Seafair Cup

The Seafair Cup (branded as the HomeStreet Bank Cup for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the Albert Lee Appliance Cup), is an H1 Unlimited hydroplane boat race held annually in late July and early August on Lake Washington in Seattle, Washington. The race is the main attraction of the annual Seafair festival. Seattle has hosted the Seafair Cup consecutively since 1951. The event was part of the APBA Gold Cup for the following years: 1951 to 1955, 1957 to 1959, 1962, 1965, 1967, 1974, 1981, and 1985.

HomeStreet Bank Cup
Event information
TypeH1 Unlimited hydroplane boat race
Race areaLake Washington, Seattle, Washington
DatesJuly 31-August 2
SponsorHomeStreet Bank
Distance2.5 mi (4 km)
Media coverageKIRO-TV/KKNW (AM)
First race1951
Former namesSeafair Cup
Websitewww.seafair.com/default.aspx

History

Seattle's history of unlimited hydroplane racing dates back to July 1950, when it was announced that the APBA Gold Cup was leaving Detroit in favor of Seattle. Slo-mo-shun IV, owned by Stanley Sayres, won the Gold Cup race in Detroit that year. At that time, the Gold Cup was run at the home of the winner, so for 1951, the Gold Cup was coming to Seattle. The race was added to the Seafair festival.[1] When the Gold Cup left Seattle for Detroit in 1955, local officials decided to hold a race of their own, and the Seafair Cup was born.[1]

The 1951 Seattle race was co-sponsored through 1960 by the Seattle Yacht Club. Greater Seattle, Inc. (later renamed Seafair, Inc.) became the sole sponsor of the race, starting in 1961. The Seafair Boat Club, which administers the Seattle race on Seafair's behalf, was organized in 1975.[2]

Lou Fageol won the very first Seattle race driving Stan Sayres' Slo-mo-shun V.[3] The Emerald City has hosted the Unlimiteds every year from 1951 to 2019. In 2020[4] and 2021,[5] the event was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The next unlimited hydroplane race in Seattle is planned for 2022.[5]

Past Seattle Unlimited Hydroplane Winners

The following boats and drivers won in Seattle:[6]

Seattle Unlimited Hydroplane Race Winners
Year Event Boat Driver
1951 APBA Gold Cup Slo-mo-shun V Lou Fageol
Seafair Trophy[7] Slo-mo-shun V Ted Jones
1952 APBA Gold Cup Slo-mo-shun IV Stanley Dollar
1953 APBA Gold Cup Slo-mo-shun IV Joe Taggart
1954 APBA Gold Cup Slo-mo-shun V Lou Fageol
1955 APBA Gold Cup Gale V Lee Schoenith
1956 Seafair Trophy Shanty I Russ Schleeh
1957 APBA Gold Cup Miss Thriftway Bill Muncey
1958 APBA Gold Cup Hawaii Ka’i III Jack Regas
1959 APBA Gold Cup Maverick Bill Stead
1960 Seafair Trophy Miss Thriftway Bill Muncey
1961 "World’s Championship Seafair Trophy"[8] Miss Bardahl Ron Musson
Seattle Trophy Miss Madison Marion Cooper
Seafair Queen's Trophy Fascination Bob Gilliam
1962 APBA Gold Cup Miss Century 21 Bill Muncey
1963 Seafair Trophy Tahoe Miss Chuck Thompson
1964 Seafair Trophy Miss Bardahl Ron Musson
1965 APBA Gold Cup Miss Bardahl Ron Musson
1966 Seafair Trophy My Gypsy Jim Ranger
1967 Seafair Trophy Miss Chrysler Crew Mira Slovak
APBA Gold Cup Miss Bardahl Billy Schumacher
1968 U.I.M. World's Championship Miss U. S. Bill Muncey
1969 Seafair Trophy Miss Budweiser Bill Sterett
1970 Seafair Trophy Miss Budweiser Dean Chenoweth
1971 Seafair Trophy Pride of Pay ‘n Pak Billy Schumacher
1972 Seafair Trophy Atlas Van Lines Bill Muncey
1973 U.I.M. World's Championship Pay ‘n Pak Mickey Remund
1974 APBA Gold Cup Pay ‘n Pak George Henley
1975 Seafair Trophy Pay ‘n Pak George Henley
1976 Seafair Trophy Miss Budweiser Mickey Remund
1977 Seafair Trophy Atlas Van Lines Bill Muncey
1978 Squire Seafair Trophy Atlas Van Lines Bill Muncey
1979 Squire Seafair Trophy Atlas Van Lines Bill Muncey
1980 U.I.M. World's Championship Seafair Trophy Atlas Van Lines Bill Muncey
1981 APBA Gold Cup Miss Budweiser Dean Chenoweth
1982 Emerald Cup Atlas Van Lines Chip Hanauer
1983 Sea Galley Emerald Cup Miss Budweiser Jim Kropfeld
1984 7-Eleven Freedom Cup Miss Budweiser Jim Kropfeld
1985 Budweiser APBA Gold Cup Miller American Chip Hanauer
1986 Emerald Cup Miller American Chip Hanauer
1987 Emerald Cup Miss Budweiser Jim Kropfeld
1988 Budweiser Cup Miss Budweiser Tom D’Eath
1989 Rainier Cup Miss Circus Circus Chip Hanauer
1990 Rainier Cup Miss Circus Circus Chip Hanauer
1991 Seafair Trophy Miss Budweiser Scott Pierce
1992 Rainier Cup Tide George Woods, Jr.
1993 Texaco Cup Miss Budweiser Chip Hanauer
1994 Texaco Cup PICO American Dream Dave Villwock
1995 Texaco Cup Miss Budweiser Chip Hanauer ...
1996 Texaco Cup PICO American Dream Dave Villwock
1997 Seafair Texaco Cup PICO American Dream Mark Evans
1998 Texaco Cup Miss Budweiser Dave Villwock
1999 General Motors Cup Miss Budweiser Dave Villwock
2000 General Motors Cup Miss Budweiser Dave Villwock
2001 General Motors Cup Miss E-Lam Plus Nate Brown
2002 General Motors Cup Miss Budweiser Dave Villwock
2003 General Motors Cup Miss Budweiser Dave Villwock
2004 General Motors Cup Miss Budweiser Dave Villwock
2005 Chevrolet Cup Llumar Window Film Jean Theoret
2006 Chevrolet Cup Miss Beacon Plumbing Jean Theoret
2007 Chevrolet Cup Oh Boy! Oberto Steve David
2008 Chevrolet Cup Amos W. Hoss Dave Villwock
2009 Chevrolet Cup Ellstrom E-Lam Plus Dave Villwock
2010 Albert Lee Cup Oh Boy! Oberto Steve David
2011 Albert Lee Cup Oh Boy! Oberto Steve David
2012 Albert Lee Cup Oh Boy!Oberto Steve David
2013 Albert Lee Cup Graham Trucking Jimmy Shane
2014 Albert Lee Cup Graham Trucking J. Michael Kelly
2015 Albert Lee Appliance Cup Graham Trucking J. Michael Kelly
2016 Albert Lee Appliance Seafair Cup Les Schwab Andrew Tate
2017 Albert Lee Appliance Seafair Cup Miss HomeStreet Jimmy Shane
2018 Albert Lee Seafair Cup Delta Realtrac Andrew Tate
2019 HomeStreet Bank Cup Graham Trucking J. Michael Kelly
2020 No event - COVID-19 Pandemic
2021 No event - COVID-19 Pandemic
2022 HomeStreet Bank Cup U-9 Boitano Homes[9] J. Michael Kelly

References
  1. "Memorable Moments in Hydro History". thunderboats.ning.com. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  2. "Three Traditional Races". thunderboats.ning.com. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  3. MotorBoating. New York, NY: Hearst Magazine Inc. October 1951. p. 77.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  4. "Unlimited hydroplane races at Seafair canceled because of coronavirus pandemic". The Seattle Times. 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  5. "Pandemic sidelines Seafair unlimited hydroplane racing again as event moves virtual". The Seattle Times. 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  6. 2021 Hydro Record Book and Statistics. Edmonds, WA: Unlimited NewsJournal. 2021. pp. 34–35.
  7. "The Slo-mo-shun Saga". thunderboats.ning.com. Retrieved 2021-07-16. For Seattle's Unlimited debut, two major races--for the Gold Cup and the Seafair Trophy--were scheduled for consecutive weekends during the month of August, 1951. SLO-MO-SHUN V won both of them with Lou Fageol driving in the Gold Cup and Ted Jones in the Seafair Trophy.
  8. "A Brief History of the World Championship Race for Unlimited Hydroplanes". thunderboats.ning.com. Retrieved 2021-07-16. The Seattle Seafair committee offered for competition the "World's Championship Seafair Trophy," which was won by Ron Musson in the MISS BARDAHL. But the Seattle committee never bothered to request a sanction from the Union of International Motorboating. Whether or not the 1961 race should be counted as a legitimate "World Championship" event is a matter for individual interpretation.
  9. "J. Michael Kelly picks up win at Seafair via penalty for the second consecutive Seattle race". Retrieved 2023-07-29.
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