Spectators can head to the Oak Harbor shoreline this weekend if they want to see hydroplane racers zoom by at dizzying speeds during “Hydros for Heroes.”

Between 40 and 45 teams will take to the water this weekend. Organizer Jim Woessner, who is also an Oak Harbor City Council member, said there will be 18 heat races launched from Flintstone Park and the Oak Harbor Marina.

“It’s going to be a pretty action-packed weekend,” Woessner said.

The Craig McKenzie Team of Keller William Western Realty Office bought the race five years ago and now operates it as a charity event that the public can attend for free. There will be 32 vendors dotting Bayshore Drive. Proceeds will go to the Rotary Club of Oak Harbor to fund their Food4Kids Backpack Program and scholarships for graduating high school seniors, as they have in years past. Craig McKenzie said the event has raised almost $100,000.

He said he has been surprised at where the event has taken him — on Saturday he will be opening the event by driving a boat that can speed up to 90-95 miles an hour around the course.

“Five years ago, I never thought I’d be behind the yoke of a hydroplane race boat,” McKenzie laughed.

The best place to see the boats will be along Bayshore Drive, but Woessner said “there’s not a bad seat in the house.”

Oak Harbor is unique from other hydroplane race courses because spectators can stand remarkable close to the boats as they zoom past.

“Oak Harbor is made to house this event. It’s oval-shaped if you think about it. We have some of the closest viewings of hydroplanes, period,” Woessner said.

One change from years prior is that Southeast Pioneer Way will not be closed to traffic. Organizers decided to leave it as a “free for all,” and Woessner suggested the downtown street would be a good place to watch the action.

There are many volunteers involved with the event from sponsors to pit crew.

Navy veteran Jim Croft has attended the race every year and will be inside the pits this time.

“I’m pretty much a ‘gear head,’ so I want to be close to the big boats to see the horsepower,” Croft said. Most spectators will not be allowed in the pits this year unlike years past, because it can get pretty crowded with the crews, organizers, race committee and the crane used to put the boat in the water.

However, Woessner said there may be an opportunity to take a peek at the gigantic boats’ insides during a one-hour break in the middle of the day.

The organizers said they hope families will come out and maybe even create a new summer tradition if it’s something they haven’t seen before.

“We’re hoping to create a lot of new hydroplane race fans,” Woessner said.

For more information and to see the schedule of events, go to hydrosforheroes.com. The action begins with a Navy Growler jet flyover at 9:45 a.m. Saturday.

The hydroplane race “Hydros for Heroes” will return to Oak Harbor this weekend. Whidbey News-Times file photo