Video evidence the guys who drive hydroplanes are a little crazy
To drive a 3-ton boat going 200 miles an hour on a rainy day with big headwinds on a river with logs floating by doesn’t sound like something a sane person would do. But that’s what happened when the H1 Unlimited Hydroplane racing season kicked off in Madison, Indiana this Sunday.
Organizers got the races in between thunderstorm and downpours. When it came to the final winner-take-all race for the Governor’s Cup, things got even crazier when driver Cal Phipps went up and over in the U-27 Dalton Industries boat.
“If that wasn’t exciting, I don’t know what to tell you,” said Cal Phipps, driver of the U-27 Wiggins Racing Team from Gadsden, Alabama, after blowing over on the Ohio River
Phipps was shaken up, but appeared OK. “I was going for the win,” Phipps said. “The river got me.”
Here’s what it looked like from inside the cockpit, courtesy of H1 Unlimited/U-27’s cockpit camera. Notice the sky at the bottom of the picture and the water at the top. Uh oh.
Heavy rain delayed the final race and when the weather broke, racers took to the course amid heavy winds. Phipps was in 2nd place and racing hard, trying to catch the eventual winner Jimmy Shane, when he went over.
These boats are equipped with Lycoming gas turbine engines from old CH-47 Chinook Helicopters used in the Vietnam era. They burn jet fuel and produce approximately 3000 hp and 1600 lb/ft of torque. The output shaft rotates at 14,520 rpm. In other words, these babies are fast. When they are flying over the water, they are barely touching the water. Drivers try to keep some air under the boat so they can skim over the waves using a foot pedal to adjust the front canard up or down. If they hit it perfectly, they can hydroplane over the waves at great speeds. If too much air gets underneath, the boat can flip. It’s especially difficult to control when you’re fighting the current on a river, heavy winds, and you’ve got 5 or 6 other boats doing the same thing — sometimes just inches apart.
Years ago, an accident like this would have meant serious injury and the possibility of death. New safety measures, like a closed, titanium-reinforced cockpit allowed Phipps to escape serious injury. He popped out of the boat and onto the rescue sled as it was towed back to shore.
VIDEO: Courtesy Paula Bell Reed
When these boats flip, there’s always a chance of serious injury. “Cal was standing up, talking, laughing,” said Jimmy Shane, driver of the U-1 Miss Madison/Homestreet Bank boat and eventual race winner. “He’s in good shape, but the boat’s kinda beat up.” You can see the damage in this video below as the boat was hoisted out the water by crane.
The part that’s bent upwards is called the sponson. It supposed to lay flat.
It’s an expensive sport. It’s estimated that the boat took as much as $300,000 worth of damage.
“If anybody’s got some extra parts…” Phipps joked.
Jimmy Shane in the U-1 Miss Madison won the Governor’s Cup in Madison, Indiana — his first race win there in his boat’s home port. Shane was last year’s National High Points champion and had won 11 straight heat races prior to the final, but it was his first win on the Ohio River.
Final Results
- U-1 Jimmy Shane
- U-5 J. Michael Kelly
- U-21 Brian Perkins
- U-9 Andrew Tate
- U-11 Tom Thompson
DSQ. U-27 Cal Phipps.
Here’s another view of the flip from Matt Shafer.
The racing season for Unlimited Hydroplanes includes race stop still to come in Detroit, Tri-Cities, WA, Seattle, and San Diego.
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I’ll be part of the play-by-play team for the Tri-Cities race airing on the SWX Sports Network, broadcasting to 2 million homes in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana at the end of July.
Live race coverage is available through H1Unlimited.com or ESPN3.
