If you’ve answered yes to this question, here are a few coaching tips for you and your team. Start by getting the above, “A TEAM”, if you do one thing this year to improve your skiing, it should be this. “A TEAM” is a Driver, Observer, and a Skier or two, and as much as a good skier will look good behind any boat you will find that there is normally 2/3rds of the team always in that boat.

You start by finding a good DRIVER. If you can’t find one, make one. Ask yourself what is a good driver is? A good driver will be a driver that after a few races you feel that you hardly ever have to signal. To do this the driver needs to be aware of their surroundings, and have the reflexes and boat handling ability to be able to react to changing situations. So a driver needs to be fit mentally and physically as well. They can train to be more physically prepared. Arm work at the gym and aerobic fitness will improve their ability and confidence in the boat.

They need to be told what is going on out the back. That is the observer’s job during the race, but the skier should also be able to communicate to the driver what they are comfortable and uncomfortable with, before and after the race. It is very important that a driver respects this so that a skier is not scared every time they hook up. Drivers you will win more if you do!!!!

An OBSERVER is the next ingredient. Observers are there to balance the boat up, not!!!! Observers are there to keep you feeling safe and motivated to ski as fast as you possibly can. If an observer loses the confidence of their skier it will destroy your whole team’s race, so you need to be focused on your skier and the condition’s behind the boat. Keep your signals simple and always get to know the skier and there ability before observing. It helps to have skied before when observing, but not essential. What is essential is that if you are faced with a difficult situation, ask yourself WOULD I WANT TO SKI THROUGH THAT?? If I was skiing at their ability. Then, adjust your speed or course accordingly.

Again alertness and fitness are important for observers. Also your peripheral vision so that you can watch your skier and the other boats around you at the same time. You also need to be aware of when your skier is tired. The first sign is their ankles and knees go from being together and straight, to apart and wobbly. The second is their head, once their tired they will start rocking forward when they hit waves or there will be more movement of the head. You don’t always have to slow down, but you do need to be conservative in the way you tow the skier.

The most important member of the team is THE SKIER. There are three ingredients to make a great skier.

1. A good team which should have at least the above qualities.
2. Mental toughness.
3. Physical strength and endurance.

Mental toughness comes naturally to some people, you must realise that you are good at what you are doing, and believe you have the ability to beat your opposition. A bit of arrogance and cockiness can sometimes help too. You need to be sure of yourself and have the confidence to achieve whatever goal that you are striving for.

You can train to be mentally tough in ski racing. It will involve pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone. It’s a great feeling going past that zone and making it back. To train go beyond what you need to do in a race. Whether it be skiing hard wrapped on doubles in the Harbour or out of control on a plank, I’m sure you have an idea of where I’m coming from. IF IT SEEMS DIFFICULT, “ DO IT ”.

Most important though is physical fitness. This will give you confidence if you don’t have it already. The fitter you are the faster you can go. You don’t see many fat, unfit world champions. Unless it’s Sumo or Darts of course.

So here are some training techniques you can apply to become ready for the season ahead.

Running : If you can run this will be one of the easiest and quickest ways to increase your fitness. Start slow warm your muscles up, then stretch. You need to stretch your hamstrings, calves, and quads before setting off. Once you have gained a base fitness you should start varying your running. You should try for 4 –5 runs per week. Start with a light flat run on the first day, then your next run try some hills and increase the distance and intensity. When running hills run them BACKWARDS if you can handle looking stupid. It will only take you one small hill to appreciate the benefits to your skiing. Push your aerobic capacity as this will build endurance and better recovery times. Make sure you warm down after this run with a walk and stretch. Then have a day off then have a medium intensity run for the third and then finish with another light run. If you want to do more add another hard run in between the third and last run.
When running always make sure you warm up and down and don’t run out further than you can run back.

Cycling : Cycling uses very similar muscles to ski racing. Again you will need to develop a base fitness before pushing yourself. Once your base fitness has been developed keep the kilometres up. Push the speed on the flat and make sure your butt doesn’t leave the seat on the hills, you can move your butt further back on the seat to develop slightly different muscles in the leg. And when it becomes too easy use a harder gear. Cycling is a great way to test your mental toughness the challenges come more often.

Gym : At the gym always make sure you warm up, then vary your program for all over fitness. You not only need strength, you also need endurance and flexibility. Leg presses, calf raises, leg extensions and curls are the most common exercises. Try and do high reps and make them explosive once warmed up properly. The other main area to work on is the mid-section. Your abdominals and lower back are very important when skiing. They hold everything together and will help in the case of a fall. One of the most effective ways to strengthen this area is Pilates or a swiss ball. The other area that can benefit from strength training is the neck and shoulder area.

The best training of course is skiing. Do it as often as you can it works the exact same muscles as skiing, funny that. Make it as hard as possible for yourself, the plank, doubles wrapped and slalom skiing will all make your fit and strong and give essential ski control. I also strongly recommend Barefooting to learn good body position and learning how to make falling an instant reaction.

Of course there are many other ways to build fitness, but make sure it becomes a lifestyle. Cycle to work or walk to school instead of taking the bus. Couple this with a good diet. Try and eat fruit and vegetables and when training make sure you have enough carbohydrates (pasta etc) and protein (tuna, meat etc) to keep you going. And always remember to stay hydrated.

Technique : You always need to develop your own technique. You should base your technique of some basic principles though.

1.Push your ski in front of you, because once it goes behind you it hurts.
2.Keep your head and upper body still, and try and make your legs go up and down underneath you.
3.Do not have your head in front of your front foot.
4.Try and have your handles so that your middle knuckle sits at the top of your butt.
5.The faster your go, the more you push into your back hand.
6.Keep your shoulders square to the boat.
7.You and your ski will follow your eyes, look down go down, look up, stay up.
Always have fun racing. It is what makes work worthwhile and it is our leisure time. When this guide is not enough give me a call and we can work out a program to suit your goals and lifestyle. AIM HIGH YOU MIGHT GET THERE.

See you soon
Pressy 0274 343331 or pressy@xtra.co.nz

Mike Rodgers borrowed Heart Attack and bolted on his 300x to join CT Sonic and B Jammin on the road trip south. With a 25% discount from Bluebridge shipping (available for all ski racing events) 12 of us once again got the 3am sailing across Cook Strait in pouring raining and howling winds to arrive in Nelson at the same bar as last year for another round of Bloody Mary’s.

Race day Saturday dawned fined and cold with briefing at 7am which was rudely interrupted by a compulsory breath test by the police. We really needed Rhys there to blow the bag sky high and draw the attention away from the rest of us but luckily we all passed and it was out of the harbour for the start of the race.

When we got to the start line it was obvious the cold, still morning had been hiding a 2 metre swell left over from the storm the day before, so this was going to be no drag race.
Pressy decided to start next to Nelson locals the Morris brothers in No Mercy figuring they would know the way out to Kaiteriteri however this plan turned to custard when No Mercy had to whip start leaving us all alone and out in the lead.

This was the way it was to stay for about ten minutes until CT Sonic and Heart Attack came up along side B Jammin and the lead chopped and changed all the way to Kaiteriteri. The swell proved to be a real handful in the boat’s with Mike Rogers providing the most entertainment and it was no picnic out the back either with the rope regularly running through the waves. B Jammin narrowly turned at Kiterteri, the half way mark, ahead of CT Sonic and Heart Attack in 24 minutes so it was all on for the race home.

It got rougher on the way home but Mike got the hang of driving Heart Attack and Bevan Turksma’s class showed through as he pulled out a lead on the two other chasers which he would increase as the race went on. Heart Attack eventually pulled Bevan over the line to win the race in 46 minutes with Mark Priestley skiing behind CT Sonic in second and a fading Rick Powell crossed for third behind B Jammin.

Saturday night in Nelson was once again worth the price of the Bluebridge ferry crossing. With Mike Rogers and Melanie Powell unable to get a taxi at closing time they found an abandoned bike with flat tires and rode it home. Once home Mike sold the bike to a passer by for $10 and off he went with the rest of the gang to buy a pie at the garage across the road. Mark Priestly however decided to buy a blue Hot Wheels car for $1.49 and proceeded to race it around the store on his hands and knees, revving noises and all, before hitting the forecourt and asking some old guy in a van if he wanted a race.

Sunday arrived and was even colder with snow on the hills all around. Some good racing was had by all in the inner harbour which had a nasty half metre wind chop keeping everybody honest. Mike managed to spin Heart Attack in the first race (which seems to be becoming a regular occurrence for that boat) only to be followed by Rick spinning B Jammin in the third race, despite this the North Island boats still managed to come through with wins in the ski races and the boat races. Once again this was a great weekend, hopefully next year even more will join us.

Rick Powell.

With it being a massive task just organising the event this year with Victorian association having major problems with insurance, water levels and lake closures. Major efforts by personnel in both countries made it all possible with huge persistence and determination by a legend in our sport, that is Mike Williams made it possible for us to get there.

The team departed Auckland on way to Melbourne early on Thursday the 24th of April. 24 hours earlier team manager Mike Williams had been advised of a venue alteration. Due to the inability to gain lake closure over the Anzac long weekend the event was shifted from Hazelwood Pondage (1 hour South of Melbourne) to Lake Kangaroo (3 Hours North).

From touching down in Melbourne the team journeyed the 3 hours to Kerang 15 mins from the lake Kangaroo, where both teams were based and where functions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday Nights took place.

Friday saw the team travel by minibus to Ecuhca, which took just over an hour. After checking out the mighty Murray River – Home of the world Famous Southern 80 it was off to legendary American Hotel, which was – being Anzac Day - well populated. After lunch and checking out God’s Gift and later a few shops it was off to check out some the amazing hairpin corners that the Murray possesses and a chance for those who have been there before to share some stories (i.e. Fido, Pressie and Myself) and for those that haven’t to just gaze and dream. (Dunstall, Williams.) It was then on to a lengthy game of touch to warm up for the weekend and a bit of team bonding.

On Return to the motel in Nerang the Boat draw dinner took place. Everyone met their drivers and discussed the plan of attack for the following day. Also the brand new ‘Tasman Challenge Cup’ was presented to replace the shield to represent a new, developing age of the Trans Tasman competition.

Up early on Saturday morning and everyone was positive and really primed to go. Everyone had a short practice behind their drawn boats for the first day of competition and then it was on to what we had all been training and waiting for. First up was the 20 minute Sub-junior or under 13’s race. This involved both Harry Bickerton and Sarah Gunson from the New Zealand team skiing behind Hitman and Phoenix respectively. Both skiers did not have good starts with Harry having trouble with his rope and losing 30 or so seconds and Sarah missing multiple starts but recovering very well. Harry took a good lead midway through the race and opened it up to nearly a lap by the end over Victorian point scorer Kyle Mansfield. After numerous troubles on the start line Sarah finally managed to get away and after that there was no stopping her. From 3 laps down she pulled in the Victorian point scorer Janelle Taylor, who had a fall. She also pulled in some of the ground on the invitational skier.

Race 2 on the schedule presented Hannah Humphries and Ben Mayne with the challenge of racing for 35 minutes in their Under 19 Division 2 race. Hannah had drawn lane 1 and a boat called Grumpy Mongrel (NZ Cyclone, 225 Evinrude) with Ben also in 1, behind an Australian LAB boat called Vicious Rumours. Both Hannah and Victorian Point Scorer Kahlie Freeman, behind Wild Child missed their starts but got up on second attempts and had a great battle until half way through the race when Hannah broke the Australian’s fitness and pulled away with a convincing win. Ben had a tougher time however with both point scorer Bryson Lloyd and Invitational, Karl Wilson getting away to strong starts. Bryson, skiing behind another LAB boat, Little Man skied consistent but not before the driver semi broached the boat and drove inside the course. As this was driver error, and under Trans Tasman rules the skier must be compensated and thus gave Bryson a ¾ lap win over Ben. Invitational, Karl who was leading the race skiing behind bullet boat, Breakaway, run out fuel 3 laps from the end, but was also compensated giving him a second place to Bryson.

At the half way stage of day 1 we had 3 wins from 4 starts over the Victorian point scorers and the team was looking for a repeat performance in the latter half of the day with Junior and Under 19 division 1 races still to come.

For Juniors or Under 16’s both Jordan Bradley and Brad Dutton were in lane 2. The conditions were still relatively flat and it would most likely come down to boat speed and fitness in both races. Having lane 1 proved an advantage to both Aussie skiers who got away to great starts and never really looked back. Both Brad and Point Scorer for Australia Troy Boyer were flat out behind respective boats Breakaway and Pest eventuating into a 46 second win to the Victorian. Jordan also skied very competitively against an older, more experienced skier in the form of Chloe Shipp, who gave the Victorians their third win of the day by around a minute. Special mention is due to both Invitational skiers, Kane Howard and Ashleigh Hogben who skied very well for skiers in their first year of junior class racing.

The final race and really the most anticipated was that of Under 19’s Division 1 involving Junior World Champ Kristy Sloane and the ever impressive Logan “Ritzy” Fritz out of New Zealand’s corner. Logan had drawn the same boat pairing as the Junior Boys of Breakaway and Pest for his showdown with Ash Smith. This was to be very very close with Logan having lane 1 and with some competitive turned out to be a great race. After both skiers chucking everything at it, eventually something had to give and it was in the form of Ash Smith falling as he was blinded by the spray of the inside boat, Breakaway. Losing his ski took him down 3 laps and on his return to the race Logan and Ash resumed their battle. It was fairly academic from their and Ash was 3 laps down but proved that he was going to be a force to be reckoned with later on in the weekend. Invitational, Tom Smith also was hugely competitive finishing only 5 seconds behind Logan. Kristy, being the world champion wasn’t really threatened and quietly went about her business and at stages was very competitive with all the boys.

So after Day 1 the point’s sheet looked very good from New Zealand’s point of view and we new repeat performances would be enough for consecutive Trans Tasman Team Titles.

On Sunday Morning we awoke to sight of rain, that’s the stuff that hadn’t been seen in substantial quantities for what some locals said was years. As we headed out to the lake team coach, Pressie told us the plan and to just do your best and that would be enough for a great result. Very little skiers were keen on practicing due to the nature of the weather but most of the kiwi team did so to gain as much confidence going into the racing as possible.

Again Harry and Sarah were first up in Subbies behind boats Gambler and Tin Lids respectively. Both had much better starts than on the previous day and got away to flyers putting laps on both point scorers and Invitational and skiing at awesome pace for the little experience they have gained. Dirty Harry managed to notch up the first 2000 points for the trophy and was followed closely by Sarah who only managed to gain 2nd for the weekend but skied amazingly well for someone who has only been skiing for 3 months at 12 years old. First place for the weekend went to Invitational skier Laura Pearce and 3rd to Janelle Taylor.

Race 2 of Division 2 saw 2 terrific wins for both New Zealand skiers. Ben Mayne skied Little Man very hard in the messy conditions to lap point scorer Bryson Lloyd and put a solid ¾ lap on Karl Wilson. This made the point situation for the weekend very exciting and hugely close. Ben who gained a 3rd and convincing 1st was 2nd overall for the weekend behind invitational Karl Wilson by the cruellest of margins, .3 of a point. The Victorian point scorer was only 3rd by another 11 points, and that was after more than 75 minutes of hard racing. Hannah, skiing behind Mercury powered 1750 Bullet Wild Child, however managed to secure a larger margin getting 2 laps up to secure another 2000 points for the weekend for New Zealand.

With 4 from 4 for the days racing, and the conditions continuing to get messier it was time for the business end of the competition. This is where Victorians could claw there way back or it could be where New Zealand put the final nails in the coffin.

Juniors again brought double success to the Victorians. Chloe got out early on Jordan before the race was abandoned due to a cowling problem on Jordan’s boat Gambler. The remainder of the race was later re-run producing a similar result giving Jordan scores of 966.86 and 920.65 points for the weekend, a very well skied 2nd to very tough opposition, in very trying conditions on Sunday. The Boys were much the same with Brad having a slow start and issues with his goggles which resulted in him wearing them upside down the whole race. Troy got away early and skied very well to earn his 2000 points. Brad was still recovering from a shoulder injury sustained during the New Zealand National Champs and was not risking anything to further his injury.

The last race of the day, weekend and competition came down to the under 19’s division 1 to once again show their stuff. By this stage the lake had cut up quite well and we would definitely not see the same high speed racing we sore the previous day. Instead we saw racing just as close if not closer between both boys Logan and Ash. Logan behind Pest stuck with Ash persistently to eventually lose by a mere second to give him a near perfect score of 1999.56 for the weekend, very well skied. Kristy competed very well with the boys after easily out-skiing her point scorer, as you would expect. She ended only 30 seconds or so behind the pair of boys and near a lap in front of male invitational, Tom Smith.

The teams event was then completed and with all times and points complete it was time to tally up. For the Trans Tasman as with the New Zealand point score series each team is able to drop their 2 worst scores and to give a score from 14 races. This resulted in Victoria scoring 13225.06 and New Zealand gaining 13879.63 to give them a comprehensive and well deserved win. A fantastic team effort by all involved.

A huge thanks to the team; Harry, Sarah, Jordan, Brad, Kristy, Hannah, Ben and Logan with observers Mark Presnall and Mike Dunstall who sat in boats all day in every race. To all our supporters to whom it would not be possible without: Wendy (SHEELA), Mandy, Raewyn, Greg (Fido), Trudy, Abby, Margie, Julie, Ron and Debbie.

Thanks also to all the Australians – skiers, driver, observers, judges, etc - for their great racing and for being fantastic hosts.

Lastly and most importantly Mr. Trans Tasman, …no, Mr. Ski Racing, Mike Williams for all the behind the scenes effort, pain, determination and persistence to get a team to Australia to do what we hope makes him, the association and the country proud.

Brad Dutton

Team check in, all in team uniform, it was one of the prettiest teams, but was it going to uphold the reputation of other previous trans tasman teams. That was the question. There seemed to be a lot of smiling faces, some I think had been smiling for weeks on the thought of finally getting the trans tasman trip they had earnt.

Smooth landing in Melbourne things were going all to well, no even any strip searches at customs, but Fido did fly in separately I guess. Then into the mini vans and the excitement and shopping began .It was obvious that Kristy was here to win everything including the shopping, she even out did Trudy with Fidos credit card. Then we settled in for the inspiring trip across the beautiful scenery out of Melbourne (not), god how boring three hours of dirt.

Friday brought about a trip to church for a blessing of monumental proportions. Well the American Hotel actually, and the viewing of the biggest piece of Gods Gift left. Mike Dunstall wept when as he left. But we did reminisce and view the very spot where Fido dipped his shoulder into the great Murry river on debut I might add. Then it was time to put on the race face and do introductions and boat draws. With an added bonus of the presentation of a new, and very big cup to win.

Saturday morning and our team was ready .Our subbies as normal were first up with some different boats and drivers and considering the amount of time these guys had spent racing, it was going to be tough. The flag dropped and a different start procedure caught us a little of guard. Harry got up and basically smoked their ass, a truly dynamic performance. Sarah let the nerves get to her, and missed a few starts, but I guess she had to give them a chance, once she was up progressed to tap out a 21 foot boat with a V8 evinrude. Kind of scary for the observers as both mothers were watching from shore. Harry won and Sarah beat the point’s scorer.

The 16-19 Div 2 were up next Hannah had an awesome race and managed to find some of her best skiing from inside, poor Australia, bad timing for them I guess. Then there was Bens race, well it does take a while to get to grips I guess, funny how towing an Australian can suddenly make a boat go better .Ben was ripped off but skied like a demon and everyone new it .The team were diplomatic about it and made them more determined win.

Juniors, Braddy and Jordan were up. Awesome race again but obviously they had scared the crap out of the last year and the Aussies had buckled up and done some training. Again though these team members performed well above their performances at home and kept up the team points with some close racing.

Then came 16-19 Div 1, Krust and Logan well what a race Krist I think took it easy and only lapped her competition once before running out of gas 5 mins from the end, however it was an exciting ride for me in a 1750 with a 3.0ltr, well balanced boat, we only requested a runway 5 or 6 times. Logans race was awesome with Logan pulling through, there points scorer got washed of his ski, but as he came round to lap him it didn’t stop them racing and as I was about to lift Logans rope from between the boat I was in’s ski pole, they race a 2 metre rule, it popped up and we won anyway so who cares. Mike Dunstall got out of the boat more excited than Logan about the win and had to be calmed down.

Day 2: Well a repeat from Saturday really except Sarah got her start, her previous driver wanted to tow her again, but he got plenty of opportunity to see her ski. There is a waiting list to tow these skiers if you’re wondering.

A 1750 with a 3.0ltr again and there is no real choice but to start of the front, a Hannah, but she got her start in what were rougher conditions than the day before .She let her opposition break up the water for half the race and then pressured them into a fall and lapped them a couple of times .Ben on the other hand got to prove a point and took full control of the race proving to everyone why he is the most improved male skier .He dealt to his opposition.

The juniors went hard in even worse conditions and kept the points close both skiing well and Braddy started really putting the pace on towards the end of his race, which was very pleasing to see after his injury at the nationals and not much skiing to get over it. Both juniors skied smart and kept our points high in comparison to the Aussies.

16-19 Div 1. Crap water and a very even first straight in the girls but that was about it, Kristy proved why she’s world champ, an absolute pleasure to watch, and the Aussies got to watch it 3 times, with hardly any moments of skipping from one side of the wake to the other that she had promised. I did get one down out of her though, an accomplishment I must say. Logan’s race was on the other hand closer than necessary amazing how a boats handling is effected when you put a kiwi on. But Logan showed his class missing out on day 2 by ½ a point in the end but winning over all, and a very mature performance.

So we WON and then the rest I’m sorry has to stay on tour, you know the rules, WHAT GOES ON TOUR STAYS ON TOUR. But there was more shopping.

In finishing the team is one of the best teams I’ve had the pleasure of being involved with, the performance on the water almost matched their performance off the water both before and after the racing. Obviously they could visualise the end once they had won and that produced the confidence to know that they could do it to anyone on the water.

Also the supporters, which were an integral part of the winning team, but a very special thanks to Mike Williams whose dedication to ensuring all kids have a good time and get the opportunity to compete against some of the best competition around, and the extra work this year to keep it going was much appreciated .The members of the team can’t thank you enough.

Cheers

It seemed Mercury performance dealers had a good winter, sales of performance engines must have been high because it seems that last years SMOC class finally got rid of it's silent S . I think MOC is going to be an extremely competitive class this year and will definitely be an excellent stepping stone to OPEN . There is even talk of training amongst the skiers , things are really getting dirty know. You'll have to agree there are going to be some pretty hard teams to beat .

There were even a few boats dusted off for the weekend , great to see Bretto and Under Seige coming out for the weekend , unfortunately a broken prop blade saw what would have been a good battle , against Fish City , turn into a salvage operation with the boat rapidly filling with water , thankfully it was paddled to shore (even with the red flag being waved) before that happened . Good news is that the motor is still in top condition , bad news is that the hull needs a little work .We all hope to see the big boat return soon , good luck .

Rumour has it there is another couple of twin rigs lurking in the wings waiting to make an appearance , open may not be a one horse competition this year . Finally some good fossil fuel burning ,loud expensive racing ,top stuff guys .

Is it just me or are SMOC boats getting faster , it's going to be another hard fought battle there , again it is likely to be another fast no holds barred race .

The classes were full ,15 boats on a grid in ski racing it's like the old days ,as they say ,and not a lot of handicapping needed in the powerboat sprints because they all appeared to be the same or very similar speed ,with some very exciting races , bring on the drags I say ,especially in gusty winds , good test of how big they are !!. Perhaps the driver of the year trophy may be a hard fought trophy this year . Surely we can't let Stacy's head get any bigger .

Did James get beaten in the weekend ,someone said he didn't win everything , hard to believe , he said he's the best and he doesn't lie .Lucky Quent and Team get the second grid otherwise he could become quite annoying to open boats .

All in all an excellent weekend , and I think with the close results ,the boat shops better get there high performance parts ordered because I think we need more horsepower , and you can never overpower a boat ,screw the budget . The streets and gyms may be full of skiers as well because being hung over and out of shape isn't going to cut it this year . Skiers may be the finely tuned athlete's they've always said they were this year .

Looking forward to the next race weekend , where I'm sure we'll see even more excitement and speed , this year is shaping up to be one of the best ever .

Paul Skipper had arranged a camper van for the six of us. The one they wanted to give us we felt was too small, so we found one we liked and asked if we could have it. They were a bit hesitant in giving it to us as the last two vans of this type that were returned had some sort of accident damage. We decided to wait for them to clean it for us, as there was no way we would damage it. Although we did decide to pay an extra fifty dollars insurance so there would be know excess incase some drunk Aussie hit us while we were parked somewhere.

The four-hour drive to Etchuca was fun. Brad Dutton wanted to be the first to use the on board toilet. For punishment I decided to hold the door handle so he couldn't get out. That was fun until the door handle snapped and we couldn't get him out. Colin McGivor Eagles dismantled the handle and after some time let brad out. He looked like he had been locked in a sauna.

Once in Etchuca we contacted our teams so we could meet up. My team was at the pub. I started to get a little bit nervous when I finally caught up with them. My observer was wearing his under pants like a singlet with the leg holes pulled up over his shoulders and he was smoking a cigarette with his pee pee. (Not pretty) Funny enough my tow fell through but I was able to score one at the start line on the day and only had about twenty minutes to get my rope in the boat and suit on before we were off. It was a six litre in board and we won our class and broke the record. So in the space of an hour I went from being a spectator to the podium.

Fido was lucky enough to arrange a drive in the main race towing Paul Skipper and Brad Dutton, and a ski in veteran's class for himself. Unfortunately Fido wasn't use to trim buttons on the floor and the first time he got in the boat he stuck his foot on the trim up button which jacked the motor up into the number board smashing it. The owner of the boat was running around trying to see why the trim was jammed on. All was revealed when Fido stood up.
Things went a little better for him in the veteran's race. His team finished fourth overall, with an average speed of 82 miles per hour, which was a huge effort on a river with so many sharp corners.

Emma also had a small mishap, but it wasn't to do with skiing. She pulled over to pick a few of us up from the side of the road after a pit stop and didn't see the large tree over hanging the road. It wouldn't have been a problem if she had actually stopped but she drove straight past us trying to be funny. It was funny all right. The camper hit the tree at speed and nearly took the roof off it. After taking a heap of photos of the damage we drove the one-kilometer back to where we rented the van. Paul said not to laugh when we get there. This was not going to be easy, as it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen. The van had bits hanging off it, which were waving in the breeze as we drove into the depot. (I can't even stop laughing while writing this.) When we saw the look on their faces we all burst out laughing. They did not like this at all. Especially when they realised we had paid too much for the insurance and they had to give us a refund. We took it and hurried to the airport.

Overall a very eventful trip. Looking forward to next year. Contact me if you are keen to go. Boats are usually available. Approximate cost for flights, accommodation, camper van, insurance etc is $1000.00 per person.