The Sparks Marina is typically pretty calm and quiet, but that's all about to change.
60 boats from around the west coast will be racing and competing all weekend long at Hydrofest. On Friday, we got to see a little preview of the action.
It took 15-year-old Brett Williams and his dad more than two years to build his boat. It reaches speeds of up to 70 MPH on the water.
"A lot of people don't realize how fast it is when you're going on water," says Williams. "It's a lot different than sitting in a car going down the freeway."
Add some waves into the equation, and Williams says things can get a little scary sometimes.
"Knock on wood. I don't anticipate crashing here."
Williams will compete in two different racing classes this weekend. His boat is pretty small compared to some of the other ones out there though.
"We're going to be giving Sparks Marina and the town of Sparks some great competition boat racing," says Julian Rucki, whose also competing this weekend.
Another boat we find racing around reaches speeds of up to 100 MPH. So naturally, I volunteer to sit in the passenger seat and take it for a spin. I roll up my pants, throw on a helmet and toss on a life preserver.
Once we are all set, we head out further into the marina where the fun begins. Rucki is my driver who says we topped out at about 85 MPH. He says it didn't look like I was too scared out there.
"The visor was on, but it did look like there was a big grin underneath that visor," he says. "You didn't hit me to slow down. So, I thought you enjoyed it pretty good."
Hydrofest is a free event, and racing begins at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Written by Adam Rasmussen
