Reprinted from The Seattle Times, Pictorial Magazine, July 28, 1974
Since childhood, boating has intrigued Eatonville’s George Henley.
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| Eatonville's George Henley |
He has raced powerboats from outboards to unlimited hydroplanes. His boating also has included operating a jet boat on river excursions and salmon fishing at Westport.
This summer the 36-year-old family man has raced about the country as an unlimited-hydroplane jockey and jet-boat salesman.
Next Sunday on Lake Washington the amiable Henley, who has been racing since 1954, will be at the helm of the Pay ‘n Pak, the defending national champion in the Gold Cup regatta.
“I have two big obligations this summer — driving the Pak and boosting sales for my employer, Turbo Pac, Inc., (a Tacoma firm which sells jet-powered boats),” Henley said. “But sometimes there just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day.
“Fortunately, Pay ‘n Pak has a great racing team,” he continued. “My only obligation is to drive. Jim Lucero, the crew chief, is a genius at repairing the boat. If there’s the slightest thing wrong, I tell him and he attempts to correct.
“The team did its home work during the winter months and the boat was marvelously prepared. We had some rudder trouble in preseason testing but it was corrected. Preparation was the key in the early races because I had very few laps in the boat before the first race.”
Dave Heerensperger, the boat owner, and Henley agreed last spring that Henley would be allotted sufficient time to continue “my main obligation as sales and public-relations manager for Turbo-Pac.
“This is a different arrangement than Mickey (Remund, 1973 Pay ‘n Pak driver) had. He was employed by Pay ‘n Pak and available at virtually any time for testing the boat and for public appearances.
Prior to this season, Henley was winless in unlimited competition. That drought ended on the Potomac River when he captured the coveted President’s Cup in early June.
“That still ranks as my biggest thrill,” he said. “The first win is always the one you remember, and once you get the taste of victory, you don’t want to give it up.”
The glamour of that initial win will be increased, since he and his Pak mates will go to Washington D.C., in the fall to receive the cup from President Nixon at the White Houses.
Despite racing virtually at sea level, Henley senses plenty of pressure in the cockpit of the Pak. but it’s not air pressure, rather psychological.
“There’s a certain amount of pressure to keep the title that Mickey earned,” Henley explained. “But what business in the world doesn’t have pressure? I enjoy it.
“I hadn’t planned to go racing this season, but this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. David and I have a one-year agreement that I’ll drive the boat. If something happens and he wants to change drivers, that’s his opinion. But I hope to prove myself as a winner so he won’t have to exercise that option.”
Henley, a longtime limited-hydro driver, became somewhat disenchanted with the unlimited’s lifestyle and personnel shortly after making the jump to the big boats in the early 1970s.
“I’ve changed a lot of my opinions since then,” he confessed. “But unlimited racing has changed, too. There’s the Fan Plan (where the winner of the final heat is declared the race victor), there are more limited drivers moving into unlimiteds, there are more boats and the competition is much improved.”
He concedes his change of heard may in part be due to his association with one of the sport’s top racing camps.
“When you’re not winning or contending, a season can become pretty long,” he said.
Because the spring and summer are prime sales periods for Turbo Pac, Henley spends virtually every available minute concentrating on selling the Hamilton jet boats.
“All of my family enjoys boating,” Henley said. “When I am not out selling or racing, we’re on the Nisqually River or some other body of water.”
His summer timetable is well organized and tightly scheduled. Commuting 27 miles to the Tacoma boat shop when he isn’t racing, Henley spends a typical work day on the phone and at marinas informing potential clients about this product.
“It’s amazing how racing and jet-boat sales complement each other,” he added. “Everywhere I go in business, people ask about the unlimited. I’m convinced that any recognition I gain in racing is helpful to business.”
Born in Ketchikan, Alaska, Henley comes from a family of five children. His parents operate Silver Lake resort near Eatonville, where he has resided most of his life. His wife, Mary, has seven sisters, one of whom is married to Ron Jones, Southern California unlimited-hydroplane builder.
Discussing his interest in boats, Henley quipped: “I guess I was born with webbed feet. Ever since I was a small boy, I’ve been around boats. I think racing really began to attract me when I was a first-grader and my family was living at Spanaway Lake, south of Tacoma.
“The reason I recall it so well is that one day I walked down to a dock, about a block from my home, to watch a race. My parents called and called for me, but I didn’t hear them. When they finally found me, they gave me a good paddling for wandering away from home without permission.”
His racing ventures began in a B stock hydro in 1954. Then he graduated to the 136-, 155- and 280-cubic-inch limited-hydro categories. In the late 1950s he was a crew member of the Tacoma-based unlimited Miss B & I. and the Coral Reef. In 1969 he captured the national 225 crown in Miss Tide Air. Later, henley drove the famed seven-liter Record 7 after the late George Babcock retired.
His previous unlimited rides, from 1970 to ‘73 were the Burien Miss, Lincoln Thrift and Red Man.
Although the sport has been tragedy marked in recent years, Henley said: “It’s no more dangerous than driving down the highway at midnight some Friday or Saturday night. In fact, these drivers are a heck of a lot better than any you’ll see on the freeway.”
He has been involved in two narrow scrapes with death, one a flip in his 225 on Lake Sammamish in 1970 and a nose dive in the Link Thrift at the 1972 Gold Cup on the Detroit River.
“George is a great starter,” Heerensperger said. “Even when he wasn’t in a top hull he’d always be in a good position at the start. He’s got a bunch of desire and he’s chomping at the bit in our boat.”
Henley added: “There’s considerable strategy in racing. We videotape most of our test and trial runs to determine how the boat is riding and how I can improve my position on the course.
“Much of my preparation for each event is aimed at timing the start. I spend a couple of days working on positioning myself in relation to the starting clock.
“Like Howie Benns (Miss Budweiser driver) and Ron Armstrong (Valu-Mart pilot), I want the inside lane. That means that all jockeying for position begins well before the one-minute gun, for whoever has that lane by the turn buoy heading into the straightway, owns the position.
“Unquestionably the start and the first turn are crucial phases of every race. If you can get past those in the lead and have comparable power to the rest of the boats, you’re usually in pretty good shape.
“But racing these big hydros is more than simply putting your foot down and letting the boat go. It’s as much psychological as it is physical.
“From a physical standpoint, I attempt to stay in good condition the year around by jogging and driving the jet boats.”
This week Henley will begin a quest for the prestigious Gold Cup, a title that has eluded the Pay ‘n Pak team in its six years of racing.
“My chief ambition this season is to take the unlimited points championship,” Henley said, “but there is no race I’d rather win than the Gold Cup right here on our home course.”
Heerensperger noted, “I’m confident George can win it. He has all the tools to become a great driver, and we have a sound boat capable of helping him get to the winner’s circle.”