Radio Waves Regatta comes to Polson

By Ali Bronsdon / Leader Staff

Echos of rolling thunder on a sunny, blue-bird day in July could only mean one thing in Polson. The much-anticipated Ulimited Light Hydroplane racing "Radio Waves" Regatta had finally arrived — and with it, a swarm of boat racing enthusiasts and curious cats who maybe just wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

In February, the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association signed a three-year sponsoring contract with Anderson Broadcasting president Dennis Anderson, which brought the sport back to the Flathead after a quarter-century hiatus. Regatta Beach, south of Polson's Armed Forces Memorial Bridge, had hosted the annual Copper Cup races since the 1940s and the sport's Western Regionals as recently as 1988.

Polson resident Stacey Martin remembers attending the races as a child.

"When I was younger, they were just boats floating on the water. They were pretty plain back then," she said. "But now, it's a whole new ball-game."

The "Radio Waves" Regatta was a new experience for the 20 Unlimited Light, Lighter than LIGHT and Thunderboat race teams as well. The choppier waters and higher elevation presented drivers and crews with new challenges, said John Lynch, Public Relations Director and announcer for ULHRA.

"Three-thousand-feet of elevation is a good bit different than sea level where these boats are used to racing," said Lynch. "There is a density difference and because the air is so dry here, it's actually the equivalent of 4,500-feet."

According to Lynch, hydroplane boats "run on air" and the big challenge in Polson was to engineer ways to get more air into the carborator and more air density under the boat.

Brian Perkins, driver of the King and Bunny's Appliance UL 40 won two heats to earn a perfect 800 points going into the final heat on Sunday, but his boat went dead in the water on the first turn of the third lap.

"There's no air up here compared to what we're used to," he said in a radio interview after winning the second heat. Perkins said teams didn't really know what to expect when they rolled into town last week. "We just can't make enough horse power to get around the turns. Hopefully we'll see a lot more speed next year."

While these fiberglass boats can reach speeds of up to 160 miles per hour, Jim Wilmot, owner of the Wheat Montana UL 929, said top speeds probably capped off around 140 m.p.h. this weekend. Unlimited Light hydroplanes can range from 20 to 26-feet in length and are powered by purpose built automotive-based racing engines, either naturally aspirated or supercharged. Wilmot said supercharged boats are generally better at the turns, where as an aspirated boat can really crank on the straight-a-ways.

"There are just so many variables," he said. "It's how you work all those little things. You can see them battling it out that way."

Racers rounded the one-and-a-quarter-mile course four times during the five-mile heats. While between three and four boats competed in each qualifying heat, only six racers qualified for the finals where it was Craig Fletcher 's UL13 Celtic Racing Team that dominated the final Heat to sieze his first win in the Unlimited Lights Competition.

"This crowd is incredible," said Perkins. "You wouldn't think this was a first-time race, you'd think it's been going on for 20 years."