NQOSSA will host the longest ocean water ski race in the world on 13th November 2010. Race 105 miles from Cairns to Cooktown.

Wade Bennett is posting regular updates live from the Grafton Bridge to Bridge water ski race in Australia today and tomorrow.

Great video footage of the 2010 Green Island Ski Racing Classic from Cairns, Australia.

Shane Wilson has asked that the following Ski Racing Australia rule be published here and writes; “we have a new rule added to the rule book that is effective immediately and will be in place for the Grafton Bridge to Bridge this weekend. All skiers need to be fully aware of this rule change.”

Schedule of Events for the 2010 Grafton Bridge to Bridge.

Full details at www.graftonb2b.org.au

The Feros Hotel Group – Bridge to Bridge will be an action packed weekend on the Hawkesbury River, NSW Australia. On 20-21 November 2010, skiers at up to 130MPH over 112 kilometres will be at the heart of the action in this world class event.

See ww.waterskinsw.com.au/bridge2bridge/ for full details.

Visit The Feros Group

Wade Bennett- Walking on water and other miracles ‘ from the  2010 Southern 80 Program

Wade Bennett and his family have been involved with the Southern 80 since 1981, when Wade (9), having skied since the age of 4, skied with his sister Nicole (11) in their first ever ski race, in Social Sub Juniors. They placed 3rd after their Dad Terry’s boat ‘Fleetwood’ ran out of fuel on the last corner. Luckily a kind soul on the river bank had a jerry can of fuel and they got Fleetwood fired up again to record a finish, much to the delight of spectators at the finish line.

In the years following, both Wade and Nicole skied in river races in various age and motor divisions, whilst their Dad took on the job of the Chief starter of the great race.

The results from point score 1 are now available on the SRV web page

Message from the Noizworks crew
Hoggy, Mike + Pete would like to thank all of the people who helped us after our unfortunate accident at Redcilffe on Sunday 12 September. Special thanks to Brent Wisemantle and Andrew Fyfe for their quick actions to help us, and to Troy and all of the guys at Trask Brothers Racing. Without them the boat would still be on the bottom. A big thank you to everyone that helped on the boat ramp on Monday to get the boat on the trailer and to Chris Anderson who helped us get the boat ready to take home. All of the people who offered us accommodation and places to clean up was very much appreciated. And last but not least Shippy. Who stayed in Brisbane with me and spent 5 hrs on the rescue boat with us and without a hat and sunscreen ( hope your ears have recovered ) helped clean an cover up boat then drive home with me when he had a flight booked to fly home on Sunday.

Skirace.net can get a bit of a handful for me to maintain on times so help from others is always appreciated. Joining Julie Golledge of Victoria with direct publishing rights to skirace.net is Wade Bennett of Queensland. 

A little taste of one of the 2011 World Titles courses, during the Open Mens & F2 Mens, at the September course trial day, Moreton Bay Queensland.

Check out this selection of superb shots which Rob Storum has shared with us from last weekend’s racing at Moreton Bay, Qld.

Australian ski racing photographer Rob Storum, of Rob Storum Photographics captured part of the Noizworks recovery after it sunk in Queensland recently.

Mick Kelly of www.skiracing.com writes; The World’s Course Trial Day at Redcliffe certainly lived upto its name, with some major trials being encountered.

Wade Bennett reports on yesterday’s race at the 2011 Worlds trial course in QLD, Australia: Big crowds witnessed some great Racing on Moreton Bay for the World Titles Course trial day yesterday. Well done to Chris Stout WC’03’07 and the Burnin’ crew for taking out Open Mens in the race of the day.

Dozens of Australian world team hopefuls have flocked here this weekend, just 30 minutes north of Brisbane. The purpose is to try the 2011 worlds course and pit their wits against each other, as their new season gets underway.

Paul Mitchener in Australia has just lunched a new community website at www.skiracersworld.com – he’s also just published this video using footage of the H120 taken from 3 cameras in “Play’n with Fire” during their Veterans race at the H120.

Rob Storum was on the banks of the Hawkesbury to capture the action at the recent Hawkesbury 120. You can see more great shots like these below at

www.robstorum.com.au

You can see Hawkesbury 120 results online here: skiracingnsw.com.au

Rob Storum snapped up a lot of the action at the recent round 1 of Australia’s NSWSRA Championships. See a selection below and more at www.robstorum.com.au

Just a short note to let you know that the Barrie Beehag entry forms are now available via the Southern 80 web page. Entries close on the 8th October 2010 and remember that there are limited entries, so get your entries in early. Please ensure that you have completed your SRA memberships and that you medical and first aid information is all up to date, these will be checked.

The MWSC has registered the Southern 80 to win ‘Win Australia’s Favourite event. Please click on the link and nominate us with the code Southern80 and help us to ‘Win Australia’s Favourite event’
http://www.australiasfavouriteevent.com.au/ This survey finishes on the 14thSeptember, so please place your vote quickly.

The Stinga team of Greg Houston, Kevin Boylan, Grant Patterson and Daniel Campbell have swept the Hawkesbury 120, winning both the Sprint race on Saturday and the main event.

The MWSC has registered the Southern 80 on the site below, please click on the link and nominate us with the code Southern80 and help us to ‘Win Australia’s Favorite event’
www.australiasfavouriteevent.com.au

Here’s a great video compilation which Stevie has put together of Force Boats in action in Europe.

The first of the NSW Series days will be held on 14-15 August 2010. The day will be held at the Ski Gardens, and being a World’s selection year, and with the H120 2 weeks later, we should see everyone pumped and primed for the season to unfold.

For event information and results visit www.skiracing.com.au

Australia’s Geoff ‘Cisco’ McDonald passed away yesterday when he took his life after a long fight with depression. Deb Oben passed on the sad news to me and said; “He is a oldie but a goldie. I can’t think what to write as I’m so sad”.

Funeral details are as follows:

Wednesday, 11 August @ 10am
Castlebrook Memorial Park, Windsor Road, Rouse Hill.

Wade Bennett has created a great selection of race videos which you can watch below.

The 2011 World Water Ski Racing World Championships will be held September 6 -18 in picturesque Moreton Bay, Queensland.

More at : ourbrisbane.com

Queensland Ski Racing is arranging an opportunity on 12 Sept 2010 for teams to see the 2011 World Championships Venue and race on one of the courses.

Click here or on the screenshot below to download full details and the entry form.

The official web site for all 2011 Worlds info is www.skiracingqueensland.com.au

The AGM for SRV will be held on Wednesday 4th August, 2010 at the Skyways International Hotel, Melrose Drive, Airport West commending at 7.30pm.

The latest Australian events calendar is published here

Once again the magnificent Hawkesbury River will host the longest 2up River Race, which will be the first race in the SRA Super Series for the 2010-2011 season. As in previous years, there will be racing on Saturday and Sunday.

Queensland is home to many world water ski racing champions including the current champ, Wayne Mawer. Water Ski Racing in North Queensland is alive and kicking with the North Queensland Off Shore Ski Association with their tremendous series of offshore races.

Shane Wilson has sent in the 2010-2011 Ski Racing Australia Membership Form which you can download here.

What a Great Day we had with the Ski 4 Kids with cancer, everything except for Mother Nature were on our side on the day, 17 Boats Started and Finished with the only casualty being Daniel Cotton’s entry who’s race was over before it began by being towed back thru the heads and back to their waiting trailer

Sensational video footage of World Water Ski racing Champion Wayne Mawer training off Cairns behind Wizard – a 24 ft Ocean Sport.

The Special Awards for the recent NSW Water Ski Presentation Evening were:

• MALE SKIER OF THE YEAR – JACK HOUSTON
• FEMALE SKIER OF THE YEAR – KELSEY FEROS

Australia’s Letstalkskiracing.com reports that the 2010 Qld titles enjoyed a good roll up of boats, and some incredibly tight and fast racing.  

The Wayne Mawer Open Men’s Cup was taken out by NGR’s Blazen, with Chris Stout dominating the race to win from Ben Gulley with Mercforce, who just held out Grant Turner behing Burnin. In the Eloise Anderson Open Women’s Cup race, it was once again NGR and Blazen taking the win, this time towing Kylee Jones.

Read the full story with detailed results at Letstalkskiracing.com

The Sydney Offshore 3 was run this morning on a clear windy winters day here in Sydney, the race was won by Chris Stout in a time close to 42 minutes with Jason Walmsley 2nd, Stephen Robertson 3rd roughly 10 secs seperating the top 3.

Force Boats is celebrating their 15th Anniversary and they write …

4 June update: The “Ski 4 Kids with Cancer” event has been moved to a new date of 27th June. See updated poster and entry form below. Last year, many Australian teams skied from Newcastle to The Sydney Opera House in the “Ski 4 Kids with Cancer” event.

Wade Bennett has dug up 4 videos from the 1980 Bridge to Bridge and placed them on the Old Skool Facebook page. Here they are below for anyone not on Facebook. Take a look back at some of ski racing’s greats with plenty of interviews in over 40 minutes of superb archived footage.

SRQ is set to put some of their greatest names up on new perpetual cups to be awarded for the Open Men’s and Open Women’s winners at the Queensland Titles.

iPrime Wagga reports that salvage crews retrieved the shattered wreck of The Mistress from the bottom of Wagga’s Lake Albert after a frightening crash in the Barry Carne Memorial Race last weekend.

Australia’s Mark Savage writes below about the sad loss of his dad, Bob Savage.

It is with deep regret that I share with you that my father, Bob Savage, passed away last Friday after his fight with dementia. For all you new people in the sport of ski racing you may have met Bob and my mother Judy at the Southern 80 merchandise shop where he ran things for me many years. You may have even bought a T-shirt from him.

Sydney Superclass “Top Gun” in action at the Mildura 100. This 21 ft Connelly is powered by a twin turbo’d 540ci big block chev V8.

Take a look as this team spins out in this year’s Southern 80 on the Murray at high speed. Nicely captured wholey dooley!

Channel Nine’s coverage of the 96 S80, showing a featurette about Graham Ritchie’s Gods Gift and its troubled campaign at the 1996 southern 80, and one about Gotta be Crazy. Both legends of ski racing in Australia.

Here are some sensational shots from Rob Storum Photographics last weekends 1 Up Bridge in Australia. Apparently Blazen was again first across the line but was later disqualified for missing a turn buoy/gates at Wisemans Ferry. Noel from Blazen has lodged a protest. Until then then Darren Stewart’s Agitator has officially taken out the race outright – this team started behind Superclass in Unlimited Inboard.

Force Boats is pleased to report more success on the race track by teams using FORCE BOATS. Please see attached the winning results from the following events:

• 1st 2010 Robinvale Euston Ski Race Results
• 1st 2010 Mildura 100 Results
• 1st 2010 NSW 1 Up Bridge Race Results

The 2011 World Water Ski Race Championships will be held September 6 -17 in picturesque Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. Courtesy of Mick Kelly who runs Let’s Talk Ski Racing in Australia, here is some brief info. 

In the early hours of this morning, a well respected member of Australian Ski Racing, Harvey Saundercock, passed away after a long fight with many health issues.

Rob Storum has been sharing his shots with skirace.net readers for a couple of years. It’s people like Rob who help give up-and-coming skiers a bit of the limelight and encouragement by seeing their photos published, and he helps the rest of the world see what’s happening in Australia through his superb photography.

Rob has now launched a brand new web site where you can see all of his sensational shots at www.robstorum.com.au

Rob Storum has sent in these great shots that he took recently at round 4 Wismans. If you haven#t yet, check out his new web site at www.robstorum.com.au

The Victorian Tasman Challenge team are bringing the Tasman Challenge Cup back to Victoria, after winning the event in New Zealand today. They won by 40 points in a closley contested event. The team arrive back in Melbourne on Tuesday – Congratulations from all SRV members.

Quick up date from N.Z, All races have been run for today (Saturday 10th April) and at this point teams are almost even on points. 8 wins and 8 seconds per team.

Yesterday the Hellrazor team of Mark Cranny, Damien Matthews, Peter Proctor and Jason Walmsley won the Superclass event and the 2010 Mildura 100 outright in a time of 32:09.

Norm Griffin is one of those people in ski racing who has been known all over the world for decades. He has done what most people in ski racing dream of and raced at the very top of the sport on the international stage as well as throughout Australia. A wonderful personality and a tremendous competitor.

Well in under a week, the Mildura 100 will be on the water. Here is the schedule of events

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS & RIVER CLOSURE TIMES FOR THE 2010 MILDURA 100
FRIDAY:

10.00am to 4.00pm Scrutineering at GTS Transport Depot
9.00am to 1.00pm “Show n Shine”
4.30pm Briefing at GTS Depot after Scrutineering

SATURDAY River closed at the City ramp all day

River closed 1km downstream from the Club to Wickets 7.30am to 2.00pm
River closed 1km downstream from Club to Psyche 2.00pm to 5.00pm

7.00am Breath testing for all Social Classes at Ski Club and Baldwin’s.
8.30am First Social Boat away
10.30am(approx) Punt Racing / Ski Show / Power Boats
11.00am Breath testing for Saturday afternoon competitors
11.30pm Estimated restart time from Wickets
3pm(approx.) James Transport “Dash for Cash” followed by Invitational Dash, Veterans, Senior Social, Tadpoles & Disabled.

5.00pm River open for all remaining areas.

SUNDAY River closes from Ski Club to Wickets 8.00am to 5.00pm

8.00am Breath testing at Club and Baldwin’s for ALL competitors
9.30am First Expert Boat away
12 noon Punt Boat Racing / Ski Show / Power Boats
1.30pm Estimated restart time from Wickets
3pm(approx) Power Boat demonstration
Class Scrutineering
Presentation for all classes
5.00pm River open for all traffic

TV coverage of Australian ski racing continues on SBS – Speedweek every week until 13th June. Coverage on Foxsports – Inside Speed will follow every Wednesday following SBS in addition to all the extra repeats across the networks.

Below is a selection of great shots from round 3 of the NSW Water Ski Racing Championships that were captured by Rob Storum on the weekend.

On Saturday morning teams met in Port Phillp Bay for a 2 up offshore event, no race skis allowed. Teams met at St Kilda Marina, making their way outside to start at 8.30am. The course went down the coast turning at Frankston Pier and then heading back to St Kilda.

Force Boats write … Congratulations to HELLRAZOR, BLAZEN and BURNIN and to all of the FORCE Teams.

Most teams who competed at the 2010 Club Marine Southern 80 have been captured by RMI Images. Check out the RMI Images website for all the photos www.rmiimages.com

Brad Dutton has announced that Both New Zealand and Victoria (Australia) have named their teams for the upcoming Trans Tasman Challenge.

Below are a selection of sensation shots taken by Rob Storum at the 2010 NSW Titles in Australia.

Rob Storum was on the banks of the Murray capturing some of the 100mph+ action recently.

The time has come again for boaties and skiers to get together at Club Forster on 10th July 2010. Click on the poster below to open and print the full PDF version.

Force Boats are over the moon with their race results in Oz and are proudly telling the world about it in their latest press release below.

A Service celebrating the life of Mr Timothy Driver will be held at Montsalvat, 7 Hillcrest Ave, Eltham on FRIDAY (Feb. 19, 2010) commencing at 1 p.m. Followed by interment at the Eltham Cemetery, Mt Pleasant Rd, Eltham arriving approximately 3 p.m. No flowers by request Donations in lieu to HeartKids would be greatly appreciated. Envelopes available at the Service.

Tim Driver tragically lost his life during the 2010 Club Marine Southern 80 Water Ski Race on the Murray River in Australia over the weekend. The 43 year old leaves Karina and their three children, Zara, Jessie and Faris; and our thoughts are with these people nearest to Tim who have no doubt been devastated by this unfortunate incident.

Official results are now available for the 2010 Club Marine Southern 80 at www.southern80.com.au

Media release sent out Sunday 14th February.
At 4.08pm Saturday 13th February, a boat competing in the 2010 Club Marine Southern 80 was involved in an accident in which 2 skiers fell.

One skier collided with the bank & sustained a broken collarbone and was airlifted to Bendigo. He has since been released.

The other skier Tim Driver, 43 from View Bank, Melbourne was attended to by bystanders & paramedics but died at the scene.

The water ski racing community is shocked and saddened by the tragedy and in the spirit of ski racing, the racing is continuing today.

The cause of the accident is under investigation by the NSW Police and the coroner.

On behalf of the President Alan McDonald & the directors of the Moama Water Sports Club our thoughts and prayers are with the Driver family and friends and fellow ski race friends of Tim.

Julie Golledge
on behalf of the
Moama Water Sports Club

• Reminder that if skiing on the Murray River – please observe No Ski Zones – if crews are reported to the MWSC for disobeying this rule, you will be disqualified from the event, along with the penalties from NSW Maritime.
• Schedule of events:
Friday 12th Feb
o 7am – 9am – Moama Sound Shell, Cobb Highway Moama (just over the bridge) – Cantech Breakfast with the Stars
o 12 noon – 5pm – Scrutineering & Briefing at the MWSC Office in Annesley st Echuca – reminder that there is no parking on the railway side of Annesley st. There is also a RIGHT turn ONLY out of the car park at the office. Here you can collect your ‘goodie bag’ at the completion of your scrutineering or presentation of your exemption from scrutineering.
o 8pm – 12 midnight – Quest Apartments Launch Night at the Corporate Area Victoria Park Boat Ramp

Saturday 13th Feb
o Total Tools Epping Static display in Hare st Echuca 9am to 12 noon, Best Presented Boat award from Total Tools Epping. TTI – TOOL KIT 223 PCE AF/MET WALL CABINET VALUED AT: $1,295.00
o Social Classes on the water from 8.30am from Torrumbarry to Echuca
o During breaks in the racing – McDonalds Echuca entertainment, including the VWSA Ski Show & the Jet Sprint boats.
o Veterans, Senior Social, Juniors, Sub Juniors, 70mph, 60mph,Disabled – from Five Mile Reserve starting 12 noon.
o Tip Top Bakeries Bakers Blitz & the Presidents Invitational starting at 3.30pm from Five Mile Reserve .
o Approx: 4.30pm Presentations at Victoria Park Boat Ramp Compound.

Sunday 14th Feb
o 8.30am Expert Classes 14-20 leaving Torrumbarry Boat Ramp
o 12 noon Blitz Boats in order of finishing then Presidents Invitational and the rest of classes 1-13
o During breaks in the racing – McDonalds Echuca entertainment, including the VWSA Ski Show & the Jet Sprint boats.
o Approx. 5pm Presentations of the Sunday racing at the Victoria Park Boat Ramp Compound.
• For information about camping along the Murray River, check out the Parks Victoria website www.parks.vic.gov.au (actual page with Murray River info is www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1park_display.cfm?park=241)
• For information about fire danger ratings and total fire bans, check out the CFA website at www.cfa.vic.gov.au
• For information about campfire regulations, check out the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s website at www.dse.vic.gov.au (actual page with campfire information is can be found here

• Check out the team profiles on our twitter page http://twitter.com/southern80

The Cairns Post reports: Reigning world formula one ski racing champion Wayne Mawer dominated the premier division during the first race of the Cairns Ski Racing Club Esplanade series yesterday.

Well in just over a week, we will be watching the biggest water ski race in the world take place on the Murray River – the 2010 Club Marin Southern 80.

Programs have been available in Echuca / Moama since Australia Day and they can be purchased from the Newsagents and the usual outlets.

A reminder for those on the river before the event: OBEY NO SKI and NO WASH ZONES. If your boat / crew is reported to the MWSC you face disqualification from this years event and penalties from NSW Waterways. Follow Maritime Law.

The Briefing sheets can now be found on the web page via the competitors page

A reminder regarding River Closure

The Murray River is closed for exclusive use on Saturday 13th February – 6am to 11.30am Torrumbarry Weir to Victoria Park . 11.30am to 6pm – Goldsborough rd to Victoria Park
Sunday 14th February – 6am to 6pm – Torrumbarry Weir to Victoria Park

Well it has been raining here today and the weather forecast for the coming week is low 30’s and shower or two developing (source: http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/vic/forecasts/echuca.shtml )

Make sure you are registered to follow twitter – over the past week, we have been placing profiles of some of the teams competing in the 2010 Club Marine Southern 80 and will continue to do this over the next week.

Looking forward to a great weekend of racing.

Rob Storum of In Tha Zone Images was at the NSW Grand Prix races at Kanahooka last weekend to snap up some of the action.

Ski Racing Cairns Series #1 race will be held Jan 31st 2010 @ the Cairns Esplanade.

The entry forms for the Mildura 100 are now available via the Mildura & District Ski Club web page www.milduraskiclub.org

Entries close on the Sunday of the Robinvale event – Sunday 7th March – No late entries accepted.

The SRV web page has been updated with new classifieds and information regarding the Robinvale Ski Race Classic and the SRV Presentation Night.

“ Important Notice”

2010 Robinvale / Euston Ski Race Entries CLOSE – Friday 29th January 2010

For an entry form and all event details please go to the downloads page.

“ALL ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED by the above date.”

Entries will be seeded and processed prior to the Southern 80. Any boats wishing to withdraw from the Robinvale event can do so with FULL refund by the Wednesday following the S80. Anytime after this money will NOT be refunded.

2010 Presentation Night

Will be held again at
Power House, Lakeside Drive, Albert Park Lake
on Saturday the 10th of July

Organise your full table of 10 or 12, send payment and booking form to Jo Martin.
Pay SRV – by VISA & email jo.martin@live.com or fax to 9438 1374,
Or send cheque to Jo Martin made out to SRV, 13 Lotus Court, Diamond Creek, 3089.

Call Jo on 0407 044 996 with any queries. Tickets will be posted out.
Tickets on Sale till 20th of June!
Ticket Prices – Adult $ 75.00
Teen (13 -Under 18) $ 50.00
Child $ 30.00

The 2010 Club Marine Southern 80 starts on Friday 12th February , 7am to 9am, with the Cantech Breakfast with the Stars. Here you can mingle with; current and former world champions, skier’s of the future and view the awesome boats.
330 boats have entered the event with the majority of them from Victoria, with NSW following close behind.
Over 1200 competitors are competing in the event as either a driver, observer or skier. They are travelling from all around the world and Australia to participate in this great event. We have 7 current and former world champions competing. Including the current World Junior Champions; Yolien Bormans (Belgium) and Jack Houston (Australia).
The 60 mph class is still proving to be very popular with 45 entries in the expert race and 41 entries in the social class.
The oldest driver is Doug Kennedy the driver of Sharp As, whilst the oldest male and female skiers are husband and wife team of Nessie & Roger Hicks from Queensland – they are skiing together in the Veterans class.
Carter Robertson is skiing in Tadpoles and is the youngest skier.
The sport of water ski racing is essentially a family sport and the teams of Argo and Money Muncher epitomise this with their whole team from the one family.
In Open Women Social – it will be interesting to be in the boat of Tantrum. The husband’s are in the boat – Dale Linaker and Christian Apps, whilst the wives are out the back skiing Jenny Linaker and Justine Apps.
The race action starts on the water on Saturday morning at 8.30am with the social classes on the water. These teams are competing on the whole course from Torrumbarry Weir to Victoria Park Boat Ramp.
The best place to capture all the action is at the Victoria Park Boat Ramp, where the boats finish. There is the McDonalds Entertainment on the water including the VWSA Ski Show and the some Jet sprint boats; during breaks in the racing. There are also trade displays and activities for the children such as jump castle, face painting etc. The area is fully catered with a range of foods and drinks available. Admission is free for children under 13, a day pass is $20 and a weekend pass is $30.
The ‘big boys’ the Superclass boats will be on the water at around 3pm on Saturday as they compete in the Tip Top Bakeries Bakers Blitz. There are 15 boats in Superclass; Blazen, Hellrazor, Stinga, Burnin, The Mistress, Fastcash, Merc Force, Argo, Superman, Top Gun, Omen Racing, Gassa, The B, The Gun,The Syndicate.

These boats are the top boats and crews in Australia. Due to the Black Saturday bushfires last year, the event was cancelled before these boats could race for the outright winner & the winner of Super class. So they are keen to take the outright trophy this year. Five of the Super class boats come from Victoria, six of them from New South Wales and Four from Queensland. For these teams and others – the race is a drivers race and the most challenging aspect of the event according to Mark Cranny, a four time winner of the event is the ”123 bends in the river”.
Blazen won the Tip Top Bakeries Bakers Blitz last year, so they will lead the field onto the water. This season has seen a number of boats take out the outright placing in the classic ski race events. Superman won the Hawkesbury 120, Stinga won the Grafton Bridge to Bridge & the Sydney Bridge to Bridge, whilst Blazen won the Berri 110.
The Hellrazor and Stinga teams are the only ones which have won the event outright before. Can Hellrazor make it a record 5 outright wins, or will another team step up to the podium.
Catch all the action on the water at the Victoria Park boat Ramp, Echuca on Saturday 13th Feb and Sunday 14th February. Race programs are now available in the Echuca /Moama newsagents for $10
For further information regarding the event you can visit www.southern80.com.au or contact the Moama Water Sports Club on 03 54806754

The 3rd Sydney Offshore is to be run on the same course as last time. Brooklyn – Sydney Heads – Brooklyn on 6 Feb. It is to be held on the last warm up and conditioning weekend before the Southern 80, so the training alone will be invaluable.

Rob Storum of In Tha Zone Images returned from the Australian Nationals with a hard-drive full of of sensational shots of the Aussie greats in action.

The 2009 event saw many records broken; including the number of entries, but the 2010 Club Marine Southern 80 is tipping to eclipse this, with 614 entries received and accepted.

NSW State Titles 2009/2010 at NSW Ski Gardens, Wiseman’s Ferry, NSW on 27th and 28th February 2010.

SRNSW Presents GRAND PRIX SERIES Race 2 on Sunday 24th January 2010 at Kanahooka Reserve.

Steven Morley has been appointed a dealer for Bonehead helmets – Australia. This superb helmet is used by racers around the world and you can learn more at www.boneheadcomposites.com and order yours from:

Steven Morley
Phone: +61 407116511
Email: steven@morleyford.autogrid.com.au

In perfect weather conditions and reasonable ocean conditions, with a star studded field the Sydney Offshore 2 has been won by 2007 World Champion Jason Walmsley closley followed 2 time World Champion Stephen Robertson with Peter Proctor rounding out the top 3.

The SRV web page has been updated with the following information:

• Roster for the VictorianTitles this weekend
• Amended results from point scores 1,2 & 3
• Classifieds have been updated

Rob Storum of In Tha Zone Images followed Ski Racing NSW down to Kanahooka for Grand Prix day which included F1, F2 and Juniors in hot and gale force conditions.

The 48th Bridge to Bridge was run on the weekend in atrocious conditions and was won by Stinga in a time of 44.34.

The SRV web page has been updated with:
• the 2010 Robinvale entry form, ready for you to download
• Classified have been updated
• Victorian Titles – don’t forget entries close this Wednesday 25th November – No Late Entries
• Victorian Titles – Business Kerang will be sponsoring a show n shine on Friday 4th December in Township of Kerang from 3.00pm to 5.00pm. Prize money on offer with a first prize of $700. Anyone who is interested in attending needs to contact Michael Brooks on 0418 356 802 or email michael@dimensionhomes.com.au by no later than Tuesday 1st December. This will help verify numbers for the organizers in Kerang. It will be great to see boats get involved with this event and help support Kerang township for putting it together to promote our sport.

Well the Barrie Beehas Ski Race is over for another year. All results are available via the Southern 80 web page www.southern80.com.au

Some thoughts on the event:

• Blazen from Qld won the event in a record time of 23:16, the team of driver Noel Griffin, Observer Bernard Simpson and skiers Chris Stout & Grant Turner were the skiers
• 9 records were broken
• In the 6 litre class the top 4 boats broke the class record
• Records were broken in the Unlimited class , Blazen 23:16.0; 8 Litre Sportspage 24.40.18;6 Litre Mojo 25.44.22, Shady Ace 26.56.22, Toey As 27.08.02, Sythetic 27.12.26; SMOC Expert Stalker Evinrude 28.57.4, Evinrude Racing 28.59.08; Under 16 Boys & Girls Revenge 27.12.93
• There were no reported injuries
• Hellrazor, winner for the past 3 years, had engine trouble in the first leg of the race and withdrew.
• Local Boat – The Mistress was first to the turnaround point, but with drew at Torrumbarry due to engine troubles
• Fastest Local competitor was Greg Watts (Shepparton) observe ring in the boat Fastcash.
• There were about 1000 people at Deep Creek Marina to see the boats leave and return home again.
• 132 boats fronted the starter
• There were hundreds of people on the banks between Deep Creek Marina and Torrumbarry Weir.

Don’t forget that the entry forms for the 2010 Club Marine Southern 80 can be downloaded now from the Southern 80 web page.

Entry forms for the 2010 Club Marine Southern 80 are now available on the Southern 80 web page Entry’s close on the 31st December, so please do not leave it till the last minute to get your SRA membership organized and get your entry in.

Don’t forget the Barrie Beehag Ski Race on this weekend – updates will be posted on the S80 twitter page regularly. Full results available on the Southern 80 web page on Saturday night.

The 2010 Australian Speed & Marathon Championships take place between January 11th and 16th on beautiful Lake Jindabyne.

The Barrie Beehag ski race is conducted by the Moama Water Sports Club, in conjunction with Murray Rivers Edge and Deep Creek Marina Hotel; as a memorial to past President, Director & Life Member, Barrie Beehag.

The start / finish of the Barrie Beehag Ski Race is at Deep Creek Marina; which will see the first boat starting at 10am. Briefing for the competitors is at 7.30am and the Deep Creek Marina site will have on-site catering, plenty of activities for the kids such as jumping castle, face painting and lucky dips. Once all the boat have started their journey to Torrumbarry Weir, there will be an on-water display of wakeboarding, air-chairs and barefoot skiing. Entry to the Deep Creek Marina is $2 per person or $5 per family

The first boat away is Hellrazor, the past winner for the previous three years. The team of Mark Cranny, Damian Matthews, Paul Robertson & Peter Proctor will lead the Unlimited Inboard and Outboard class which a record of 27 entries. Local Echuca boat The Mistress is next away. Fastcash, who led the event at the halfway mark last year is third away. Blazen & Burnin – both from Queensland make the top 5.

During racing, results will be updated on the Southern 80 twitter – http://twitter.com/southern80 Full results and pictures will be available on the Southern 80 web site after racing has finished (www.southern80.com.au )
The 2010 Club Marine Southern 80 is to take place on 12th, 13th & 14th February 2010. Entry forms for this event will be available online at www.southern80.com.au from Friday 13th November. These entries close on Thursday 31st December 2009.

It is rumoured that Queensland, Australia will get to host the 2011 World Championships. As that has never happened before it will be a great change to see the event in the sunshine state.

As most people would already know, in January this year, I was involved in a tragic accident on the M7 motorway, which claimed the life of mine & everybodies great friend, Dave Morris.

Sunday 29th November – (Sunday after Bridge to Bridge) @ Kanahooka Reserve – 1st of 3 races to be held

Neville Fry is looking for any footage of the great “Gotta Be Crazy”.