8806 Miss Madison

[Hydro Junkie]

I was in Madison for the Regatta back in 2011. Trust me, it's a fun little town. When I was there, it was Regatta weekend and the town was literally going crazy over the boats. That said, they had parades, concerts, and who knows what all else going on. In my case, I'm under standing orders to go to Miss Madison's team manager's restaurant next time I'm in the area. As far as what happened on the water, I've heard referred to as "Accident Weekend". One of the boats ran over a rescue boat, while two others collided, taking one of them out of the Gold Cup the next weekend. Fortunately, there were no fatalities.

The HARM is a "must do" for hydroplane junkies like me. Just south of Seattle, they have several historical boats, almost all in running condition, that you can see. They are just finishing the restoration of the 1973 Pay'N Pak and are starting the restoration on the 1979 Squire Shop. There's also, for now anyway, a Miss Bardahl being redone. If you like pictures and videos, they have that too, as well as drivers uniforms and models of boats from the past.

 

[ThomasRasmussen]

Sounds like it would be a great experience going to Regatta weekend in Madison. Also sounds like you had a great time in 2011. Accident Weekend huh? Not often rescue boats get hit I presume. A little action never hurts, as long as nobody gets injured or worse....

Been reading a bit on the HARM web site, and am sure that would be perfect for me. Saw a picture of the Pay'N Pak. Looks like it's close to finished. I really like the old shovelnose boats, so that place would be just perfect. Mentioned this for my girlfriend and she did not think it was all that bad of an idea for a vacation actually. We could stay in Madison for the Regatta, and then hire a car and drive to Kent. 2300 miles is a long drive, but I'm sure it would be interesting and lots of cool places to see on the way. Oh well, it most likely wont be this summer. Maybe for 2018.

Now I feel like I have hogged your thread too much here. Sorry about that

 

[Hydro Junkie]

Not to worry, what was requested is on the first page of the thread. One thing to remember is that your distance is the most direct and, at 4100 Km, you won't really get to see a lot. Something else to remember is that, at best, you wouldn't be able to drive much more than 1000 Km per day and, to do so, you will miss a lot of the country. If you really want to do this, contact Grahame Haines through the forum. He and his wife spent 6 to 8 weeks weeks traveling the US as well as seeing the Columbia and Albert Lee Cups in Washington. I know he would have suggestions on how to save money on lodging and travel costs so that they could spend more time seeing the country and less money doing so

 

[ThomasRasmussen]

Thats good to know.

You're probably right about the distance and driving. Won't get much sightseeing done from behind the wheel. Never been to the US before, so probably not smart to embark on a massive journey without knowing the place at all. Although I do enjoy a good road trip. Perhaps flying is a better option. Do you know if domestic flights are very expensive?

I really appreciate your good advice, and will take all in consideration if this becomes reality.

BTW; Just read that the 2017 Madison Regatta will also host Gran Prix Western. So that will probably be a action filled race-weekend.

 

[Hydro Junkie]

Actually, you will see more driving than flying. Three things you have to remember are that:

1) When you fly, you have to be at the airport A MINIMUM OF 2 HOURS BEFORE BOARDING. This is to make it through security, among other things. You also have to consider the amount of time you have to wait to get your luggage and, possibly, to get your rental car at each stop. Just an FYI, TSA(the security people) are very fussy about what they let through their security stations to the gates. If they see something that could be considered dangerous, you lost it. Even a canned drink is not allowed through.

2) There are only so many airports that handle commercial flights. Anything you want to see that isn't close to a commercial airport you will probably be forced to pass on

3) The cost of flights varies considerably between two cities depending on the airline and the class of ticket. For example, a one way, nonstop flight from Seattle to San Francisco on January 7 will run you anywhere from $95 to $183 for coach and $174 to $262 for first class on Alaska Airlines while United Airlines wants $95 to $423 for coach and $224 to $311 for first class. These depend on time of flight departure. As the departure date gets closer the costs will also go up.

Since there is roughly three weeks between races in Madison and Tri-Cities and another week till Seattle, you would have time to travel around the country a bit. A smaller car will get you better fuel economy and will also cost less to rent(just a thought). I would recommend looking at travel sites an tourist books to find what you would like to see. Plan your trip to see as many as you want between races and have fun. One last bit of advice, try to fly into an airport that is a good starting and finishing point as rental companies tend to charge a large surcharge to drop a car off in a location different than it was picked up from.

Another FYI. Last year, Seattle ran three classes of boats at their regatta. They ran the unlimiteds, grand Prix and F-1 tunnels