Sandpoint, ID

If you can race it, I will watch it. Needless to say when I was traveling to Spokane on a Saturday and we passed through Oldtown and Newport I looked down the Pend Oreille river and saw mini hydroplanes and I was beside myself. I knew they had a yearly hydroplane race and I had been to it when I was younger but as an adult I never remembered to look up the date. Luckily I noticed the boats that day and hoped that they would be racing on Sunday as my Saturday plans could not be cancelled.

Once I arrived home after my day in Spokane I hopped on the Internet and looked for the times of the boat race. Luckily for me this year the race had been postponed from earlier in July and they had raced Friday and Saturday and would continue on Sunday. I called a friend of mine and asked if she would go with me. She agreed and we were set to leave by mid-morning.

My friend and I arrived at the bridge crossing Pend Oreille river in Old Town and turned down the street where there was several cars and boats parked. I choose to park in the grass lot near the river and asked a man working on a hydroplane boat if they were racing, since there were no boats in the water. He said they were in between qualifying heats. My friend and I took our camp chairs with us and found a location overlooking the river. The qualifying began with 3 to 4 boats per heat. It was a little confusing to know when they were starting since there was not really a definite start. There was a loud speaker with an announcer but it was mostly drowned out by the noise of the boats. I had been to a hydroplane race in the Tri-Cities a few years ago and these boats racing paled in comparison of size and speed, however it was still fun for the amount of time we were there. I was pretty amazed by the speed of the boats for miniature size however. I do have a word of caution, as I learned something from my trip to the races, it is probably best to bring someone who is actually interested in racing. I was enjoying myself however every time I looked at my friend boredom was a common expression. Although I was disappointed we left early I decided to cut her a break, no need to torture someone!

If you are interested in going to the hydroplane races on the Pend Oreille river they are usually in July. Parking and admission is free and racing begins mid-morning. We arrived by 11:30am and they had already completed a few heats, but we had not missed much. Old Town Idaho and Newport Washington are located about 33 miles from Sandpoint heading west on highway US-2. Just before you reach Old Town there is a large bridge crossing Pend Oreille river. Turn right onto Le Clerc Rd with parking found on the left. For more information regarding the boat races go to http://www.porta-us.com/events.html