'Hydroplane Heritage' released
New
hydroplane book
to be released in August;
hydroplane movie 'Madison' won’t
By
Don Ward
Editor
MADISON, Ind. (August 2003) – Unlimited hydroplane racing fans were hoping that August 2003 would have meant the national release of the movie “Madison,” filmed on location here in 1999.
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But sources close to the production team say the movie
will not come out in August, however, they are still hoping for a fall
release.
Meantime, hydroplane fans can pick up a soon-to-be-released book about
Unlimited hydroplane racing by the sport’s official historian,
Fred Farley, and co-author Ron Harsin of Madison.
Farley, the American Power Boat Association/Hydro-Prop Inc.
Unlimited historian, has compiled a collection of his stories that will
be published in a book titled “Madison: Hydroplane Heritage”
and available for sale in late August.
Harsin helped Farley, a Milton, Ky., resident, prepare his manuscript
for publication by Bristol Fashion Publications, the world’s largest
nautical publishing house, headquartered in Harrisburg, Pa. Harsin helped
write some of the non-racing portions of the book, as well as contribute
the computer graphics.
“This book has been in the works for the past year,” Farley
said. “Ron and I came up with a concept that focused on the Unlimited
hydroplane sport in general and Madison, Indiana, in particular. We
wanted to show how Madison fits into the overall picture of boat racing.”
Farley said this type of book has not yet been published. “A number
of books on Unlimited hydros have been published. But none of those
ever concentrated on a specific race site as our book does. We talk
about the town, the Madison Regatta, and the community-owned Miss Madison,”
he said.
The publisher had hoped to arrange the book signing in conjunction with
an anticipated August 2003 national release of the movie “Madison,”
about the 1971 Gold Cup victory by the locally owned boat.
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"We will have the book signing and release the book
regardless of whether the movie comes out,” Kaufman said.
Farley said, “There is a chapter that deals with the “Madison”
motion picture. But this is not the primary focus of the book.”
The book is 380 pages pages and will include 10 pages of color photos
and hundreds of black and white photos, according to a press release.
The cost is $34.95 with free shipping. The book also is expected to
be available at Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores as well as
several other large booksellers, Kaufman said.
“Madison: Hydroplane Heritage” focuses on the Unlimited hydroplane
sport in general and Madison, Ind., in particular. The book is dedicated
to the crew of the 1971 Gold Cup-winning Miss Madison.
Farley, 59, is a Seattle native who retired from public school and community
college teaching there in 1996, then moved to Milton in 1999 with his
wife, Carol.
Farley holds a degree in English Literature from the University of Washington
in Seattle. He says he first visited the Madison Regatta in 1971. “I’ve
attended every subsequent Madison Regatta except 1974, when it was run
in October.”
To date, he has attended 205 Unlimited hydroplane races. Farley was
appointed APBA Unlimited Historian in 1973. In 2001, his official title
was changed to APBA/HYDRO-PROP Unlimited Historian.
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Farley continues to work hydroplane events for Hydro-Prop
Inc., which now owns and operates the Unlimited racing series. Madison
is one of six stops on the annual circuit. Farley also writes hydroplane
articles for several publications, including RoundAbout.
Farley said he is dedicating the book to the July 4, 1971, crew of the
Miss Madison: Tony Steinhardt, Bobby Humphrey, Dave Stewart, Keith Hand,
Russ Willey, Harry Volpi, Everett Adams and the driver, the late Jim
McCormick. Many of the 1971 Gold Cup race photos were taken by my friend
Rich Ormbrek, who worked for
Farley in those days. “It’s my hope that, 50 years from now,
when all of us are long gone, “Madison: Hydroplane Heritage”
will stand as a reminder to future generations of what power boat racing
meant to the city of Madison and how racing became a part of the culture
in the Ohio River Valley,” Farley said.
• Call 1-800-478-7147 to reserve a copy. All reserved books
will be shipped the Friday before Labor Day 2003 by priority mail.