Bon voyage, hydroplanes

This year's Diamond Cup hydroplane races are dead in the water.

They were docked by Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger, whose refusal to authorize the water-event permit presented a substantial obstacle to the show going on. We're not at all convinced that Sheriff Wolfinger did the right thing, legally or practically. A greater willingness to work with race organizers might have helped save the day. The fact that Diamond Cup organizers have been awarded every other permit in this arduous process makes the sheriff's refusal appear all the more arbitrary.

But a sheriff overstepping his bounds isn't all that sunk this year's Labor Day races. Far from it.

The lethal torpedoes were fired by Doug Miller himself.

Miller is without question the most devout, hard-working and dedicated hydroplane fan we've ever met. Unfortunately, being a fan doesn't qualify someone to run a complicated, expensive organization that relies heavily on public permits and participation.

Miller's failure to erase debts and start the 2014 campaign with a clean slate was his undoing. Facing a faction of the community that doesn't want these races back anyway, Miller discouraged many potential supporters by putting on an underwhelming show in 2013 while creating a lot of ill-will along the way. The fact that he blames everybody else for this year's failure, from H1 Unlimited President Sam Cole to the newspaper you're reading right now, shows an unmistakable lack of leadership.

Instead of lashing out at his perceived enemies, Doug Miller should have been hell-bent on paying off every debt his privately owned Diamond Cup Unlimited LLC owes while mending fences with the many key people his organization depends upon. He should have accurately assessed his insurmountable challenges, written off 2014 and focused on putting on a fantastic show in 2015, with more hydroplanes racing and some great entertainment between races to fill those agonizing gaps.

This region could use a fantastic summer send-off every Labor Day weekend, and the hydroplane races seemed to fit that bill almost perfectly. But under its current structure, particularly at the top, it's hard to see that happening. The time for accepting full responsibility and accountability has passed. The hydroplanes are going elsewhere, leaving only bad vapor and a wilting rooster tail on Lake Coeur d'Alene.