February 2017 SUPERFAN ISSUE: It’s fun to live your collection. Many of our readers have huge collections of hydroplane pins, glasses, driver uniforms, art, pieces of boats, and any number of other mementos of this sport. Among them are Sue and John Boone, longtime hydro fans and Seattle race volunteers. During all the years of attending races and events, they have collected memorabilia that they display in their family room. Chris Tracy talked with them about hydroplanes and their collection at their home. ue Boone is the same age as Seafair and has attended every Ssingle Seattle Seafair race, albeit the first few in a bassinet. She grew up in West Seattle and remembers that they could hear the hydroplane piston engines when unlimited boats went out on Lake Washington. And, when she heard the engine noise, she’d run to the TV and turn on Channel 5, as that station would break into its V IN THIS ISSUE: scheduled programming to show Colonel Russ Schleeh. a boat out on the lake trying to At age 8, Sue would take the 2 My $0.02 Worth qualify. bus, all by herself, from West Seattle by Andy Muntz Starting in the 1950s, she to downtown Seattle and transfer attended the Seattle races with buses and go to south Seattle to 3 Awards Banquet her dad each year and she remem- watch the time trials. That’s about bers seeing the Slo-mo-shun V flip. the time she started collecting 5 Revised final stats Attending the races with her dad buttons. She’d get into the cold pits became not only a tradition, but a with a Seafair pin and then get 6 Mourning Ron Jones special time for Sue and her dad. buttons that teams gave away for 16 HydroFile She recalls that she got her first free or tossed to fans in the cold by Lon Erickson hydro button at age 4, a Shanty pits. button given to her by driver Continued on page 8 Andy My $0.02 Worth Muntz Editorial Comment For those new to this sport, the “U” pretty much limited to Lycoming that is painted on every boat right T-55, L-7 gas turbines with tight ments with Steve Morris Engines in front of the boat number stands restrictions on fuel flow and the of Muskegon, Michigan, to use an for ”Unlimited.” Back in the olden amount of power that can be engine that was developed for use days, it meant that there were no applied to them. in an exotic car to be built in Dubai restrictions on the size of the When the movement toward and to be known as the Devel engines used in the boats. turbine engines became serious Sixteen. With no restrictions, the back in the mid-1980s, part of the This is no ordinary car. Rumors unlimited-class boats attracted a reasoning for the change was that about it have been flying about the number of innovators who were the World War II fighter plane car industry ever since the project willing to try some outlandish engines being used at the time were was revealed at the Dubai Motor things. I recall Austin Snell, for getting too old. And, they had a Show in 2013. They talked about a example, who in 1962 tried to good point. Those engines were car powered by a V-16 engine that power his Coral Reef with a V-12 designed in the early-30s, more would accelerate from 0 to 60 at an Daimler-Benz engine from a than 50 years before. incredible 1.8 seconds and top out German Bf-109 Messerschmitt Well, guess what? The at 350 mph. fighter plane. Problem was, the Lycoming T-55 was designed in I’m not saying the 16-cylinder Germans mounted their engines on the mid-50s, almost 60 years ago. engine built for the Devel Sixteen the planes in an inverted position, That’s why some people are will revolutionize our sport. Put- which meant it was actually beginning to think about what will ting an engine in a race boat always upside down sitting in a hydroplane come next. creates many unique technical with the manifold on top, thus Perhaps an answer is tucked challenges. But, it is fun to see creating a challenge for the oil away in the back pages of this issue, teams willing to try new things. scavenge pumps. for there is an intriguing tidbit that That, and the rotary engine Today’s boats aren’t really may be a harbinger of an contemplated by the U-8 team, unlimited, even though they still interesting year ahead. might make 2017 an interesting have that “U” painted on them. For Jay Leckrone and Denise Garl year for watching the boats, and the many years, the engines have been have apparently made arrange- engines. EDITOR: Andy Muntz EDITOR EMERITUS: Michael Prophet ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Craig Fjarlie, Chris Tracy, Dick Sanders HYDROFILE EDITOR/WEBMASTER: Lon Erickson HISTORIAN: Bob Greenhow EDITORIAL BOARD: Clint Newman II, Bob Senior Unlimited NewsJournal, established in 1973, is published by Unlimiteds Unanimous, an enthusiast club interested in promoting and documenting the sport of unlimited hydroplane racing. Copyright © 2017, Unlimited NewsJournal. Reproduction or transmission in whole or part is not permitted without written approval of the Unlimited NewsJournal. EDITOR: Unlimited NewsJournal, 14313 Beverly Edmonds Road, Edmonds, WA 98026. Email: [email protected] Letters may be edited for clarity and space. 2 / UNLIMITED NEWSJOURNAL / February 2017 Shane, HomeStreet take top honors at gala. Jimmy Shane and the Miss Home- winning the race in Seattle, the first long-time director of public and Street Bank team took top honors rookie to win the race since Jim media relations for the Tri-Cities of the night during the annual H1 Ranger did it in 1966. Water Follies, passed away in Unlimited Champions Gala, held Two of H1 Unlimited’s great December while Farley, the at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in friends were honored posthumous- long-time H1 historian, passed Seattle. ly during the ceremonies. Niles away in April. Shane took home his fourth Mayfield received the Vic Nelawake The 2017 H1 season will begin straight Bill Muncey National High Award as the sport’s top volunteer with testing in the Tri-Cities on Point Championship driver trophy while Fred Farley received a Friday, June 2 and in Guntersville, while the community-owned boat Chairman’s Award. Mayfield, the Alabama, on Saturday, June 17. that he drove took the National Team High Point Championship for the third consecutive year. The The award winners team has taken the national crown Sponsor of the Year .................................................. HomeStreet Bank in seven of the last nine years. Outstanding Contribution Award ....................................... Ted Grange HomeStreet Bank was also Montgomery Excellence in Media Award............................................. named Sponsor of the Year while ....................................................... Mark Brudenell, Detroit Free Press the U-1 team also received hon- Vic Nelaware Award .......................................................Niles Mayfield ors as Crew of the Year while Dan Chairman’s Award ............................................................ Bruce Madej Hoover was named Crew Chief of Chairman’s Award ...............................................................Fred Farley the Year. Chairman’s Award ...........................................................Ken Muscatel J. Michael Kelly and the U-5 Unsung Hero Award ................................................... H1 Rescue Team Graham Trucking team were Rookie of the Year ............................................................ Andrew Tate Official of the Year .....................................................Justin Weymouth awarded second-place honors in Race Site of the Year ..........................................Tri-Cities Water Follies both driver and team categories. Crew Chief of the Year ....................................................... Dan Hoover Andrew Tate, the driver of the Owner of the Year ........................................Scott and Shannon Raney U-9 race team owned by Mike and Crew of the Year ........................................ U-1 Miss HomeStreet Bank Lori Jones, was honored as the 2016 Third Place Driver/Team ................................ Andrew Tate/U-9 Racing Rookie of the Year. Tate drove his Second Place Driver/Team .........J. Michael Kelly/U-5 Graham Trucking boat to his first career victory by First Place Driver/Team .......Jimmy Shane/U-1 Miss HomeStreet Bank APBA commissioner overturns the results of Tri-Cities race. More than four months after the The decision upheld an appeal checkered flag was waved on the that was filed by the HomeStreet Columbia River in late July, Nation- team over a ruling that occurred al Commissioner Charles Strang of during the final heat of last the American Power Boat summer’s event. Shane’s boat col- Association made a decision that lided with the U-16 Oh Boy! Oberto Denslow gave the race victory to Jimmy during a tight duel between the two Chris Shane and the U-1 Miss HomeStreet boats. Jimmy Shane (Left) and Mark Mason, CEO Bank, rather than to the apparent A penalty for encroachment of HomeStreet Bank, hold the prestigious Martini & Rossi Trophy, which is presented victor, J. Michael Kelly and the U-5 was first called on Jean Theoret to the natonal champion each year. Graham Trucking. in the U-16 and Shane went on to February 2017 / UNLIMITED NEWSJOURNAL / 3 cross the finish line first as the apparent race winner. But, 90 minutes after the race, officials determined that Shane actually had been at fault and penalized the boat one lap, which dropped it to seventh place and gave the victory to Kelly and the Graham Trucking. The HomeStreet team filed an appeal to the decision the included Denslow g-force data taken by the “black Chris box” aboard the boat that measures Jimmy Shane and the Miss HomeStreet Bank were declared the winners of last summer’s several factors related to the boat’s HAPO Columbia Cup at Tri-Cities after a lengthy appeal to the APBA.