KENNEWICK -- Jean Theoret took the U-37 Hoss Mortgage out for a spin Saturday morning, hitting a top speed of 153.442 mph.

It was great therapy for not only him, but also his team.

Theoret flipped the boat back in Madison, Ind., on July 4. He nearly drowned in the accident.

As he arrived back at the dock Saturday, the crowd in the pits gave him a resounding round of applause, and he emerged with a huge smile and a thumbs-up.

U-37 crew chief Scott Raney said the trip on the river was good for everyone.

"Jean fell off the horse and had to go riding again," Raney said. "We want to help him with the healing process again, but also healing for these guys (on the crew)."

Raney said the team visited Theoret numerous times at the hospital.

"We are a very close-knit group," said Raney. "This is a good step in the right direction for us."

Theoret said it was like riding a bike.

However, "I'm tired and beat up," he said. "Before I got in the cockpit, I was nervous. But once I got out there, I was just doing my job. It's all good."

His mother and wife were in attendance. "My mom is back there somewhere hiding," he said. "But my wife was OK with it."

Notes

Former unlimited hydroplane driver Terry Troxell passed away last month, succumbing to a heart attack.

Terry left behind a big racing family.

He was the stepfather of U-5 driver Jeff Bernard. His brothers-in-law were former unlimited hydroplane drivers Mark and Mike Weber. And U-17 driver Kip Brown was Troxell's son-in-law.

In the Lampson Pits, small memorials to Troxell are abundant on many Unlimited Lights and unlimiteds. Some with his pictures, others with small statements.

His memorial service was held at the Hydroplane Museum in Seattle, where an estimated 600 people showed up to pay their respects. And his absence has been felt.

"I go one week at a time right now," said Bernard.

It's tough on Brown as well.

"I'm not yet ready to talk, but I'll try," said Brown. "We all hung out together and partied the night before. He got to hold my 2-month-old daughter, so I'm glad for that."

Troxell suffered a stroke in 2005, and that kind of scared boat owners away from him for a while.

But Fred Leland let him drive one of his boats in Seattle in 2006.

"He would not have wanted to pass one up," Brown said. "People were still skittish after Terry's stroke. Thank God, Fred gave Terry a chance to drive. Even in his diminished capacity he was still one of the best drivers around."

Troxell was tough to beat in his modified boat and was on his way to a national title with it when he died. Bernard took that boat last weekend and set a world record in Michigan.

In this close-knit racing community, when someone dies, everyone feels it.

"Nobody didn't like Terry," said Brown. "He had a calming effect on everyone. He's a legend."

The Boeing U-787 got in its test run Friday morning, and legendary driver Chip Hanauer got the boat over 150 mph.

The boat ran last year on a biofuel called BioJet-A, a mixture of 20 percent Babassu oil -- a light yellow vegetable oil -- and 80 percent coconut oil.

"That's what we call a first-generation biofuel," said Mike Garrett, the director of airplane performance at Boeing. "This is a second-generation fuel that comes from a non-crop fuel."

Garrett said it is a 50-50 mix of biofuel and a basic fossil fuel, kerosene.

"The biofuel is a mix of camelina (which is a crop plant used with wheat), a little algae, and a little jathropa," he explained.