Rookie Tate wins Albert Lee Cup for first hydro victory

By Nick Patterson

Herald Writer

SEATTLE — Andrew Tate’s father was known for always being the bridesmaid at Seafair.

But on his first attempt, Tate got to be the bride.

The rookie driver won on the course where his father never could, pulling off the upset as his U-9 Sound Propeller/Les Schwab boat took the title in the Albert Lee Cup H1 unlimited hydroplane race, held Sunday afternoon off of Stan Sayres Memorial Park on Lake Washington.

Tate’s father, Mark, was a top driver during the 1990s, finishing second at Seafair on multiple occasions. But Tate was able to take home this year’s trophy — and earn his first ever H1 win — by gaining inside position on the start, then holding off national points leader Jimmy Shane in the U-1 HomeStreet Bank to win a compelling race by a rooster tail.

“It’s undescribable, honestly,” Tate said about Sunday’s victory. “I’m on cloud nine, it’s just a dream come true.

“(My father) has been super influential in my career,” Tate added. “Getting me started, giving advice, supporting me, giving me the time off work to be able to do something the entire family loves. It’s unreal.”

Tate was not one of the pre-race favorites as Shane, fastest qualifier Jean Theoret in the U-16 Oh Boy! Oberto, and two-time defending champion J. Michael Kelly in the U-5 Graham Trucking, were considered the true contenders.

But Theoret’s penalties during the heat races took him out of contention. Then Tate was able to grab lane two in the lead-up to the start of the championship race, forcing Shane and Kelly to the outside. Tate grabbed the lead on the start, and Shane was the only competitor in the six-boat final able to keep pace.

Tate and Shane battled throughout the race, with Tate maintaining a rooster-tail lead through the first three laps of the five-lap race before Shane pulled within striking distance in lap four. However, Tate was able to hold Tate off around the final turn and take the checkered flag.

“That was what the fans come here to see, that was a boat race,” a good-natured Shane said.

“He really deserved to win today,” Shane added about Tate. “He put himself in the best position he could, timed it perfectly in the warm-up period, nobody could get inside of him, and he really earned that one.”

Tate was the first rookie to prevail at Seafair since 1956, when Jim Ranger won aboard My Gypsy.

Theoret a two-time former Seafair champion, was knocked out of contention before the final even began. He was penalized in all three of his heat races — going below 80 mph in the run-up to his first heat, jumping the gun in his second heat, then encroaching on the lane outside him in his third. The Oberto team appealed the third penalty, but the decision was upheld, meaning Theoret didn’t accumulate enough points to qualify for the final. He started the final as the trailer boat, but pulled off the course early in the race.

Meanwhile, Kelly also took himself out of contention early. Kelly bumped with Brian Perkins’ U-21 Albert Lee Appliance jockeying for position on on the start and ended up penalized one lap. Therefore, although Kelly crossed the finish line third, he was bumped to fifth, with Perkins being awarded third.

For more on the Seattle sports scene, check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at www.heraldnet.com/seattlesidelines, or follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.