Crazy Racers: Sammamish Slough Boat Races to be Remembered Sunday

Back in the days when hydroplanes and boat racing ruled the local sports scene, the Sammamish Slough races were an eagerly awaited annual Eastside event, and they will recapture a bit of that glory Sunday in Kenmore.

King County’s 4Culture program and the city of Kenmore are hosting a program April from noon to 4 p.m. titled “Remembering History: The Sammamish Slough Boat Races.” It is at Kenmore City Hall, 18120 68th Avenue NE.

The Slough races ran from 1933 to 1976 and were a big deal along what is properly known as the Sammamish River, but long referred to simply as “the Slough.” Typically the races would start near the river’s mouth in Kenmore, run upriver past Bothell, Woodinville and Redmond, turn around at Marymoor Park and return to Kenmore.

But the races drew spectators from all over the Seattle area and were especially popular among Eastside residents. Some estimates say up to 80,000 would watch during their heydays.

Especially before it was dredged and channeled by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers in 1964, ostensibly for flood control, the Slough was a meandering stream with many hair-raising twists and turns for the racers. Part of the thrill for spectators was the likelihood of mishaps, and they did happen.

Boats would miss turns and run up the bank, hit bridge pilings and throw drivers, sometimes flip. Families would spread blankets on the banks and picnic while the racers whizzed by. And there were a variety of craft raced, from tiny limited hydroplanes to Indian dugout canoes with outboards motors.

Usually in April, the Slough races were a wild prelude to the annual Seafair unlimited hydro races on Lake Washington each summer.

On hand for the event Sunday will be  local boat racing historians and past Slough Boat Race drivers, and the event will feature videos and  photos from the archives of the Kenmore, Bothell, and Redmond historical societies, a Classic Boat Show featuring the Unlimited Hydroplane MISS WAHOO and a build-your-own origami boat workshop.

The races are also featured in a collaborative project by artist Gaul Culley. His work “The Winners and The Innovators” is currently on display at 4Culture’s offices, 101 Prefontaine Place S, Seattle. The artwork re-establishes visual narratives of the Sammamish River Slough Boat Races.

For details about Sunday’s event in Kenmore, see: www.kenmorewa.gov/events.