Roostertail Talk

Episode 111: Lifetime Hydro Fan Bill Connolly

• David Newton • Season 5 • Episode 9

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For decades, Bill Connolly has been entranced by the sheer velocity of the boats, the pulsating energy of the crowds, and the heart-stopping drama of the races, all of which started with a single televised race in the 1950s. His account of the iconic Gold Cup in Seattle will transport you right to the water's edge, feeling the spray of the water and hearing the thunderous roar of the engines.

Join us as we journey through the history of this adrenaline-soaked sport, touching on the legendary teams, drivers, and the unexpected connection between the world of hydroplane racing and Boeing. You'll also hear about Bill's personal experiences and his favorite race sites, with Seattle topping the list. Tune in for a fascinating journey across the waves and through time in the world of hydroplane racing.

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David Newton:

Roostertail Talk, a podcast dedicated to everything related to the sport we all love. Hi, I'm your host, David Newton, and it's time once again to sit back, relax and welcome Roostertail Talk Talk. It is September 5th 2023, and this is episode 111. Now on the podcast.

David Newton:

We've had a lot of great interviews over the years and I try to get all corners of the sport on this podcast, because there's so many different lives that touch the sport of hydropein racing and it's for me. I love to hear their stories, everyone involved, and that goes for drivers, crew members, owners, event planners, the marketing personnel. There's so many different people that take credit in, you know, getting the sport on the water and to the fans, and sometimes the fans have some great stories as well. And actually last month at the Gold Cup, I talked to some fans on the shoreline there and there was one man by the name of Bill Conley and he's been a lifetime hydropein fan since the early 50s when hydropein racing really started in the Seattle area and it grew to what it is today. He's followed the sport for years and I thought it'd be great for an episode to reach out to a fan and get their stories heard. The sport has changed so much over the years and it's great to hear from fans that keep the passion alive and keep watching the hydroplanes go round and round year after year. I talked to Bill over Zoom last week, so let's listen in on my conversation as we talk about what else but hydroplanes?

David Newton:

Well, joining us today on the program for Ruchitel Talk. I'm talking with Bill Conley, a longtime Seattle native and fan of the sport. Bill, how are we doing today?

Bill Connolly:

Wonderful, absolutely terrific. I just wish the hydros were here.

David Newton:

It was a short season. Unfortunately they're not running it right now, but it was fun to get the chance to meet you on the shores of Lake Washington a few weeks ago at the Gold Cup. We had a chance to talk a little reminisce a little bit about the races then, and I understand that you've been a fan for a number of years. How were you first introduced to the sport?

Bill Connolly:

if I'd been racing, Well, my dad, willard, was a very techie person and, matter of fact, in the early 50s we had the first television in the neighborhood and he brought it to my attention in the early 50s at a boat called Slow Motion 4 and won the Gold Cup, and that they were bringing it to Seattle. And I was just interested. But I wasn't any kind of fan about the event, it was just a new introduction. So as the years went on, starting in the 50s, the early 50s they would actually broadcast the races on television. So you had a chance to see them, but of course it was in black and white and really you didn't have a chance to see much because everything was very small. But that was my introduction to it and I followed it over the years that way, just kind of in and out, a little bit of interest, not so much, depending on what was going on.

Bill Connolly:

And then in 1955, I was in a bad car wreck and I was laid up for about 60 days and one of the first things that I was allowed to leave the house and go do was a friend of mine, bob Hansen, invited me to go over and watch the Gold Cup in 1955. So I had a chance to go over and actually go to Lake Washington at that time and my first experience as we parked the car and I came down at the race site. Down there, a boat called Hurricane was flying up the back stretch and it was probably one of the most magnificent things I had ever seen. A huge rooster tail was behind it and it sounded like a P-51 Mustang was right next to me on top of that. This speed was just thrilling at that time for a first day experience. So actually I was hooked.

Bill Connolly:

After that we continued to watch the race and after that I became a fan and followed it more closely and we ended up going, actually with my dad and the family. We'd make it an event the following year. We started doing picnics and going to the beach and spending some time there and I'd go over overnight and sleep on the beach and pick up a site for us, and then my dad would come in the next day and he knew where we're going to be and set up the camp in the tent. We had some spectacular views and some wonderful events that were there and that's one of the things like currently, you know, it's all about the air show instead of the boats and it used to be that little boats would race in between the big boats. So you were watching boats all day long.

Bill Connolly:

And as far as an air show goes, the flying the B-51 Mustang at the fair was very interesting, the B-29, the B-27s, but there was nothing more spectacular in 1955. Pretty sure that was the year that Tex Conger did the barrel roll in the 707, which was unpredicted by the owner of the company at that time. That was the most amazing thing that I'd ever seen this big plane do a 360 barrel roll. And then he came back and did a second performance as he went over the floating bridge. Now that was, that's an air show. Yeah, that's how I got interested in the boats.

David Newton:

Okay, okay, and so was that the first time in person you saw Hydros. This was 1955, when you went to watch the race.

Bill Connolly:

Other than on television. I'd seen him on television, but you can't get the feel of the boats on television, particularly at that time, because they were very distant and you could really never get the roar. The only thing you could really experience at that time was the rooster tail. And, of course, I think it was, wasn't it 1955, that they flipped the slow-mo five Right, and I had a chance to watch that while they were doing the time trials, and that was really spectacular because they had what they were advertising. Their 100-inch zoom lens was on the boat, which gave a pretty good view of what was going on.

David Newton:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was pretty crazy back in 55 when he did the 360 in front of everyone. But it's. The sports changed so much over the years. Like you said, you don't get the full picture of the sport unless you watch it in person. In 1950s it was such a big thing in the Seattle community hydroplane racing Before we had other professional sports in here, such as the Mariners, seahawks, kraken, sounders Can you paint a picture of because, as a fan, I've grew up watching them in the 90s and up to now it's not the same as it was back in the 50s. Could you paint a picture of kind of what the vibe of the feel was on the shoreline and how many people were actually present for those races?

Bill Connolly:

Well, there was thousands of people on the shoreline. I'd never been part of a crowd as big as it was at that time. But we used to go down to the South turn by Seward Park and when you would take a walk in between heats and everything, it was people just shoulder to shoulder. And it was very interesting because I don't remember any honey pots at that time. So I mean they may have been someplace, but they didn't expect the size of crowd. So we were told the best place to use the facilities was in the weeds at Seward Park. So we'd go down the Seward and you'd see these trails going into the bushes, you know, on top of that. None of them were marked his or hers, they were just a trail. So you never know what you're going to find at the end of the trail on top of that. But that's how those things were taken care of at that time. And as far as the race goes, at that time there was so much activity that was going on.

Bill Connolly:

I'll never forget there was an interview with Wildbill Kentrell. He was a driver of one of the Gale boats and he said you know this race in Seattle. He says is something special about this race and he's a Detroiter, he's here from Detroit. People get so much enthusiasm for what's going on. He said I look at the paper and I can't even find anything about their little league not little league, but their AAA team called the Rainier's. Or couldn't even find anything on the Washington Huskies at that time Because the whole sport page was dominated by what was going on with the hydros. Almost to nowadays I come home after the race, after the time crowds. We are Aaron Tacoma. The Tribune didn't have anything on Friday, they didn't publish a paper on Saturday and on Sunday there was no even results of the race that was raced over in Seattle. And I think it's. Every bit is an important sport because it's been around since 1904, right Isn't that? When it first started?

David Newton:

Yes, it's the gold cup.

Bill Connolly:

And you know people think about Indianapolis racing, but that didn't start until 1911. So I mean, the history of this sport is fantastic and it's got a big, long tradition behind it and we're able to be a part of it. But they need to do more to get it in the public eye as far as in the current papers and in the news too. But that's really their 저�addicem in this sport.

David Newton:

Yeah, I feel like there's a trend trying to get publicity on social media and internet, but you forget all the other media outlets as well. It's just as important to get the information out to the fans.

Bill Connolly:

From this time just going over for the time crowds. The crowd is here and there's every bit as much enthusiasm my sister can say after you left, we were pinched in all the way all around. Oh really, yeah, it was all people. It was as if it was a race event. The people were there, we talked to them. As you know, it was just a freaky situation being able to make an acquaintance with you. My sister's very gregarious. Whenever we're on the beach she's always making friends with people. She made friends with you here. She's been trying to get in touch with you for a year. You guys have been playing full time. The people that camped alongside of us I don't even know their names to the day, but they got ready to leave they say, hey, will you watch our stuff? For us we have to go use the facilities. We say certainly. And I said be sure, and stop by. The hamburgers. Stand too. That one Brown, robin Red.

David Newton:

Robin.

Bill Connolly:

Red Robin was given away half a hamburger, a complete hamburger. They came back and they said, God, that was great. We always only have a half a hamburger anyway. It was terrific.

David Newton:

Yeah, that was funny. Back for listeners. On Friday of time trials at the Gold Cup, I sat down in the South Turn to watch the time trials and I was listening in on the radio. We just happened to sit next to each other, quite in a small world. There was a good amount of people there when I left on the South Turn. It sounds like it got filled in pretty good after I left.

Bill Connolly:

It was packed, absolutely packed.

David Newton:

Yeah, South Turn is a popular place to watch the race from on the air show as well at Seafair.

Bill Connolly:

We walked up to the pit Stu and then, of course, when we went to the hamburger stand that was down by Seward Park, we walked both ways. The crowds were big all the way along the beach, nice.

David Newton:

Full crowds.

Bill Connolly:

Yeah, there was a whole lot of activity going on in that playground where all the military equipment was the old boy, old Bert. He had some neat things to look at there too. It makes it so interesting.

David Newton:

Well, have you always been a fan of following the sport? Since you were a fan of the early 50s, did you continue following the sport throughout the years, always enjoyed.

Bill Connolly:

I had a chance to go to the first apple cup that was held over at Lake Chelan. We went over for the very first one, I believe that was one by Panse. It was a very interesting boat and a really great time to go. The only thing is we were on the shoreline but we were up high. Even though we were there, we didn't really get the ultimate feel that you can get of what's going on at the race course the way you can. In Seattle we went to Coeur d'Alene for the Diamond Cup and also went to Mission Bay in San Diego when they had the gold cup at Mission Bay.

David Newton:

Okay, so you've traveled to some races then to watch some of them. That's great.

Bill Connolly:

Hopefully we get to try cities. I understand it's a great speed course there, but there's no shade and that's what Lake Washington has to offer. You could be on the shade lining out all those trees to protect, yeah.

David Newton:

Yeah, tri-cities, it's a great course to go and watch from because it's different from Seattle. You're so much closer to the boats on the water so you get it's probably one through the distance that the course is from you out there, so you can get pretty close to the boats and watch them. But, like you said, it gets a little warm.

Bill Connolly:

There's no shade. So just bring your shade with you. Dave, you got to remember that I was 15 and 16 at that. When the heat would start in Seattle, we would wade out into the lake up to here. Yeah, it would be pretty dark on close to the boats.

David Newton:

I wouldn't do it today.

Bill Connolly:

At that time I thought there's never one of these boats that would be out of control. Yeah, but boy, you would pull glass of everything that was going on.

David Newton:

Yeah, oh, man. Well, following the teams over the years, we've had to have had a favorite team and driver. For me it's when I was younger, following the sport. I'm a fan of a driver and team back then. But how about for you calling all the races that you've watched? Did you have a favorite team and driver you followed and rooted for?

Bill Connolly:

Well, I think it would change every couple of years. But started out first really enjoying the Hawaii Kai and because in 1958, it was the national champion, it won the gold cup over in Seattle I thought it was an absolutely beautiful boat and I look at these, I look at these hydros, a little differently than most people do, because when you see a boat like Hawaii Kai and I put her in the same class as the Home Street Bank boat right now they were beautiful boats on the water and what I mean by that? They were extremely well balanced and when they were at top speed they were tiptoeing across the water. So when I saw that tiptoeing across, it made me think of a ballerina that's what they look like to me, water ballerinas and I put them in the category of Misty Copeland, the famous ballerina from the United States and the worldwide. She's in the same category. They have a wonderful talent to be able to just skim across the top of the water at very high speeds.

Bill Connolly:

So I followed the Hawaii Kai and, of course, another boat that I liked to follow was the coral reef, because that was a Tacoma boat. It was sponsored by the Tacoma Yacht Club and in 1958, it was the runner up to Hawaii Kai as far as winning the Gold Cup. Matter of fact, according to the statistics afterwards, if the racing got two more heats that it probably would have won the race because during the warm-up lap going back to the pits for the Hawaii Kai, they busted a quill shaft. If that happened during the race here at the Tacoma we would have had Gold Cup champ coral reef. It was a very unique hydroplane. It was about 29 and a half feet long and when you look at the perspectives of the boat it was at least 1,000 pounds lighter than anything else out there. And of course the driver was an unknown guy by the name of Harry Reeves and he was an inspector at the Boeing Company. And of course I started working for the Boeing Company in 1957. And there was a real tie between boat racing and hydroplanes because Ted Jones also worked there and he designed the slow motion for it that time, probably while he was working, and all that design equipment there was available to him.

Bill Connolly:

So that was an important team to follow. And of course you can't help but not follow somebody like Bill Muncie, because he was an attention getter and he had a really terrific boat and you knew that every time he went out on the course he was going to give his very best. But my favorite was Miroslova, and I loved being of a Croatian ancestry. He was Czechoslovakian. The way he flew that airplane up from the Czech to free up a number of people and then be hired by Bill Boeing to be his personal pilot and then walk into the unlimited hydroplanes. And nobody could drive a boat like he could. He was fearless. He was absolutely fearless. And that boat who actually flew over the water? Great teams to follow.

David Newton:

Yeah, yeah yeah. Miroslova is such a unique story in the sport defecting from Czechoslovakia and getting into racing and you mentioned Boeing and Boeing has such a huge tie in the area with Hydropen racing. There's so many crew members and people from all around the sport that have been associated with Hydropen racing over the years.

Bill Connolly:

Well, speaking of Boeing, I'll mention one thing that I think you might find interesting and I think audience would too, because even though it's a small story, it'll kind of tell you the significance and the importance. I was an expediter at the Boeing company in 1959. And my assignment was to follow hot jobs for the bullmark missile and make sure that they got through production into the assembly line. And we had a hot part that had to be made. It's my job to go to the shop form and they're in the milling shop and get this part started and get it manufactured so they could have an ASAP. So when I was in the shop, the farm and told me he says hey, billy, he says it's impossible to get this done for you today. I'm sorry, my hottest job in the whole plant right now is the rudder for the Boeing company. Ms Wahoo, that's what we have to get done.

David Newton:

They literally shut down production.

Bill Connolly:

Everything else.

David Newton:

So they literally shut down production to work on the hydroplane, the rudder, the rudder.

Bill Connolly:

They needed this rudder for the long? Yeah, but that's what you can do when you have full, you know, right, right, yeah, oh, it's funny, but there's a strong tie between aviation and, of course, the airplane. Engines are used in the boat and so many of the fabrics that are used the fabrics that are used now for the boats are actually and honeycombing was all perfected at Boeing and it sped off, but it was into the boating field- yeah. Yeah.

David Newton:

No, and people in high-speed racing loved it when they had the Boeing surplus available. Unfortunately, that's not available anymore, because they would often snag some aluminum honeycomb and other parts from there.

Bill Connolly:

Well, even when you see now I think it's a seven-liter that Boeing has the Boeing test hydroplane that they have that's driven by chip hand hour and on the side you'll see it's experimental fuels that they're working with, that are going to be powering the planes in the future. So a lot of the experimental fuels are being tested right now in that hydroplane, even though it's not a competitive boat.

David Newton:

Yeah, they haven't run it for a couple of years now, but they were running that fuel in the turbine engines and experimenting with that. Yeah yeah, very cool. Just getting back to being a fan of the sport, you've seen so many changes in the sport, from designs and safety power plants. What has it been like to watch the sport evolve over the years?

Bill Connolly:

Well, it was very interesting to watch it evolve because in the early 50s, when Slow Motion 4 went back to the Great River and captured the Gold Cup, there wasn't another three-point hydroplane at that time in the world. The only one came from Seattle to Slow Motion 4. And of course it won the Gold Cup and brought it back, but it was competing with boats that were three and two-step power boats at that time, which was a completely different aspect of attacking the water, and those boats continued to win races up until probably 1952 or 53. So in that period up to 1955, everything kind of revolved from step-hybrid planes into the shovel-nosed ones, the ones like the Slow Motion. So that was a huge change. The whole industry revolved around it.

Bill Connolly:

And then probably the next major change came is when they went to the Pickle Fork design and get away from the shovel point of the boat and became a pickle-nosed boat with a canard in the front to help alleviate the chance of a blowover. I think that was an important, significant part of it. And then when the U-95 came along, introduced the turbines to the race. That was a change, coming from the piston-driven boats to the turbine-driven boats. So that was another evolution of the boats that came, and I think the Pay-In-Pack was one of the leaders. Even though the 95 was the first, I think the Pay-In-Pack was the first one that was beginning to have some real success. Didn't the U-95 sink and see how it was during the Gold Cup when it was held at Sandpoint?

David Newton:

It did. Yes, I believe one of the motors broke in it. It tore a hole in the bottom of the hole and it sank there. And as it sank it had the. On the bottom of the sponsors there was this kind of, like this, shark teeth that were painted on there. So you saw these teeth protruding out of the water as it went down, and that was when that movie Shark was very, very prominent too. Oh, jaws, yeah, Jaws, jaws. That's what made it so?

Bill Connolly:

neat.

David Newton:

Yeah, yeah, that was the first competitive hole in hydrogen racing for a turbine engine in the sport.

Bill Connolly:

So that was a big evolution, of course, because now I remember watching the films on the slow motion four, when it set the world's straightaway speed record in 51 at 167 miles an hour, and then a year later it was up to 179 miles an hour and I think Hawaii TIE came in and took it up to 189. And then I think the US boat, us-1, don Wilson's boat, came in. Roy Duby drove it a little over 200 miles an hour. Now, has anybody talked that for a propeller dirt boat?

David Newton:

Yeah, yeah, there was several attempts, so it was 62 when Roy Duby did that with the Miss US, and there were several attempts afterwards that were unsuccessful. The Pay-In-Pack tried it with their Al Rigger style hydroplane in Gunnersville and they were unsuccessful. Budweiser tried it in, I think, 1980 or late 79. And they, like Washington, then flipped and crashed. But back in 2000, ken Muscatel's team, they upped it to 200, like 205. It was only a few miles an hour fire, but they poached 100. That was a miss free eye, so missfreeinternetcom, and it only ran for a year. But then the Budweiser team went down to California and they raised the kilometer record, I believe 220. So I don't think they got the mile record because they broke before they got the mile record, but they got the kilometer record.

Bill Connolly:

Well, what's interesting about driving a boat at high speed? One of the things that I've observed is just as a spectator. There's some people that can drive a boat very fast, but there's only a few people that can drive a boat very fast and race it at the same time, and there's a big difference. And most people that watch the race they don't realize that the five minute gun is a race between the race too, and they think it's just a bunch of boats milling around there and just doing their own thing. But boy, they're jockeying for position. And that brings back to in the early fifties.

Bill Connolly:

There was the flying start that the slow motions perfected because their pits were on the other side I think it was north of the floating bridge. So they didn't, they didn't go to the stand, they used their own pits and they would leave at the five minute gun. By time they come down underneath the Lake Washington floating bridge, they'd be a huge rooster tail. Then the TV cameras. And when are they coming? When they come to, the first thing they'd see is here they come, they come up. And they'd hit that starting line at full bore where the rest of the boats were just coming out of a turn and lining up, and I guess it was in 1955. They did away. They got together and they said this is an unfair edge, we've got to get rid of this flying start. So I think it was in 55 they did away with it. But that was an exciting start. I only had a chance to see it on television and it was even great on television.

David Newton:

Yeah, yeah, that would have been amazing to see in person and I couldn't imagine them letting them do that now. Right Now he's going 200 miles an hour underneath the floating bridge Pretty wild stuff.

Bill Connolly:

That's what was so unique about it. When it was just evolving into a local sport, certain things were and certain things that took away from you and eventually it ended up you couldn't even camp on the beach.

David Newton:

So would you, and you said you camped down there on the beach before many years, right?

Bill Connolly:

Yes, yeah, we would come down on. A race would be on Sunday. So we go around Saturday late in the afternoon and then goof around during the city and then come down and get us campsite and early afternoon on Saturday and stick out of place and then Cheryl and her dad and other neighbors that were interested in coming would come over and we'd share this whole big space that we would have at that time. That's the only way you could really get some space is you had to be there early in order to get it.

David Newton:

We can't do that anymore. Nowadays, they don't let you stay in the.

Bill Connolly:

That's another change.

David Newton:

You know, continue that thought from the fans perspective. What do you like about watching the hydros today compared to back in the 1950s, when you first started being a fan and the sport really came around in the Seattle area? What's, what are kind of your pros and cons that you see from today versus back in the day?

Bill Connolly:

Well, the big, the big aspect that I can see currently on top of it, the boats are so reliable and they're extremely fast and, of course, what's the dimensions of the new race course?

David Newton:

I'm on Seattle to my race course.

Bill Connolly:

And it used to be three, right right, it was three and a quarter. My race course. Yeah, much, much bigger. They've shrunk the course, they've made it. So that's technically. It's supposed to be more visible, but it's turned.

Bill Connolly:

It's turned into a turning race and a speed race where before it was a straightaway speed race and that was the big, the big duels, when you first started having the hydro planes come on scene, a pole opposed to the boats like Miss Pepsi. Miss Pepsi didn't have the straightaway speed but it had terrific turning abilities. So, as they would announce the race, it would be the slow motion. Five or four would overtake the Pepsi on straightaway and the Pepsi would overtake the four or five in the turns because it was much better turning both. So I think shortening the race has changed the complexity of it.

Bill Connolly:

However, this last race that we watched, I think there was almost 100% participation as far as people making it in the pits after the start of the race. Right, it's to be a lot of laboring, breakdown, problems with the boats. So not only was speed important, but you had to go 90 miles and it was a race of an endurance, and of course it was. It was set up beautifully too, because you couldn't sandbag, as as Bill Muncie found out, in 56 right, even though he, he was the winner of the heats and the points, he lost out on time. His time was four seconds slower than what the Gale five was, even though he had a better performance. He could have picked that up any place along on the course, but he, he didn't realize the importance, he just didn't think it was going to be an issue. But that's what caused us the goal cut that year.

David Newton:

Yeah, yeah, definitely a change in format. Back then it was based on points and you had bonus points for being the fastest competitor and now it's whoever heads up in the final. Whoever wins that race wins overall for the weekend.

Bill Connolly:

But what was so interesting too about hydroplane racing in the 50s, if I remember quickly, sometimes there would be around 20 boats in the pits. Some of the boats didn't qualify but they ran. They would usually have heats A, b and C and each heat had six boats in it and then the final ran seven boats. So you were now I think they're running five boats to heat right.

David Newton:

Yeah, yeah, I think we had six in the final, but only eight showed up for the whole race.

Bill Connolly:

Yeah, and that's a that's a shame. So I hope this I hope this involves into the future is that people like Amazon and Tesla get involved with electric boat, because I think electric boat would be magnificent as far as hydroplane and it's possible. I don't know if you've ever watched what they call white zombiecom and that was a fellow that built his electric dragster in Oregon. If you could put the electric dragster that is dominant in the field, you can also do the same thing with electric boat, I think.

David Newton:

Yeah.

Bill Connolly:

You have to have the money.

David Newton:

That's. That's the. That is a problem in sports getting the money into it, and I think that really helps. You know, the evolution of the sports for so many years is people kept pouring the money in and trying different things. It would be fun to see the electrics in the sport. There is I don't know if you've heard of, but there's a group in Europe who was associated with electric Indy type cars or from the one type cars. They're trying to start electric boat racing. It's not a hydroplane design with hydrofoil. The speeds won't be that dramatically fast, but they're trying to get electric boat racing series going, called the one, I believe, that starts up next year. So they're trying. They're trying to technology on the water and they're trying to see if they could ever translate over to the hydroplane world. For sure.

Bill Connolly:

I think it will evolve initially over time, because we've watched all these changes that come on slowly and it have taken years to make the change. It took some while to get the turbines going. I mean there was about a 15-year lag between the U-95 and the pay impact before it became a competitive boat and now everything is turbines. I still wish they kept a class for the piston boats, yeah.

David Newton:

From a fan's perspective, I could definitely see some more heads turn when the vintage boats came out on the water at Seafarer and the Gold Cup. When you hear that rumble on the water, that turns a lot of heads.

Bill Connolly:

Well, they're definite hand-shake-getters, there's no doubt about it, and they seem, as you were saying, they seem to kind of rumble along where the turbines are so quick that they seem to fly along. I never hear a turbine laboring the way you hear. Sometimes, when a boat's not set up properly and it's not riding properly, you hear it labor in the turns.

David Newton:

Yeah. Yeah, it's a whole different game of the turbines. I think you hear some more of those compressors, stalls and the pops from that. But it's just so interesting Thinking back. Over the years of being a fan you mentioned you visited some different race courses traveled to Schlam, portland, mission Bay, been in attendance in Seattle. Do you have a favorite race site that you'd like to probably your favorite one to think about? That's your favorite place to have gone and watched a race.

Bill Connolly:

Well, that would be unconditionally in Seattle. I mean, seattle has got the right environment, it's got the right location, it's got the right body of water too for the racing, and it's something that the drivers will tell you too. As far as the layout of the way the course is and the way it is, it's set up not only as it's spectacular for the people watching it, but from the standpoint of racing, it's a very safe course too. They don't have a lot of hazards that they have to deal with. So I would say, hands down, my favorite place to watch a boat race is in Seattle.

David Newton:

All right, all right. Yeah, definitely fun to go home town and all the history there that Seattle has.

Bill Connolly:

It's a different set of problems, like in San Diego. There in saltwater you have to take care of your equipment differently. That saltwater is very difficult and very hard on the equipment. So Lake Washington, you don't have that problem.

David Newton:

Yeah, it's very unique to go down to San Diego or any other saltwater course to see the boats. They float a little bit higher on the water and fast times and a lot of maintenance to keep that salt out of all the mix and crannies on the boats.

Bill Connolly:

There was a while in the 60s I think it was in the 60s it was rumored that the Hydroplane Harlem Museum would be in Tacoma. They had some warehouses that they were going to use, and so they actually brought the Chip Hanna over here one Sunday to run the Atlas Van Lines in Commencement Day to see if it was going to be suitable to have a race on Commencement Bay because geographically it looks perfect Now of course the Chip when they brought the boat out of the water.

Bill Connolly:

he says there's too many rollers here, too many rollers in Commencement Bay, he says, and this would be a typical good day to race on, but there's rollers that make it very difficult to race a Hydroplane in Commencement Bay. That's too bad.

David Newton:

Were you there for that test day? Yes, it was pretty amazing.

Bill Connolly:

He wasn't in water too long. His mind was made up quickly.

David Newton:

Well, he definitely had an expert opinion on that. I forgot about that. That was in the early 80s. They tried to get that going there and the original museum was supposed to. It was originally designed to be down in Tacoma.

Bill Connolly:

And it looked like it was going to be a fantastic spot.

David Newton:

Down there In the 80s I saw there was a conceptual artwork done for it so it had a restaurant and they would have. I think it was supposed to be on the water front there and unfortunately it didn't happen then. But thankfully we do have a museum now that was taken up by some other people around the sport that made it happen. So we do have a museum now in Kent, washington the Hydroplane Raceboat Museum. Have you ever gone down there and seen some of the history? I've never been to.

Bill Connolly:

Kent. I've never been to Kent but I did go to their all. Their first establishment was it on the DeWamish.

David Newton:

Yeah, it was over in South Park.

Bill Connolly:

Right yeah, and we went there for a meeting. I think the name was the name of the fellow, ken Warbly.

David Newton:

Oh Ken Warbly yeah Ken.

Bill Connolly:

Warbly? Yeah, he was the guest speaker at that time and Ron Jones was there too, and of course I don't know the name of the Hydroplane that Ken Warbly had, but he was out after the World Straightaway Speed Record. I think that was what his mission was and I think he was successful, and it wasn't he?

David Newton:

Yeah, yeah, his record still holds. So he's the fastest craft on water in a straight line from Australia. Ken Warby back in the 70s he got a straight line record over 300 miles an hour and it's still record. Still holds today.

Bill Connolly:

Well, that's amazing. Yeah, and the reason it's amazing? Because wasn't it Sir Donald Campbell that tried to break it in his jet boat and see a Loch Ness?

David Newton:

Yeah, Lake Coniston, I believe, over in England.

Bill Connolly:

Yeah, he tried. You think it crossed in his life, didn't it yeah?

David Newton:

Yeah, in the 60s he blew his craft over and went to the water and never came out, unfortunately. Yeah, yeah, there are several attempts after Ken Warby who are all unsuccessful. Many other people lost their lives trying to get that record. Yeah.

Bill Connolly:

Well, I used to, until I saw what a pot bottled into the bottom of an unlimited hydroplane. I never could understand what's the big problem falling into the water off of a race boat. But when you realize that water is like concrete, I think once you can be around 70, 80 miles an hour. In addition to it, the damage can be severe, so it's not a soft landing when you hit it.

David Newton:

No, you don't often think of water as a soft fluid. Very safe thing, but going at those speeds it's very deadly.

Bill Connolly:

Well, the other interesting thing is talking about interesting things that happen. We happen to be at the race course when Bill Muncie sunk the Coast Guard Cutter too, because that happened in the south turn of the race course there during the Gold Cut and that was chaotic because when the boats came by we could see nothing but rooster tails and sound. That's all there was.

Bill Connolly:

And then, after a few of the boats started coming out of the turn and then the flares started going off and we were wondering what happened. Of course we had our radios on and we realized we were told that one of the boats had hit a Coast Guard boat. So of course everything was shut down while they cleaned up the mess and everything afterwards. But that was a pretty exciting event. You know, unfortunate that it happened, but we were able to see it.

David Newton:

Yeah, yeah, unfortunately we weren't survived. That crashed pretty well, yeah Well, thinking back over all the other years as well, do you have a favorite era that you kind of go back to and hold dear as a fan?

Bill Connolly:

Well, I would say that the fifties would be my favorite era because at that time I was going over to the race course and I was camping out. I was following the time trials. There was an enormous amount of boats, you know, there was at least 20 boats. Everybody was into building a hydroplane at that time and the speeds were top notch. And the drivers Bill Muncie and Maris Lovak, bill Cantrell, people that drove the boats, for all interesting characters. I can remember when Chuck Thompson was driving Kyle Lombardo's boat, the Temple 7, and he brought it out here and they interviewed him after one of his runs and he says yeah, he says, but it's a damn rough out there. He says I can't stand the seat of the boat. So he says I'm going to take this rope and I'm going to tie myself into the boat. And he says I'm going to go out and re-qualify. And that's what he did, because at that time they didn't use any safety harnesses, there was no canopy or anything, so he just got a rope and tied himself into the boat.

David Newton:

Well, yeah, you think back to that time. Like you said, there was basically no safety equipment back in the fifties. They had a seat, they had a little dashboard in front of them, but there wasn't anything really keeping them in. And at those speeds you just think of how different ever breed those drivers were back then to be risking their lives every time out on the water Pretty wild.

Bill Connolly:

Dave remember that the steering wheels were like big tractor steering wheels.

Bill Connolly:

They were huge and I think that's kind of held the driver in place because it came down over his lap and when we were getting on to that steering wheel that kept them from bouncing, had a chance to meet the old driver, jimmy Shane of the Home Street Bank, and we were talking. He went through terrific physical conditioning to keep the strength in his legs. He says it takes a lot of strength to keep your foot on that pedal evenly at all times. As far as I'm concerned he was a magnificent driver. There was nobody that could corner the way he did in competition.

Bill Connolly:

He got that inside position next to it and that was it. He was right on those buoys, he was, he was. He was saying something else. Why did he retire?

David Newton:

Well, I believe I mean he he got a great amount of accomplishments in the sport. I believe he just was focusing on his family at this point in time and I believe they're interested in racing, so I think he might be trying to get them involved as well, but I think he's just trying to spend more time with his family.

Bill Connolly:

Well, he was a real tribute to the sport, and so was the boat. Now, that boat was his own by the city citizens of Madison, indiana.

David Newton:

Yes, yeah. So the story goes back in the early 60s. The DuPont family owned a couple of hydroplanes nitrogen and nitrogen too and they donated the hydroplanes to the city of Madison, indiana, and since, I believe, 1962, they've had a hydroplane team that's owned by the citizens of that city. So since 1962, the citizens of Madison, indiana, have owned their own hydroplane racing team.

Bill Connolly:

Well, that was similar to the Green Bay Packers.

David Newton:

Correct yeah.

Bill Connolly:

That's a citizen owned. Yeah, they got a marvelous organization. So when they win the gold cup, they could take it back to Madison, indiana, if they wanted to.

David Newton:

Back in the day they could Things have changed. I can't remember when that changed, but it became whoever. The cities decided themselves who was going to host the gold cup, and so it hasn't been announced next year where that will be, because it's no longer chosen by the drivers or the team anymore.

Bill Connolly:

So it's out for bid now.

David Newton:

Yeah, it's without for bid now.

Bill Connolly:

Okay, but there really isn't the money in hydroplane racing that there is in the other sports. Is there?

David Newton:

No, unfortunately not.

Bill Connolly:

Yeah, I mean most of the people that I found that participate. The money is okay, but they were into it for the sport of the sport. I mean they wanted to go fast and win. It wasn't a purse that they were looking for.

David Newton:

Yeah, the purse isn't there. In hydroplane racing it's all about the passion and the history for the drivers and the crew and all the people around the sport. It's because they love it. That's why they're here. We talked before we got a chance to sit down with one another at the gold cup. What were your impressions of being at the gold cup this year in Seattle watching it on qualifying, and I'm hoping you got a chance to watch it on TV on Sunday.

Bill Connolly:

I had a chance to watch it on television and, like I say, all the heats were enjoyable. The nice enjoyable part was actually being over, at the rate for the time trials itself. I enjoy being on the beach. It's a hassle getting out of there when it comes time to go. That's a real difficult part of it. If you could just have a carpet and fly you over there and set you on the beach, that would be great. But as far as the activity and everything that goes on, you can't beat it for it.

Bill Connolly:

I don't think there's a better festival any place in the United States that offers as much as they do. I just would like to see in between heats. I'd like to see them come back with the seven liter boats they used to put on a great show. I always thought what really would attract some interesting attention in between heats if they would actually have a drag between some of the boats. You'd line up two boats and there would be a drag to a specific part on the lake like a drag race Don't turn on a just straight away speed. I think that would be very interesting.

David Newton:

That would be a kick for sure. They used to have Grand Prix boats and unlimited lights and other classes in between heats. I wish Seafarer could get back to that as well. Tri-cities they do have Grand Prix, that race, as well as five liters that race in between heats. There's other boats on the water. Hopefully get a chance to watch that next year, maybe Tri-Cities, if you go.

Bill Connolly:

Then they had that interesting PBY that they flew during the when we were over for the time for ours. I would have liked to have seen that clean land on the water and then take off from the water. I think that would really have been neat. That would be cool, I think that would be cool yeah.

David Newton:

Well, thinking of next year, are you going to try to make it to any other races and watch as a fan?

Bill Connolly:

There's a possibility it's on the bucket list to go to Tri-Cities. That would be the only other place I would venture to go. Madison Indiana would be another good place to go, but Tri-Cities would be very doable Okay.

David Newton:

Well, hopefully we'll see you there next year.

Bill Connolly:

Great Nice meeting you. I sure enjoyed the chat.

David Newton:

Yeah, great having you on here, bill, and keep watching and keep the sport alive.

Bill Connolly:

Great Continued success to you.

David Newton:

Thank you, Bill yeah.

Bill Connolly:

Bye now.

David Newton:

Well, I hope you've enjoyed our episode. Make sure you come back next week to listen to our next episode. We release new episodes every Tuesday at 5 am Pacific Standard Time. Also, don't forget to hit that subscribe button on your podcast player, as well as rate and review your experience. For more updates on Hydro News, check us out on social media. We're on the major players Facebook, twitter and Roostertail Talk is also online with our website, www. roostertailtalk. wwwruchateltalkcom. On the website, you can sign up for an email subscription list to get notifications on upcoming episodes, hydro News podcast updates and much, much more. Finally, this is a free podcast to all of our listeners and if you're really enjoying your experience and want to help us to continue to grow and expand, please donate. You can find a link to donate through PayPal on our website through the support tab. So until next time, I hope to see you at the races.