Hydroplane races we very popular in Seattle in the 1950s.They would race on Lake Washington. I never had a chance to watch the races inperson, but I never missed watching them on TV. Slo Mo Shun was my favorite. Ithad set a new speed record (which I am sure has been broken many times sincethen). Us neighborhood kids would make wooden hydroplanes and paint them tolook like our favorite boats. We would tie two strings to the boat and race inthe street. We would stand in the middle of the intersection and race the boatsin a circle. The strings were just short enough so that the boat wouldn’t hitthe corner curbs. The person who made the most laps before flipping was thewinner.

(I did not make the one above. I found the photo online. You can Google hydroplane races Seattle 1960s to see videos on YouTube.)