SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The roar of turbine engines is echoing across Mission Bay this weekend as San Diego Bayfair brings some of the fastest boats on water to the area for a weekend of family fun and high-speed racing.
The stars of the show are H-1 Unlimited Hydroplane boats that sound like jet engines but operate quite differently.
"We're prop-driven, not jet-driven, like people think. We're a T-55L7 turbine out of a Chinook helicopter," said Corey Peabody, an unlimited hydroplane racer.
Unlike the turbines that lift helicopters into the air, these engines propel unlimited hydroplane boats across the water at breakneck speeds.
"Maybe I'll see 200 miles per hour on the straightaway," Peabody told ABC 10News.
Peabody is the defending champion of the H-1 Unlimited Division at San Diego Bayfair and will be looking for a second straight title this weekend through qualifying heats all the way to Sunday's final. As you'd expect from someone who races at such speeds, he's pretty fearless.
"Yeah, they're dangerous; walking across the street is dangerous. I've blown over at 189 miles per hour and I could have gotten in a boat and raced the next heat. Not my boat. My boat was completely destroyed," Peabody said.
There's plenty to see and do at San Diego Bayfair beyond the racing, including water-powered jet packs and daily Coast Guard rescue demonstrations.
"This is taking place over on East Vacation Island, Crown Point, and Fiesta Island. Over at Crown Point, we have car shows, a cornhole tournament... we have tens of thousands of people, folks from all over the country coming out to enjoy some of the greatest weather we have this time of the year," said Gregg Mansfield, San Diego Bayfair Board of Directors member.
The hydroplanes remain the main attraction, though, spraying massive rooster tails of water while producing thunderous sounds across the bay.
"Where we're at right now was actually purpose-built for hydroplane races, and they really do draw people. In this valley, you can hear them when they come out there," Mansfield said.
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