Two unlimited hydroplanes with ties to Edmonds are in Guntersville, Alabama this weekend to start the 2019 H1 Hydroplane Series –a six-race season for the world’s fastest racing boats that runs from now until mid-September.

The boat shop for Reliable Diamond Tools presents J&D’s is in Edmonds just off 212th and Highway 99. Owners Scott and Shannon Raney live in Brier.

The boat is 30-feet long, weighs about 5,000 pounds and is capable of speeds up to 200mph. Driver is Tom Thompson out of Cambridge, Maryland. Boat and driver finished third in the overall season standings in 2018.

The boat is powered by a turbine engine made for Chinook helicopters in the 1980s. The team has four race-ready engines heading into the 2019 season.

The other boat with an Edmonds connection is the Bucket List Racing, owned by Edmonds resident Kelly Stocklin and driven by Dustin Echols from Monroe, Washington. This team finished fourth overall in 2018.

They will be joined by four other boats at the season opening Southern Cup. Other boats racing include the Miss HomeStreet, driven by Jimmy Shane, who finished second in last year’s season standings, and the Spirit of Detroit, driven by Bert Henderson from Ontario, Canada. There will also be two Graham Trucking boats owned by Rob Graham out of the Seattle area. The first Graham Trucking boat will be driven by J. Michael Kelly, who in the past several years has won seven races in this boat. The other Graham boat, the Graham Trucking II, with be driven by rookie Corey Peabody from Tacoma.

Defending season Champion Andrew Tate and the Delta Real-trac hydroplane with miss this first race of the season but will be back starting next week in Madison, Indiana

Follow the action all season long here on My Edmonds News.

— By Harry Gatjens