Return of the Green Dragon

COEUR d’ALENE — The Green Dragon is back.

The 1958 Miss Bardahl unlimited hydroplane is green like a dragon, and when you start her up, boy, does she roar like one.

"I like the old World War II fighter engines, and I wanted to hear them again," Bob Koca of Rathdrum said Friday, standing under a tree near the Museum of North Idaho admiring the boisterous Bardahl. "Could you imagine that thing dropping bombs on you?"

For the first time since 1961, Miss Bardahl is back in the Lake City, where she initially competed in the 1958 Diamond Cup on Lake Coeur d'Alene.

"This is a great tribute to bring it back," said Doug Miller, one of the directors of the Hydromaniacs nonprofit. "This is one of the lone survivors from the very first Diamond Cup."

Miss Bardahl's visit is in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Diamond Cup and the 50th anniversary of the Museum of North Idaho. She'll be on display on the lawn next to the museum all day today and might make an appearance at the Coeur d'Alene Antique and Classic Boat Show at The Resort on Sunday.

The historic vessel’s home is the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in Kent, Wash., where she is lovingly looked after by executive director David Williams.

Williams spent summers in Coeur d'Alene as a child and was inspired to pursue a career and life involved with hydroplanes after seeing the races. He eventually befriended and wrote a biography about the late Mira Slovak, who raced the Miss Bardahl to glory in a national championship in ’58. The book is titled "A Race to Freedom — The Mira Slovak Story."

"To be here in my adopted hometown with the hydroplane that I fell in love with here, with the book about the guy that inspired me, it gives me goosebumps," Williams said. "This is a really cool day for me."

The Bardahl (named for her builder and sponsor, the late Ole Bardahl of Bardahl Manufacturing Corp.) has been restored a couple of times and still participates in exhibitions. She's capable of going 160 mph, but usually drivers keep it at 120 to go easy on her.

"This is one of the sweetest boats. It is a beautiful running boat," Williams said. "She's a cupcake."

The 3,000-horsepower engine is intermittently being dry-fired to give spectators a taste of her power.

"When I was a kid, I could tell when the boats were starting in the morning," said Steve Shepperd of Coeur d'Alene, author of "Hydromania: A History of the Diamond Cup."

"We lived up in midtown. It sounded like it was right next door to us," he said. "I know people who lived in Hayden who complained they could hear them."

Museum of North Idaho program and marketing director Robert Singletary said the hydroplane era — 1958 to 1968 — is "a chunk of our history, and it was a very interesting chunk of our history."

"When this was happening during those years, it was a celebration,” he said. "A lot of people came here, people that were followers of this, and they’d come from all over. It brought a lot of people to Coeur d’Alene who’d maybe never been to Coeur d’Alene."

A black and white photo of the Bardahl hangs in the museum, showcasing this piece of the Lake City's hydroplane past. Singletary said boat racing and aquatic activities are a big part of our history, dating back to the regattas that were held in the early 1900s. It's one slice the museum is highlighting in recognition of its golden anniversary.

"We go back and we take a look at all the things that have been a part of this community that we need to keep alive. It shouldn’t die, and that means all of it,” he said. “This was a big thing. People came here and they participated in it."

The Museum of North Idaho is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Info: www.museumni.org