HAVERHILL — Wearing an orange coverall, jacket and black gloves, Jack Cavanaugh stood by the shore staring at the water.
Jack, 12, was eagerly waiting to fly along the Merrimack River yesterday in the Haverhill River Run 2010 at the Crescent Yacht Club.
"It's getting to the finish line that makes you feel lucky," said Jack, who traveled from Maine with his dad, Shawn.
From Jack to people like Dick Currier, 76, experienced boaters and newcomers alike took part in hydroplane racing on the Merrimack sponsored by the Crescent Yacht Club and the South Shore Outboard Association.
"I get a high from racing and I just love the competition," said Currier, of Beverly, who has been racing since 1987.
"When you're out there, you just concentrate on the water condition and where the drivers are."
This is the second year the hydroplane races are back after a 50-year hiatus.
Dave Goodwin, chairman of the Crescent Yacht Club racing committee, said 70 boats registered for the race, which continues today from noon to 5 p.m.
He said boaters came from towns throughout New England and from as far away as Michigan, Indiana and Canada.
Men, women and children competed on a three-quarter-mile closed course between the yacht club and a point downstream opposite the traffic light at Water and Groveland streets. There was also a 20-mile marathon.
"We have a beautiful day for it; it's great," Goodwin said, noting last year's event was marred by heavy rains.
The race started about 20 minutes late because of low tide due to the dry spell. But as soon as the river swelled, the boaters went in the water.
The race attracted Billy Allen of Quincy, the only American to win at the Union of International Motor boating in Sweden last month, taking a third-place bronze medal.
"I love everything about it, the camaraderie between the people, the competition and going fast," Allen said.
It's not just the excitement of competing and having bragging rights about coming in first that attracts many of the boaters.
"It's the camaraderie," said Jason Thompson, 35, of Mansfield. "We help each other out."
Thompson has been racing since age 10 and loves it.
"It's the rush that you get. It's a hobby that gets in your blood and you can't stop it," he said.
After working at a board shop for 15 years, Nick Nowack, 31, of Marblehead said it was time to take to the water.
Nowack raced for the first time yesterday.
"I'm not nervous. I'm here to have fun. What's the worse that can happen, you fall in the water?," he said.
Colleen Tweedy, 34, of Mansfield, was the only female competing yesterday.
She is a third-generation racer, following the footsteps of her mother, uncle, cousins and grandfather.
"I started because my family was doing it and I had to see what it was all about," Tweedy said.
She admits getting butterflies in her stomach before racing, "until I pull the rope."
"I love the competitiveness of it. I love the feeling of flying off the water. It's natural for me, like riding a bike. It's in my blood."
For Steve Noury, 57, of Merrimac, hydroplane racing on the Merrimack River brings back a lot of memories. His late father, Norm, used to race on that same stretch of water in the mid-1950s.
"That's what makes this race so special, because he did it," said Noury who has been racing since 1963.
His brother Tim of Bow, N.H., recently took up the sport, too.
"It's genetic," Noury chuckled. "I was never asked if I wanted to do it. I just did."
Details in terror plot revealed
Red Sox players, fans react to the epic collapse
Buy Shonda Schilling's clothes for a good cause
Sox fans feeling let down again
