We recently had a discussion regarding whether or not it was "deceptive" to
refer to the speed of a boat in MPH rather than knots.

I spent time this afternoon at a gathering that included a bunch of ex hydro
drivers. As somebody said, "The old drivers are easy to pick out of the crowd,
they're the guys who are walking with limps."

Best line of the afternoon, "All you need to know to drive one of these boats
is to go fast, and turn left." Um hmm, sure.

Learned two things.

1) In about two weeks, there will be a brand new hydroplane and race boat
museum opening in Kent, WA. There are a lot of vintage boats here in the NW,
and an active group of guys who rebuild and restore them. The boats will rotate
through the museum so that the display keeps changing. One of the ways the
museum hopes to support itself will be hosting class reunions for graduates
from the glory days of thunderboat racing here in the NW. Wayne Hill, VP of the
museum, told me "We can provide a boat from just about any year in the 50's,
60's, and 70's. The classmates can have pictures taken with boats that were
making local headlines when they graduated."

2) Those deceptive hydroplane drivers discuss speeds in MPH. :-)

At the get together today, Craig McCaw's restored 1959 Miss Bardahl was looking
sharp! A dark green hull so flawlessly maintained it could be used for a
mirror. One of the Budweiser boats was also on hand, and is available for
sale.
I hate to think what it would cost to pump fuel into that 12-cylinder aircraft
engine, but a guy would certainly be king of the lake almost anywhere he went.

I did misunderstand the invitation, however. I was looking forward to an
"armadillo barbecue" (never having eaten an armadillo), but it turned out that
the name of the company that catered Billy Schumacher's event was "Armadillo
Barbecue." Oh well, the chicken and ribs were both delicious. :-)