbia Cup water operations team, which spent much of Saturday evening using heavy chains to scoop the stuff up out of the water.
All of the weekend’s racing was held on Sunday.
Andy Muntz (Unlimited News Journal Editor & H1 Unlimited Board Member)
It’s not unusual for hydro races to be impacted by adverse weather. Wind is a particular culprit, given the fact that the boats are actually flying across the water’s surface. One notable example was the APBA Gold Cup of 1960, which was scheduled for Lake Mead near Las Vegas. The rules at the time said that the winner of the Gold Cup had the honor of selecting the site for the following year’s race, so when Maverick won in 1959, its owner William Waggoner opted to bring the race to Las Vegas for the first time.
After four successful days of qualifying, race day arrived with sunny skies and a six-hour delay for no apparent reason. When Heat 1A finally got underway, Ron Musson drove Hawaii Kai III to an early lead until a broken engine valve reduced its pace to a crawl, which allowed Dallas Sartz in Miss Seattle Too to roar past and claim the victory. Then the wind kicked up, whitecaps appeared on the lake’s surface, and swells rolled across the racecourse.
The drivers scheduled for Heat 1B voted three to two vote that the conditions weren’t safe, but race officials were now pressed for time started the heat anyway. Only two laps later, the sponson of Gale V dug in to one of those swells, the boat spun around, and Bill Cantrell was pitched from the cockpit with a severely cut foot. After fumbling around trying to get the flare gun from inside a locked cabinet, officials then stopped the race.
The wind continued to blow harder, whitecaps appeared in greater numbers on the lake’s surface, and eventually it became obvious that the race could not continue. Drivers and owners huddled several times with officials until finally it was announced that because “it was impossible for the sponsors to meet the minimum requirements—financially and physically,” the event would be declared “No Contest.”
That was then followed by more arguing because, since there was no winner, how would the location of the 1961 race be determined? Willard Rhodes of Seattle, the owner of Miss Thriftway, suggested that choice should be made by the boat that finished second in 1959—his boat. George Simon of Detroit, the owner of Miss U.S., thought the honor should instead go to the fastest qualifier for the race—his boat. When it finally came, the 1961 Gold Cup was held in Reno, Nevada, but how that came about is another story for a different time.
David Newton (Publisher of Roostertail Talk Podcast)
H1 Unlimited is such a unique sport for so many reasons. One being that weather has a huge impact on racing. Unlike other motorsports as hydroplanes race on water the track can continually change throughout the day with the weather. Wind and rain can affect so much with the water conditions as we have witnessed this year. I have heard teams comment that they lost a race as they set up for water conditions that changed in the minutes before the final heat could take place.
Both of the races so far have ended early without a complete running of the final heat due to weather. This is not the first time this has happened, and this will not be the last. Gold Cups have been cancelled (1960 in Nevada and 2008 in Detroit). I can remember H1 Unlimited trying to run in St. Claire in 2004. The race was called halfway due to extremely rough water conditions. Several of the drivers could not see while driving on the racecourse as the water conditions were so poor and had to rely on their spotters to make sure they could safely navigate the course. Even in calm conditions I have seen delays in racing. A few years ago in Seattle there was no breeze on a very hot Saturday afternoon. After the airshow the planes left a heavy cloud of smoke over the racecourse that caused very poor visibility. The organization had to delay the heats until the smoke could dissipate, which took some time with no wind.
Hopefully we will not have any other delays or cancellations of races for our last 2 races as Tri-Cities and Seattle typically have good weather in July and August. Let’s hope for a great end to the racing season!