Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
 |
 |
 |
Ever wonder why the Herald does something? Or how? Or "what were they thinking?" Now you can find out. Executive Editor Ken Robertson and Managing Editor Rick Larson will do their best to explain what happens in the TCH newsroom - and why. |
Print
E-Mail
tool name
closeFriday, Jul. 24, 2009
Hydros R Us this weekend
By Ken Robertson, Herald Executive Editor
The last weekend of July has brought unlimited hydromania to the Tri-Cities annually since 1966.
And the Herald certainly has for all that time reflected the community’s love for the big boats. That continues unabated even though the thundering Rolls Merlin and Allison aircraft engines have mostly been replaced by quieter, faster and much more dependable turbines.
This weekend marks my 34th year of the Water Follies and the Columbia Cup, which over the decades has had a raft of names, some linked to advertiser sponsors and some not.
No matter. It’s still a big weekend of stunningly fast hydroplanes, thousands of fans, scorching weather and staggering amounts of beer and fast-food sales — followed by a Monday when we’re glad it’s all over.
And then, almost without pause, Tri-Citians immediately begin planning for next year’s event.
In the Herald and on the Herald’s websites, tricityherald.com and tricityherald.com/hydroracing, we’re posting up scores of stories, hundreds of photos and dozens of videos, old and new.
Want to see a gallery of photos from more than 40 years of hydroplane history? Or would you rather see the spiffy new Boeing U-787, which can blast along at 150 mph powered by biofuel? We’ve got both.
Sports Editor Jeff Morrow, who has been hanging around the hydros since he was a kid and writing about them for a couple decades, will spend most of the weekend in Columbia Park for this year’s races, along with our website crew and photo staff.
And if the hydros don’t float your boat, we’ve been to the 59th annual Art in the Park show. Check out the photos by photographer Kai-Huei Yau and reporter Loretto Hulse’s report on the highlights of this year’s show.
Or see reporter Drew Foster’s account of flying in the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber from World War II that's here for the Follies air show and photographer Paul T. Erickson’s gallery of photos from their flight.
We’ll have something for just about everyone this weekend, in the Herald and on tricityherald.com
w Ken Robertson: 582-1520; krobertson@tricityherald.com
Stay updated with the latest news from the Tri-City Herald with an RSS feed: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/1309/story/97842.html
@Nyx.CommentBody@