Day Three, Tuesday September 23 – Rakaia River - Legs Four, Five & Six: Rakaia Lagoon to Somerton Road, Somerton Road to Rakaia Lagoon & Rakaia Lagoon to Somerton Road
| No. Cl Driver. Boat Name. Criterium Up Waiau Dn Waiau Up Rakaia Dwn up RakR TotalTotal |
| 1 353 A James Murdoch Carlton Hotel 28:22 39:48 21:34 21.05 17.30 21.50 2.29.09 |
| 2 301 U Rob Pooley Just Mussels 30:06 42:39 21:47 18.25 18.20 19.42 2.30.59 |
| 3 25 B Daniel Anderson The Ranch 28:38 43:11 23:38 18.34 17.17 19.05 2.30.23 |
| 4 388 A Spencer King Sunset Shaker 30:05 43:28 22:23 he broke a crank on the first up and is out |
| 5 626 U Chris Campbell Ahaura Transport 30:33 44:53 21:38 20.27 19.03 21.20 2.37.54 |
| 6 777 U Regan Williamson Daddy Kool Racing 30:42 43:56 22:56 18.51 18.11 25.12 2.41.05 |
| 7 307 U Shaun Kelly Kawarau Jet 29:19 44:19 25:13 19.47 18.24 20.27 2.50.54 |
| 8 41 A Paul Collings Jet Stream Services 33:38 44:58 21:21 48.22 19.46 20.32 3.08.37 |
| 9 38 B Bryce Idiens Smack Face 30:29 49:37 22:36 23.12 19.21 24.26 2.49.41 |
| 10 109 B Ryan Ringer Outlaws 34:34 48:44 21:44 39.43 19.24 22.26 3.06.35 |
| 11 216 A Malcolm Jenkins The Hairy Mussel Company 30:36 55:45 21:25 42.40 19.12 21.23 3.11.01 |
| 12 367 U Roger Preston Booth AG 30:48 49:22 32:06 19.47 18.24 20.27 2.50.54 |
| 13 134 D Brendon Cameron 37:48 54:04 22:51 24.05 20.47 24.02 3.03.37 |
| 14 66 C Kruse Davidson Bannickburn Fruits 33:46 57:23 24:31 23.12 18.45 22.40 3.00.17 |
| 15 70 D Callum McKenzie D70 Racing 35:35 57:51 23:40 23.23 20.44 23.08 3.04.21 |
| 16 107 D Aaron Morrison Steath Racing 34:39 55:45 27:26 22.53 23.26 23.50 3.07.59 |
| 17 91 B Byron Campbell Desparado 35:15 55:48 38:46 43.41 27.09 26.52 3.47.31 |
| 18 35 R Tony O'Laughlon 43:41 1:05:28 27:34 30.34 25.18 30.31 3.43.06 |
| 19 638 C Andrew Stuart Keystone Decorators 33:02 1:14:29 33:29 20.54 18.38 20.37 3.21.09 |
| 20 77 R Craig Robertson 41:23 1:05:30 52:19 42.47 35.25 33.34 4.30.58 |
U = Edge Parts & performance A = SSS Engineering B = Carlton Bar & Restaurant C = Farrington Tavern D = Hornit R = Adelphi Motel
Continuous underline = penalty, broken underline = credit.
COMMUNICATIONS AND COMPUTING BY CHRISTCHURCH AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
Edge Parts & performance Class Results.
No. Cl Driver. Boat Name. Criterium Up Waiau Dn Waiau TotalSSS Engineering Class Results.
No. Cl Driver. Boat Name. Criterium Up Waiau Dn Waiau TotalCarlton Bar & Restaurant Class Results.
No. Cl Driver. Boat Name. Criterium Up Waiau Dn Waiau Total
1 25 B Daniel Anderson The Ranch 28:38 43:11 23:38 1:35:27
2 38 B Bryce Idiens Smack Face 30:29 49:37 22:36 1:42:42
3 109 B Ryan Ringer Outlaws 34:34 48:44 21:44 1:45:02
4 91 B Byron Campbell Desparado 35:15 55:48 38:46 2:09:49
Farrington Tavern Class Results.
No. Cl Driver. Boat Name. Criterium Up Waiau Dn Waiau TotalHornit Class Results.
No. Cl Driver. Boat Name. Criterium Up Waiau Dn Waiau TotalAdelphi Motel Class Results.
1 35 R Tony O'Laughlon 43:41 1:05:28 27:34 2:16:43Please note :- Continuous underline = penalty, broken underline = credit.
Day Three, September 23 – Rakaia River - Legs Four, Five & Six: Rakaia Lagoon to Somerton Road, Somerton Road to Rakaia Lagoon & Rakaia Lagoon to Somerton Road The forecast gusty nor’west winds eventuated in the high country early in the morning. Such was the wind speed that the Christchurch Amateur Radio Emergency Communications personnel who conduct the timing of the event were concerned that their repeater mast would be damaged or even lost. A strategic decision was taken by the organizers of the event to shorten the course in an effort to minimize the risks of wind damage to equipment and to reduce the potential risk to boats and crews. The competitors would then be required to complete three legs of the shortened course rather than two legs of the original, longer course to the Gorge and return.This rescheduling caused a delay of thirty minutes in the commencement of racing – a small price to pay. While the wind steadily increased in ferocity throughout the day making life a little unpleasant at times, the river itself was flowing clear/blue and in excellent condition for jet boat racing.James Murdoch was first away at 1030hrs with the remaining competitors being flagged off at one minute intervals. James and Ross clipped a rock during the first upstream leg that damaged the steering nozzle severely restricting the ability of the boat to turn to the left at speed. Nevertheless, Carlton Hotel managed to complete the first leg in a time of 21:05 although second placed Rob Pooley was first to cross the line in Just Mussels recording a time of 18:25. Rob confessed to taking a couple of long cuts but generally had a clean and obviously fast run.Daniel Anderson in his 6.0 litre Chev powered The Ranch took off from third position and also had a clean run to the turn around point at Somerton Road recording a good time for the leg of 18:34. He crossed the finish line in second position having also overtaken James Murdoch who had slowed due to his steering problems.Perhaps the lowlight of the day was the demise of Canadians Spencer and Russell King. The alloy blocked 450 Ford in Sunset Shaker had not been completely happy throughout the event with a misfire on the criterium flowed by a worsening vibration that became apparent on the Waiau. Unfortunately, some five kilometers downstream of the State Highway 1 bridge at Rakaia, the crankshaft broke and the crew had to sit by until the boat could be retrieved after the second leg of racing. It was an ignominious end to their campaign. Hopefully, they will return for the World Championships next year as their competitive spirit tempered by genuine humility makes these jet boat marathons richer for their presence.The battle for the top of the leaderboard continued throughout the remaining legs. James was able to replace the damaged steering components, and set a hard pace on the downleg recording a time of 17:30. His cautious approach on the last upstream leg saw him record a time of 20:50 and a total elapsed time of 2:29:09.Rob and Mike Pooley were able to capitalize on the Murdoch steering misfortunes and took back a minute and a half on them on this leg. The downstream leg was not as kind to them as they gave back 50 seconds to Murdochs and just over a minute to the hard charging Daniel Anderson. Nevertheless Just Mussels was behaving well and the Pooley brothers kept a tight reign on their progress recording consistent times to conclude the day with a total time of 2:30:59.However, it was Anderson’s The Ranch that provided much of the excitement recording a downstream time of 17:17 (fastest) that he went on to back up with 19:05 to give him an elapsed time for the event so far of 2:30:23 – good enough to edge out the Pooley crew for second place overall.Chris ‘Turbo’ Campbell maintained his steady pace near the front of the field in Ahaura Transport by recording a time of 20:27 – a good effort considering he would “rather be dagging lambs and crotching fly blown merino hoggets” than racing in such conditions! He continued to drive well in the remaining legs to secure his position of fourth overall in a total time of 2:37:54.Regan Williamson has performed very well to date on this marathon in Daddy Cool Racing – but his time of 26:54 for the first up leg was a little slow. Nevertheless, he was able to recover with solid times on the remaining legs, 18:05 and 19:50, to secure fifth place going into the Waitaki legs.Shaun Kelly in Kawarau Jet was keen to avenge his grounding on the Waiau the day before and put in a good time for the first leg of 18:51. He found the big Eagle tunnel handled the blustery conditions well. His downstream time of 18:11 was good but his final up leg time of 25:12 was slower than before but kept him in sixth position going into the Waitaki leg.Paul Collings had a big push that resulted in a lengthy time of 48:32 for the initial leg but at least he and crewman Phil Moodie made it the end without incurring a penalty time. His times of 19:46 and 20:32 for the remaining legs were good enough for him to remain in seventh place with a total elapsed time of 3:08:37.Another to have problems on first leg was American racer Ryan Ringer. He spun the Eagle Steptech Outlaws up a bank damaging the starboard aft quarter of the hull. The application of plenty of 100 mph tape kept most of the water out and he was able to complete the leg in a time of 39:43. The remainder of the race was completed without drama and Ryan held tenth place overall by the end of the days racing. Things did not go so well for Malcolm and Edward Jenkins either. On the first leg they had a spin in their Keelow Craft tunnel The Hairy Mussel Company and were unable to restart the engine immediately. After some considerable delays incurred by attempts to unjam the starter motor they were able to complete the leg unassisted and recorded a time of 42:40. Their subsequent times were pretty reasonable at 19:12 and 21:23 respectively.The two C class boats in the event of Andrew Stuart and Kruse Davidson each had a clean run. Davidson’s Keelow Craft tunnel Bannockburn Fruits powered by a 302ci Chev has been performing well with no problems to date. On this leg Kruse was content to tuck in behind the D class boat of Brendon Cameron and recorded a time of 23:12. Andrew Stuart’s 19’ Impala Keystone Decorators is probably a faster boat but after a disasterous run on the Waiau that resulted in a replacement of the jet block and grill, Andrew and his red bow tie wearing navigator, Dan Lysaght have their work cut out to make up for lost time. They were able to pull back nearly three minutes on Kruse on this leg lodging a time of 20:54, just seven seconds on the downleg and a further two minutes on the last upstream leg but still have a long way to go.In D class, the three competitors are enjoying a close race. Aaron Morrison’s Nissan V8 powered Stealth is probably the quickest in the field, but in this class where power outputs are so close, driver experience and navigational ability can easily make up for a small performance deficit. Brendon Cameron’s Lexus powered 182A and Callum McKenzie’s similarly powered Kwik Kraft tunnel are both ready to pounce on any mistake by the class leader.Sportjet racer Tony O’Laughlan has an unassailable lead over rival Craig Robertson who continues to battle intermittent fuel problems with his Sportjet powered boat. Assuming big T continues to complete each remaining leg of the event the class honours will be secure.So, going into the two legs on the Waitaki tomorrow, James and Ross Murdoch lead the event closely followed by Daniel Anderson and Rob Pooley. The Waitaki is known for delivering consistent water but some ‘blind’ irrigation streams, weirs and inconveniently placed stumps will keep competitors on their toes.
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