PORT ANGELES — The deafening roar of hydroplane engines and the splash of the supercharged boats’ high-flying wakes were slowed, and temporarily stalled, by Saturday’s fog.
“It’s pretty gray in the cockpit,” said Harold Mills, driver of the Seattle-based Microsoft Front Page 2003. “It evens the playing field.”
Hundreds of spectators showed up for the inaugural Strait Thunder Unlimited Light Hydroplane Races, which continue today around a 1-mile oval in Port Angeles Harbor.
Thick fog that covered the course stopped the races late in the afternoon, but the haze eventually lifted and pit crews put the boats back into the water at about 5:15 p.m. for more racing.
Because of Saturday’s weather, gates will open at 7 a.m. today and racing will begin at 7:30 a.m., weather permitting. One-day passes purchased for Saturday’s events will be honored today.
Tickets are $7. Another $10 buys pit access, where the boats, some with more than 900 horsepower, can be seen up close.
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The rest of the story appears in the Sunday Peninsula Daily News.
