Hydroplane racing returns to Coeur d'Alene

Hydroplane rooster tails and boats racing at up to 200 mph will be returning to Lake Coeur d’Alene on Labor Day weekend after a 44-year hiatus with the revived Diamond Cup Regatta.

The return of sanctioned hydroplane racing will take place on a 2-mile track off of Silver Beach. State and county permits have been secured, and plans call for bleachers and boat-viewing room for several thousand spectators.

Coeur d’Alene has hosted exhibition hydroplane runs on the lake each of the last two years, but those were more limited vintage racers, which ran laps each of the last two summers more for show-and-tell than a winner-take-all sprint.

The city banned hydro-racing in city limits in 1996 after a public advisory vote was conducted. Even though the proposed race track is now outside city limits, the city agreed to provide emergency services during the event.

Dennis Wheeler, chairman of the Coeur d’Alene Diamond Cup Regatta Inc. board of directors, called Lake Coeur d’Alene “the greatest site in the country to have this event.” Wheeler said his group will hold fundraising events and seek sponsorships to help cover costs.