Hydroplane racing returns to Lake Coeur d'Alene

COEUR d’ALENE, ID. — The image of the hydroplanes’ rooster tails glowing under the moon off the dark lake surface is something Billy Schumacher will never forget.

So vivid, so emotional is the memory that Schumacher, a Seattle native, is still looking for the right artist to capture the image forever.

“I wish I could show you what I have in my mind right now,” he said, thinking back to the night of Aug. 11, 1968, when he won the last Diamond Cup Regatta hydroplane race on Lake Coeur d’Alene. “One day, I’ll be able to.”

Someday, someone will capture on canvas what Schumacher, from the cockpit of his racer, saw as he cut to the finish line that night — the exhaust flames dancing with the glowing tails atop the black surface.

Until then, it’s just a memory — a memory that “tops them all,” Schumacher said.

Forty-four years later, a revived Diamond Cup Regatta team is bringing back sanctioned hydroplane races to Lake Coeur d’Alene.

“We have the greatest site in the country to have this event,” said Dennis Wheeler, chairman of the Coeur d’Alene Diamond Cup Regatta Inc. board of directors, the soon-to-be 501(c)3 that came together a few months ago after years of planning races for Labor Day weekend.

Wheeler and the rest of the board of directors announced the return of the races Friday on a cruise ship circling the lake where the 2-mile track will lie off of Silver Beach. On hand were officials who helped make the partnership happen, along with Schumacher, of course.

“This has just been a fantastic journey to get to the spot where we are today,” said Doug Miller, CDADCR race chair, who has been working on bringing the races back for at least three years. “That’s been our goal since day one.”

Coeur d’Alene has hosted exhibition hydroplane runs here each of the last two years, thanks to Miller. But those were more limited, vintage racers, which ran laps each of the last two summers more for show-and-tell than a winner-take-all sprint.

Call it practice.

This year’s event brings with it a partnership with H1 Unlimited, the group that organizes sanctioned races, where speeds hit close to 200 mph and racers earn cash and racing points. The group chose to come to Coeur d’Alene because, like the rest of the Pacific Northwest, the site is rich with hydroplane racing tradition.

“When we’re picking a site, we’re looking to be here permanently,” said Sam Cole, representing H1 Unlimited. “We don’t want a one-year event.”

Plans call for bleachers and boat viewing room for “several thousand” spectators, according to Wheeler, while the whole thing could cost a “couple hundred thousand” dollars to put on. Wheeler said the team is putting out a list of fundraising events to help cover costs, and will also seek sponsorships. While the name of the game this year and in years ahead is hosting sanctioned races, exhibition runs will be part of the weekend as well.

State and county permits are secured, meaning the event is an official go.

Coeur d’Alene banned hydro racing in city limits in 1996 after a public advisory vote asked the city to do so. Even though the proposed race track is now outside city limits, the city will provide emergency services during the event.

“We are respecting the vote that was taken and the vote that followed it,” said Mayor Sandi Bloem, who added that she remembered enjoying the races while she was growing up in Coeur d’Alene. “But I think we have been a good partner because we certainly visited with them and made available to them what we can and can’t provide.”

More races, though, mean more memories. For spectators and racers alike.

“It seems like it was just yesterday,” said Schumacher, thinking of his favorite memory. “It was one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen.”