What it's like to glide over the Fox River in a speedboat
Speedboat racer Tammy Wolf was really pleased last November when she tested out a potential course on the Fox River in Elgin.
“It's nice and tight, and short, which is good,” she said.
Now, Wolf is getting ready to take part in Elgin's first “Thunder on the Fox” racing event sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association. Qualifying heats will take place today with the race on Sunday, on a six-tenth-of-a-mile course north of the Gail Borden Public Library.
Wolf, of downstate Clifton, said she is one of only three female racers in the circuit. She is hoping for a little wind, just enough to give the water “a little chop” to lift up the powerboat.
“The boat works on lift — we want to be on top of the water and glide across,” she said.
And glide across the speedboats do, as racers deftly steer to trap just enough air under the tunnel-shaped front of the boat to give it some lift. But not too much, or the boat will flip over, Wolf said. “It happens to everyone,” she said. “It's not fun, but it happens really quickly.”
Racing boats are one-seaters, but on Friday, race organizers took people on test drives in two-seaters.
Wearing a helmet, strapped in your seat and enclosed in your own “capsule” behind the driver, it's hard to get a sense of how fast you're going, even when you reach speeds of 100 mph.
In fact, as long as you're going straight, it's a lot smoother than you'd think.
But when the boat whips around and turns back, you feel the full impact, as your body shifts all the way to one side.
It's a little like riding a Big Wheel — you go as fast as you can, then you hit the brakes, spin out and come around just to do it all over again.
Powerboat racing is a weekend hobby for most racers, said Wolf's husband, racer Mark Jakob, last year's Formula Two national champion. Elgin's race will include Formula Two and Formula Three classes.
On Friday, Jakob was hanging out by the course with his new buddy Roddy Foreman of Austin, Texas, whom he had just met in person after chatting on Facebook for months.
Foreman is an executive for IBM. Jakob is a farmer.
“We do it for the thrill, but we also do it because of the people,” Jakob said. “You meet a lot of really great people.”
Foreman, who was inducted in the APBA Hall of Champions and has several national and world championships under his belt, said the desire to get back to powerboat racing gave him the extra drive to beat a cancer diagnosis and get back to racing this year.
“It's like flying. You're riding on air,” he said. “It's definitely a thrill.”
“Thunder on the Fox” is presented by APR Superleague and McGrath Motorsports in Elgin.
Ÿ Gates open at 10 a.m. today and Sunday, races begin at 11:30 a.m. The entrance is off Ann Street, just north of the Gail Borden Public Library, 270 N. Grove Ave. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for 7- to 12-year-olds and free for those younger than 6. For details, visit thunderonthefox.com.