Seafair is the moniker applied to a bunch of festivals and happenings in Seattle during the most likely good weather weeks of summer. Besides the parades and such, it’s capped by a hydroplane race on Lake Washington, being run this weekend. Crowds on the shore have been estimated at 500,000 in some years; the hotter the temperatures the greater the beer consumption, sometimes leading to problems. Sun, water, beer, and loud motors are always a formula for fun.
Hydros aren’t very well known in the country. They were invented shortly after WWII when experimenters put surplus airplane engines in boats to drag race on the Salton Sea. This was an attraction to the Hollywood actors and such that regarded the Salton as an entertainment getaway. One day someone put a rudder on the things and proved they could be turned.
Salton had it’s liabilities, specifically it’s smell, it’s heat, and rising water levels which was wiping out the favored resorts. The hydro guys moved to Seattle and Detroit to race an oblong on calm waters. The old engines that had been favored became scarce and someone tried a surplus jet engine.
So it’s Seafair weekend,a contest to see how fast a boat can go on water. And still turn.
Update: Seafair was not originally an excuse to race boats, it originated as a welcome home to sailors after WWII. It was about sailors, drink, and loose ladies. There are only the barest of remnants left of those days in Seattle. Once it was the entire Pacific fleet on leave on the streets of Seattle, now it’s a a cutter from across the bay at Bremerton and a Canadian ship or two.