Water racing takes teamwork

POLSON — Racing may be an individual sport, but it takes more than one person to pull off.

That was demonstrated fully this weekend as the boats were back at this weekend’s Radio Waves Regatta.

“[Drivers] can’t drive their boat unless the boat is running,” UL-72’s logistics coordinator Land Washburn said. “That comes from the team of people working behind the scene.”

Washburn’s driver is Kayleigh Perkins. She came off a win on July 12 at the Pepsi Racing Power Cup challenge in South Dakota. She also won the season’s first ULHRA regatta on April 26.

This weekend was no different. Perkins won the Radio Waves Regatta on Flathead Lake in Polson. The two-day ULHRA-sanctioned regatta featured 40 hydroplanes in five separate boat classes.

One team that was unable to hit the water was the UL-35 McCloud’s Saloon boat.

With holes in the bottom of the boat, the 23-foot long boat ran a little deeper in the water, driver Eric Christensen said. The team made it to Polson and had the boat on display, but didn’t get any farther.

“This is the third year he has attempted to get into the water,” Mike McQuaid said. “He’s had a couple failed attempts.”

This year, getting a sponsor was a boost to the team.

“That gave him the resources to get the boat together and literally get gas in the boat,” McQuaid said.

Softening the blow of the past weekend is the support from the crew.

“We all feel each other pains of not being able to touch the water,” Christensen said. “We’re all supportive of each other, going towards the same goal.”

Christensen hand picks his crew and his crew chief, Craig Vilwock, is a good friend.

“Its a sport of passion and extreme commitment,” McQuaid said. “It’s not just a driver, but crew as well. Eric’s guys are volunteer, local guys, that have been in and around racing.”

Part of their commitment to the team is tested when the seven-member team travel. The crew lives out of the back of the race hauler that has a small living space. A couch is put in the back for members to sleep on.

“That shows how dedicated they are,” Christensen said. “It doesn’t matter if we get a hotel.”

The crew gets along great with one another, often hanging out and shooting pool at their sponsor’s bar.

“Nobody goes into the sport knowing everything about it,” Christensen said. “We get along great. No matter what happens, we have a good moral.”

Kelly Stocklin’s crew is the same way. After races, the team goes out to dinner to talk about things on and off the race course.

“This is as much about the people and friends as it about the racing,” he said. “They are my second family, sometimes my first. I spend whole summer and go through emotional highs and low with them.”