They are not as loud as they once were when powered by 12-cylinder, World War II airplane engines.

But the turbine-propelled Unlimited Hydroplanes are still spectacular, trailing their 200-foot-long and three-story-high roostertails.

This weekend, the historic powerboat racing series returns to east Mission Bay for the 57th time. And while the tour no longer has the significance of past decades, each of the five boats in the East Vacation Isle pits still have a shot at the season championship going into the season finale, which is extremely rare.

Usually, the tour reaches the Bayfair event on Mission Bay with only one or two boats still in title contention. But this year there is only an 800-point spread from first to fifth with 200 points going to the winner of each of the five races.

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