The graduate of Boston University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), from which she graduated with honours, only found her way into motorboat racing late in life. Before her career on the water, Betty Cook had no racing experience whatsoever.
From lawn mowing to powerboat racing
She herself described her earlier life as rather conventional. Family, children and a detached house. Until a bet with a friend provided the decisive impetus for a change: when he claimed that Cook would not be able to drive a boat on her own, her ambition was awakened. She finally took the helm of a racing boat in 1970 at the age of 47, when she took over her husband's racing team following a divorce:
When you've fulfilled your role as a housewife, mother and grandmother by mopping the floor and mowing the lawn, maybe it's time to do something else. I simply decided to go offshore powerboat racing."
Training and technology
With a height of 1.63 m and a weight of around 50 kg, she steered the 9,000-pound boats several times at racing venues all over the world. As she could barely see over the high bow of her racing boat "KAAMA" due to her stature, she developed her own technique: she leaned far over the side of the boat and completed the entire race standing up so that she could better read the water in front of her.
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Road to the top of the world
With her "KAAMA" boats, she formed a unit together with John Connor and navigator Don Holloway, which she herself described as "almost telepathic". Technically, she relied on an eleven-metre-long Scarab hull with two 635 hp Mercury engines, which ran exclusively on aviation fuel.
In 1977 in Florida, at the age of 54, she became the first woman to win a UIM World Championship title - a success she was able to repeat in 1979. In addition to her championship titles, she set an impressive distance record in 1978 when she covered the 580 miles from San Felipe to La Paz in a single day. She didn't build up the stamina she needed for the races, which often lasted several hours, in the gym, but through tennis sessions and a daily dance class, which she taught herself as a former professional dance teacher.
Social role models
For Betty Cook, social role models disappeared the moment she took the wheel. She always took the name "Grandma" given to her by the media, especially in relation to her much younger male competitors, with humour:
I believe that as soon as I put on my lifejacket and helmet and get behind the wheel, we are all equal. Then gender no longer plays a role."
Away from the waves, she led Kaama Marine Industries as president until her death in 1990 at the age of 67. Her legacy as a strategic pioneer was finally honoured in 1996 when she was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.
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David Ingelfinger
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