Miss Madison Flip Ruins Debut

A 40-foot wall of water can cause a lot of damage.

Fortunately for Todd Yarling and the Miss Madison hydroplane, his upside-down ride on Kempenfelt Bay could have been a lot worse.

“It was a very soft landing, but man was the water cold,” said Yarling, whose boat flipped when it hit a huge roostertail during the Budweiser Thunderfest in Barrie, Ontario, Sunday.

Yarling, driving his debut race for the community-owned Miss Madison, won his first preliminary heat, finished second in the next heat and washed out when he hit a giant spray of water in the wake of another boat during the third heat. He was not injured.

The boat was returned to Madison for repairs.