Speed King – Meeting Chip Hanauer

[Hydroplane Museum]

August, 1982 – Hanauer brings home the gold at the Emerald Cup on Lake Washington less than a year after Bill Muncey’s death. Photo by Bob Greenhow.

Words & New Photos: Ozzie Wiese
Reprinted from Northwest Yaching Magazone

The chance of anybody beating Chip Hanauer’s record-setting seven consecutive Gold Cup wins is slim. Could you imagine any pro team winning seven world championships in row, say seven consecutive Super Bowls (even the Seahawks)?

So how did Hanuaer become so fast? Of all the stories you may have heard where a person was born with the need for speed, Hanauer’s story stands out. Hanauer was born on July 1, 1954, in Seattle, and it only took the young Hanauer six or seven years before he confided with his farther that he wanted to be a race driver when he grew tall. While the young Hanauer couldn’t exactly specify what kind of race driver he wanted to be, his need for speed was already there, but this clarity would come with a few additional years and formative experiences.

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