Celina, Ohio – August 22-23, 2009


Celina, Ohio, was where I first drove our hydroplane “F37”, last year.

I’m getting used to it now but I have to say that it has the most cramped driving compartment that I’ve ever sat in. We’re going to try and improve that over the winter. Also...These boats knock you around more than any form of car racing I’ve tried! Four to five laps and you’re done, exhausted and I consider myself fitter than most folk.

Celina is a lovely place, with the big lake on one side of the town. The course is big too, so you can get some respectable speed up whilst driving the front and back straights. I don’t know how fast our boat is traveling, but it’s certainly north of 90 mph. Kevin Klosterman was driving a vintage Cab over design and he was timed at 135 mph at one point, just before the owner remarked: “Well, now we’ll take the restrictors out!”

So two days of both modern and vintage racing, the Governor’s Cup being the main Trophy for the modern racers. I went down to the lakeside to watch some of these and they are impressive. Today’s drivers are in a capsule, built into the boat, with a canopy that closes over them like a modern fighter aircraft. Additionally, today’s drivers are using their own air supply, which necessitates wearing a mask to breathe through. All in all, their visibility looks extremely limited! However, it does mean that, in the case of an accident, they will be safe, even if trapped underwater.

Back to us vintage guys; as you can see by the photos, there were a lot of us, in fact we almost outnumbered the modern boats! Apparently, the Vintage class is growing faster than any of the more modern classes, and I’m not surprised: Those old hydroplanes are beautiful and the woodwork is a testimony to old time craftsmanship. Add in the fact that these things are fast in anyone’s language, have no tires, wheels, brakes, clutch to maintain and you’ve got a recipe for success.

Next race Rocky Point, Hillsborough, Ohio, this weekend, after which I’ll be towing the hydroplane back for the Florida races.

I’d like to thank Kevin Klosterman and his family for all their help and also Mike Bruns and his family. These racers are usually tightly knit family units, rather like vintage auto racing was in about 1978! Love it....