Moses Lake Solar Cup Regatta driven by family, fearlessness

MOSES LAKE - Ana Cappelletti was wearing a smile as she yelled over the hum of high-powered race boats battling it out off the Connelly Park beach.

"It's going really good," said Cappelletti, who rounded out her eighth year as chair of the Moses Lake Solar Cup Regatta a few weekends ago. "This town is unbelievable and the spectators seem to be growing in numbers every single year. You look down the shoreline and up above on the plateau - it's just unbelievable."

Hundreds of locals joined race crew members and supporters from all over the Northwest for the annual hydroplane race, which took place May 19 and 20 on a one and a quarter mile oval course just off shore.

Cappelletti stood in the bright afternoon sun at the edge of the area where boat owners, crews and drivers were busy preparing their crafts for racing. She pointed out the majority of the people involved in the sport were raised into it, including her.

"I'm second-generation myself - my dad used to race hydros," she said. "The support you get from your families and everybody here, we're all one big happy family."

It's a sentiment that comes up a lot when speaking to hydroplane racers - many of whom spend much of the warmer seasons traveling from race to race.

The Martins, who hail from Maple Valley, will tote their RV and two boats to about 10 events around the country this summer. Doug Martin said his family got involved in the junior division of hydroplane racing when his 9-year-old son Jared built his own boat through a 100-hour program at the Hydroplane and Race Boat Museum in Kent.

"I just took it step by step, and now I can work on motors and everything," said Jared, now 15.

He's since applied his knowledge to building a boat for his 11-year-old sister, Maddy, to race. Maddy's boat can reach about 40 miles per hour, while Jared's tops out at about 55 mph.