One of the highlights of Seattle's annual summer festival, Seafair, is hydroplane racing. Hydroplanes are racing boats built to glide across the water instead of through it. One of the most popular is seen here, the Slo-Mo-Shun IV, which set speed records and brought enthusiasm for the sport to Seattle in the early 1950s. "Slo-Mo" is currently on display at the Museum of History & Industry.

This photo shows crew members, dressed in white, looking over the craft moored near shore after its record-breaking run. Piloted by Stan Sayres, the hydroplane reached 178 mph, shattering the world speed record on water.

Handwritten on image: Slo-Mo after record run 7-7-52.
Handwritten on sleeve: SHIPS, "Slo-Mo-Shun IV" after record run.
Date photograph was filed at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (date of photograph and file date may differ by a month or more): July 7, 1952.

Caption information source: HistoryLink.org, Essay 1465.