What happens when the signature event of the signature day suddenly changes? How about a 25% drop in attendance or 40,000 people. That is what happened this year becasue the Blue Angels did not perform due to sequestration. Instead, Seafair brought in a group known as The Patriots and while good, they were not the Blue Angels.
Yesterday was the highlight of the whole Seafair celebration. The Air Show and the Hydroplane Races on Lake Washington. Ask any driver on the H1 Unlimited Hydroplane tour, and he will tell you the Albert Lee Appliance Cup at Seafair provides the biggest stage he will be on all season. The less than huge crowds lined the shores of Lake Washington and the extended live television coverage tried to make Seafair as spectacular as usual for the drivers of the “World’s Fastest Race Boats.” But in the end, it was just too noticeable not to acknowledge.
Even the drivers took notice. Brian Perkins, driver of the 21 Albert Lee Appliance, is a good example. After working his way up to the ranks of Unlimited Hydroplane drivers by working as a crew member and driving smaller boats, the North Bend resident finds himself representing the event’s title sponsor in a race he calls, “The biggest race of the season for us, but boy where are the crowds?" In years past you could not find an open space along the water nor on the log boom. That was not the case this year. "I literally grew up in the Seafair pit area.” He added, “Our shop is in Maple Valley, our entire crew and their friends and families are all local and our sponsor’s name is on the event. To say we have a lot of incentive to do well in Seattle would be an understatement.” While they performed it was sad so many did not see them do so.
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