Saturday, Jul. 28, 2007

Williams' unlimited experience

By Eric Schwartz, Herald staff writer

David Williams has raced limited boats since 1978, was the primary stunt driver in the hydro-themed film Madison, and is the museum director at Seattle's Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum.

Needless to say, he has plenty of racing experience.

But until Friday, Williams had not competed in his new role -- driver of an unlimited hydroplane.

Williams skirted across the Columbia River in the Lakeridge Paving U-48 hydroplane, and sits eighth after the first day of qualifying.

"It's our first race so we're not going to beat everybody with speed," Williams said. "What we can do, is beat some of them with consistency."

The first part of Williams' statement was validated by the team's last-place finish in the Dash for Cash on Friday on the opening day of the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup.

But boat owners Jon Cheetham and Greg O'Farrell said the day was less about achieving immediate success and more about gaining experience.

"Right now, we're just trying to get Dave some sea time," Cheetham said. "A lot of his past driving has been in smaller boats. The more he's out there the more comfortable we are."

Cheetham and O'Farrell purchased a boat from Fred Leland early this year after several years of sponsoring the boat. When it came time to find a driver, Williams was at the top of the list.

"We had become good friends from getting to know him at the museum," Cheetham said. "The commitment to Dave was, 'If you can put a crew together, you can drive it.' "

Before long, Williams had a crew, and the owners had their team. It signaled the fulfillment of a longtime ambition between two friends who grew up in the same neighborhood in the Seattle area and adored the same sport.

"Growing up, we would head out to the lake whenever we could," Cheetham said. "The only sport around was boat racing and we loved it."

As for their driver, Williams is having a pretty good time as well. He said he is happy with how his team has performed thus far and looks forward to gaining experience this weekend.

"We're doing fine, and I'd bet we will be out here on Sunday," Williams said. "We have some work to do, but we are going to be just fine."

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