Great Hydroplane Racing Trivia Question

In “Vintage Hydroplanes Envisioning the Future on Lake Chelan,” I took a nostalgic look at racing on Lake Chelan in beautiful Eastern Washington, and that sparked a question by our friend Dave Kendall.

Dave commented on a past post announcing Unlimited Hydroplane Racing’s new Contact Form and I felt it was an excellent question and deserved some visibility.

Dave asks when hydroplanes actually began racing on Lake Chelan back in the late 1950s. He shared some fond memories of old movies and making the trip as a child from other areas of Washington.

Let’s see if we can help him out, shall we?

The good people at the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum have a historical perspective on their site.  In their “We’re Racing Through History” section, Bob Senior has recapped Lake Chelan’s history in a piece called “The Apple Cup Revisited.”

There, he confirms Dave’s suspicions that racing began in 1957 and went through 1960. The author cites facts about the lake, racing activities and even finishing order of heats and the races themselves over those years.

For those of you with interest in the history of our fine sport, do yourself a favor and check out the museum’s story. You’ll enjoy the ride.

By the way, this made me realize the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum is not yet on the Unlimited Hydroplane Racing’s list of “Great Race Sites” on the right side navigation bar.  That will be corrected in just a moment.

Many thanks to Dave Kendall for pushing us in this direction!

Dave