The 2004 Unlimited season was a difficult time for everyone. The sport faced many challenges. It was a classic case of labor and management reaching an impasse with a lot of hard feelings on both sides. The end result was two competing Unlimited circuits: four races (Madison, Detroit, Seattle, and St. Clair were sanctioned by Hydro-Prop Inc., and three (Evansville, the Tri-Cities, and San Diego) opted for “independent” status.
It was imperative that the two factions get on the same page with each other. I’m happy to report they have done this.
As we head into 2005, I think I can safely say that the sport is back on track. With the new American Boat Racing Association administrative team now in place, the future of Unlimited racing appears bright indeed. A total of eight regattas are scheduled. This includes a first-ever Unlimited race in Nashville, Tenn., and an exhibition north of the border in Valleyfield, Quebec, in Canada.
This is all quite remarkable, considering that as recently as last September, the ABRA didn’t even exist on paper. In my 33 years as an Unlimited official, I have never seen this much unity in the sport between the race sites and the race teams.
ABRA chairman Sam Cole has worked hard this past winter to put all of this together. And I believe Unlimited racing will be the better for it.
The revised racing format should please the fans. It will be “back to the basics” with none of the “managed” competition of recent years. In every heat of every race, the boats will fight for lanes with no pre-assigned starting positions. All turbine-powered boats will use 4.3 gallons of fuel
per minute. The maximum sustained N2 RPM will be 110 percent.
With the retirement of the Miss Budweiser racing team at the end of 2004, I’m looking forward to a competitive 2005 season. I look for Miss E-Lam Plus to be tough and so will Llumar Window Film. Miss Madison (disguised as Oh Boy! Oberto) will also be in the hunt along with a couple of others.
I’m excited that the boat owners have committed to fielding a minimum of eight teams at each regatta in 2005. Fred Leland, who ordinarily races the U-100, has indicated that he will also campaign his U-99 hydroplane in the event that the boat count comes up short.
Despite the progress, there are still some things that need doing. The loss of two major teams (the Bernie Little family and Kim Gregory) and the withdrawal of a major sponsor (Anheuser Busch) have been tough obstacles to overcome. The ABRA has professionals out there marketing the new product. This situation will only improve as the season progresses. Expect major new announcements in this regard as things come to fruition.
It is the goal of ABRA to get back up to a 10-race schedule as soon as possible. Negotiations are under way to return in 2006 to Kelowna, British Columbia, where the Unlimiteds last raced in 1999.
Unlimited racing has a tradition of changing with the times. In 1957, the Unlimiteds broke away from the Inboard Racing Commission of the American Power Boat Association and formed their own commission. No longer were the “Thunderboats” shackled by regulations that applied more to 48-cubic inch class Limited hydroplanes than to the world’s largest and fastest racing boats.
In the late 1960s, the sport changed from the traditional three-mile course to the more fan-friendly two-mile and 2.5-mile race tracks for the purpose of improving spectator vantage points.
When the huge supply of World War II surplus Allison and Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engines began to dwindle in the 1970s, the rules were amended to allow the introduction of jet turbine engines into the Unlimited ranks – even if it meant taking the “thunder” out of the Thunderboats.
When the F-16 aircraft safety canopy became available for use in hydroplanes in 1986, it was quickly mandated by the Unlimited Racing Commission.
Starting in 1987, all new boats were required to seat their drivers “indoors.” Older boats were given until 1989 to make the changeover.
With the seamless transition from APBA/Hydro-Prop to the new ABRA this past winter, the Unlimited sport is alive and well in 2005. I look forward to an exciting season of competition.
Let the racing begin!

• Fred Farley is the ABRA Unlimited historian. He resides in Milton, Ky.