Hydroplane racing burst onto the Seattle scene in 1950, and local sports fans embraced it with a passion that is hard to imagine. Throughout the early 1950s, thousands of fans flocked to Lake Washington to watch classic races between Seattles Slo-mo-shun boats and a fleet of East Coast challengers. For over 40 years, hydroplane racing was synonymous with summertime in Seattle. During its golden age, when hydro fever was at its height, drivers like Bill Muncey, Ron Musson, and Mira Slovak were sports heroes on par with todays Ken Griffey Jr. or Ichiro. Seattle became the hydro capital of the nation.

Hydroplane racing burst onto the Seattle scene in 1950, and local sports fans embraced it with a passion that is hard to imagine. Throughout the early 1950s, thousands of fans flocked to Lake Washington to watch classic races between Seattle's Slo-mo-shun boats and a fleet of East Coast challengers. For over 40 years, hydroplane racing was synonymous with summertime in Seattle. During its golden age, when "hydro fever" was at its height, drivers like Bill Muncey, Ron Musson, and Mira Slovak were sports heroes on par with today's Ken Griffey Jr. or Ichiro. Seattle became the "hydro" capital of the nation.

The inspiration for the Major Motion Picture Directed by George Clooney—exclusively in theaters December 25, 2023! The #1 New York Times bestselling true story about the American rowing triumph of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin—from the author of Facing the Mountain For readers of Unbroken, out of the depths of the Depression comes an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate account of how nine working-class boys from the American West showed the world at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin what true grit really meant. It was an unlikely quest from the start. With a team composed of the sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the University of Washington’s eight-oar crew team was never expected to defeat the elite teams of the East Coast and Great Britain, yet they did, going on to shock the world by defeating the German team rowing for Adolf Hitler. The emotional heart of the tale lies with Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not only to regain his shattered self-regard but also to find a real place for himself in the world. Drawing on the boys’ own journals and vivid memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, Brown has created an unforgettable portrait of an era, a celebration of a remarkable achievement, and a chronicle of one extraordinary young man’s personal quest.

At the Ragged Edge chronicles the world's fastest boats and among the most extraordinary of sports spectacles. The focus is on the lives of two of the sport's most famous competitors: Gar Wood was a mechanical genius and a perfectionist. A self-made millionaire who once held more patents than any other living American, he devoted his considerable fortune and skills to becoming the world's greatest speedboat driver. Whether he was fighting off the challenges of racers from other nations, setting speed records, or racing a train down the Hudson River as a publicity stunt, Gar Wood always managed to create a good story for the press and, in the process, became a phenomenon. He was brash, had a vivid imagination and, through his many exploits, became the first to cast national attention on the sport of boatracing. Bill Muncey was a showman and a strategist. At once both cocky and self-effacing, he understood marketing and competed at a time when the ability to represent the sponsor was nearly as important as the ability to push one's foot to the throttle. But, he was skilled on the racecourse, too. He knew how to get the best from his equipment and, most maddening to those he raced against, had the uncanny ability to get into the heads of his fellow competitors and take appropriate advantage. Driving boats capable of traveling the length of a football field in one second, without so much as a seat belt to hold him into his open cockpit, he also knew the sport's danger, the tragedy of losing friends, and the pain of his own harrowing accidents. Along the way, you'll also meet Chris Smith and Ted Jones, two designers and boat builders who would revolutionize the sport; Henry Segrave, one of England's most decorated racers; and Bernie Little, a brash millionaire who spared no expense to have the fastest boat possible. Together, these characters, and many more, tell the fascinating story of hydroplane racing's first one hundred years.

Hydroplane racing captured the heart and soul of Seattle in the early 1950s and never let go. No Seahawks, Sonics, or Mariners game has come close to drawing one-quarter of the audience that watches the hydroplanes race. The unmistakable sound of the boats huge motors was as big an attraction as the racing itself. In the mid-1980s, something began to change. The distinctive roar of the old Thunderboats gave way to the whoosh of the turbine. The old names like Muncey and Chenoweth were replaced by new names like Hanauer and Villwock.

Each summer, a small miracle occurs in southern Indiana, when the little town of Madison becomes the hydroplane racing capital of the world as 100,000-plus people flock in for the Madison Regatta. The townsfolk, not merely content to host, also own the Miss Madison, one of the most successful hydroplanes on the circuit. In recent years, Miss Madison has emerged as the top hydroplane in the world, winning both the driver and hydroplane points standing multiple times. Roar down the Ohio with Fred Farley and Ron Harsin and revisit the long history of racing in this town and the sixty-plus years of the Madison Regatta.

Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland sit along the banks of the Columbia River and form a large, vibrant community in Washington known as "the Tri-Cities." For over 40 years, tens of thousands of fans have come to the Columbia River to enjoy a day in the sun and watch the Columbia Cup Unlimited Hydroplane Race. Famous drivers like Bill Muncey, Dean Chenoweth, Chip Hanauer, and Dave Villwock have all come to Tri-Cities and battled deck-to-deck to win the Columbia Cup.