Billed as Southern California’s largest annual beach festival and powerboat competition, “Mercurys Presents San Diego Bayfair” took place Sept. 13-15, 2024 at Mission Bay. The event was nestled in-between East Vacation Island, Fiesta Island and Crown Point. Thankfully our extreme heat wave had just ended and the weather was great.
Bob Davies, the racing director for San Diego Bayfair, described the racing this way, at the awards presentation on Sunday afternoon: “Wow! I mean that is some of the best racing I think we’ve ever seen out here on Mission Bay. I mean seven boats in a final, six boats in the Unlimited Final, I mean for the last three days there has been stuff on the water constantly!”
The action was non-stop, the competition was intense and there were far too many stories to tell. In one of the heat races, four boats were entered. Despite trying to time their arrival at the starting line just right, three drivers miscalculated, jumped the start and lost their positions to thedriver of the fourth boat, who was way back at the start but thus won the race!
The H1 Unlimited website ( www.h1unlimited.com ) tells us that this was the 60th anniversary of San Diego Bayfair, and it marked the first time since 1989 that the American Power Boat Association’s (ABPA) Gold Cup trophy was contested on the two-and-a-half-mile course. The Gold Cup is the oldest trophy in motorsports, dating back to 1903 when it was designed by Tiffany & Co. at a cost of $750.
“The first Gold Cup race took place in June 1904 on the Hudson River in New York. In the early days, the boats plowed through the water rather than skim over the surface of it like they do in today’s events. The winning boat, the STANDARD, owned and driven by Carl Riotte, averaged just over 23 miles per hour. Measuring 59 feet in length with an 8-1/2-foot beam, the craft used a 110-horsepower Standard motor that resembled a miniature steam engine with its steel columns and open frame. Today’s unlimited hydroplanes are approximately 30 feet in length, weigh more than three tons, and fly across the water at nearly 200 mph.”
“San Diego first hosted the Gold Cup in 1969 when Bernie Little’s ‘Miss Budweiser’ with Bill Sterett driving won the race in front of 125,000 fans in a powerboat without a canopy or seat belts. The following year San Diego again hosted the Gold Cup, which was again claimed by ‘Miss Budweiser’ with Dean Chenoweth at the helm. The Gold Cup didn’t return to San Diego again until 1987 when the locally owned ‘Miller American’ hydroplane of Fran Muncey won with legendary driver Chip Hanauer. The last Gold Cup hosted in Southern California in 1989 was claimed by the turbine-powered ‘Miss Budweiser’ on Mission Bay.”
“The APBA Gold Cup is such a historic trophy with a rich history so determining which course will hold the honor of hosting this event each season is an important decision,” said Mike Denslow, chairman of the board, H1 Unlimited. “With the return of Bayfair to this year’s schedule, it was important for the Gold Cup to make a return to Southern California after more than two decades. The San Diego fans love unlimited hydroplane racing and we know the battle for the Gold Cup will be an incredible show on their race course.”
Complementing the many classes of powerboats racing, there were many other activities and entertainment for the spectators, including a bustling vendor village, a lowriders car and bicycle show, a sea rescue demonstration by the U.S. Coast Guard, flyboarding (where riders stand on a platform as a jet ski-powered geyser lifts them high about the surface of the water and enables them to perform exciting stunts), games, food and more.
For more information, visit the San Diego Bayfair website at www.sandiegobayfair.org, the H1 Unlimited website at www.h1unlimited.com, the Official Title Sponsor Mercurys Coffee Co. at www.mercurysracing.com and the American Power Boat Association (APBA) at www.apba.org/index.html.
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Copyright © 2024 by Jan Wagner – AutoMatters & More #854r2
