Power boats at Alouette Lake.

Bill Allan, hydroplanes

I don't do enough on power boat racing. It was quite popular in the Greater Vancouver area from the 1930s to the mid-1970s. Probably the logistics of holding races have curtailed the sport. In years gone by races were held at Harrison Lake, Hatzic Lake, Alouette Lake, Cultus Lake and the Pitt and Fraser Rivers. Even off Semiahmoo Beach in White Rock and English Bay in Vancouver. No doubt many other places as well.

Bill Allan was solid performer on the water winning a few American Power Boat Association championships in the various classes he ran in. Unfortunately he passed away a couple years ago.

the first power boat race at Cultus Lake

"The first" is always (maybe that's a poor word choice) a dodgy claim. But I'll take it at face value for the moment. The first power boat race at Cultus Lake, BC, was April 22, 1962.

One mistake I see is that it was Ron Bestward, not "Robert", who was the cracker box driver. At least I think it was. Ron Bestward went on to be the American Power Boat Association (APBA) cracker box champion for the year of 1962. And second place finisher Bunny Jeboult was cracker box champion in 1964. Not too shabby for a couple local racers.

As usual there were boats from the Seattle area that did well in most of the other classes. More power boat histories to follow as the weather warms (?) into summer.