The 2018 HAPO Columbia Cup will mark the 53rd time Unlimited Hydroplanes have raced on the Columbia River. This year’s event, like the inaugural in 1966, will most likely have 12 Unlimiteds in attendance. But the modern Unlimited Hydroplane has very little in common with those first boats that churned the waters of the Columbia River. The hydroplanes of today are almost more plane than hydro. They are thirty foot long; 7,000 pound wings that glide over the water with only the bare minimum of the boat making contact with the river. Powered by turbine engines capable of nearly 3,000hp, the boats can reach straightaway speeds close to 200 miles per hour. Qualifying lap averages in the mid 160mph range are common with the faster boats in the fleet. To put it in simpler terms, at speed, an Unlimited Hydroplane will travel more than the length of a football fields in the space of a second.

One thing the 2.5 Mile Columbia Cup course has always been renowned for is speed. Boats tend to post their fastest qualifying times of the year at the Columbia Cup. This course has been the fastest on the circuit for the last five years. If you want to see the fastest race of the year, attend the Columbia Cup. With the increased speed comes increased danger. A nudge of water from a roostertail, an inopportune roller, or a gust of wind and suddenly a hydroplane might be making an unscheduled appearance in the yearly air show. Fortunately, the safety advances in the sport have shielded the drivers from serious injury during these circumstances.

Action starts Friday evening with with Dash for Cash – the top four teams will compete for a generous cash prize. Racing starts Saturday, with two sets of heats and concludes on Sunday with two more heat sets and a Final Heat. The winner not only takes home the Columbia Cup hardware, but they win the coveted parking spot under Bernie Little’s famous tree for the following year’s race.