2011 Barrie Beehag Ski Race

The Barrie Beehag ski race is all set to explode onto the Murray River on Saturday 19th November 2011.
The race was not held last year due to a high river on the Murray – so the team of Blazen are all set to tackle the Mighty Murray in the ‘new Blazen’. The ‘old’ Blazen was destroyed by fire during the running of the 2011 Club Marine Southern 80. The team showing the true fighters that they are, will be back to defend their time of 23:16 set in the 2009 event. The team of driver Noel Griffin with observer Bernie Simpson and skiers Chris Stout and Stephen Robertson (current World Men’s Champion and the 2001 World Men’s Champion) are set to take control of the event from the prior winners of Hellbent and Hellrazor.
Hellrazor and Hellbent are both entered in the Superclass event with Mark Cranny driving Hellrazor, Damien Matthews will be in the observer’s seat, whilst Peter Proctor and Daniel Campbell will be skiing out the back.
Hellbent will be driven by Marcus Cranny (son of Mark) with Graham French in the observers seat and skiers Chris Gelle and local Echuca skier Steven Morley.
The event kicks off with the Competitors briefing at Deep Creek Marina at 7.30am. From there the boats and crews are placed in the water with an approximate start time of 10am.
First to leave will be Superclass competitors with Blazen leading the way – Hellrazor will then lead the rest of the field which leave at 1 minute intervals. There are 9 entries in the Superclass field – a new class this season to this event.130 boats are entered in this event, with the last boat to leave Deep Creek Marina at 12:09pm
The boats and crews have travelled mainly from Victoria and New South Wales for the event. The oldest competitor will be the Superclass driver of Blazen – Noel Griffin. The oldest male skier is Noel Cartledge, whilst the oldest female skier is Vicki Shipp. The youngest skier is Blaze Branson who is 10.
The biggest class of the day is 6 Litre Inboard with 20 entries, whilst the 60mph class has 15 entries and 70 mph has 12 entries.
The river is closed to all users from 7am from the Fraser Road boat ramp to the Torrumbarry Weir for the day.
Once all the boats have reached Torrumbarry Weir and have been accounted for (around 3 ½ hours). The boats will be sent back to the Deep Creek Marina.
On the NSW side, Deep Creek Marina is the place to be. Entry to the Deep Creek Marina area will be by $2 per person or $5 per family. Food and drinks will be available onsite. Activities for the kids at Deep Creek Marina include Lucky Dips, face painting and a plaster fun.
At Torrumbarry Weir, which is the turnaround point, the Gunbower Lions Club will be providing food and refreshments for competitors and spectators.
During racing, results will be updated via the Southern 80 twitter – http://twitter.com/southern80
The event is conducted by the Moama Water Sports Club in conjunction with Murray Rivers Edge and Deep Creek Marina Hotel.
The 2012 Club Marine Southern 80 is to take place on 10th, 11th & 12th February 2012 Entry forms for this event will be available online at www.southern80.com.au from Friday 18th November These entries close on Friday 30th December 2011.
For further information regarding this event, you can visit the Southern 80 web page www.southern80.com.au and follow the links to the BB Ski Race Classic or phone the Moama Water Sports Club on 0354806754.