Tri-City Water Follies Columbia Cup and STCU Over-the-River Airshow 2024
July 26 to July 28
The 2024 Columbia Cup will mark the 58th time Unlimited Hydroplanes have raced on the Columbia River. This year’s event, like the inaugural in 1966, will most likely have 12 Unlimiteds in attendance. But the modern Unlimited Hydroplane has very little in common with those first boats that churned the waters of the Columbia River. The hydroplanes of today are almost more plane than hydro. They are thirty feet long; with 7,000-pound wings that glide over the water with only the bare minimum of the boat making contact with the river. Powered by turbine engines capable of nearly 3,000hp, the boats can reach straightaway speeds close to 200 miles per hour. Qualifying lap averages in the mid 160mph range are common with the faster boats in the fleet. To put it in simpler terms, at speed, an Unlimited Hydroplane will travel more than the length of a football field in the space.
The thrilling over-the-river air show takes place between 11:00am – 1:00pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Tri-City Water Follies is delighted to announce that the Columbia Cup and STCU Over the River Air Show will welcome the 2.5 Litre Stock hydroplanes ("S" class) to its lineup of exciting boat racing on the Columbia River on July 26 – 28, 2024.