July 2010
Queensland Sporting Hovercraft Club
A branch of the AUSTRALIAN HOVERCRAFT FEDERATION Inc (Vic)

Dear Air Cushion Vehicle enthusiast,
The Queensland branch of The Australian Hovercraft Federation held a planning meeting on Tuesday, 20th July 2010, in Room 15 - Our Lady of Fatima RC primary school, 350 Mortimer Road Acacia Ridge. This meeting was attended by:-
Phillip Audsley, Peter Venn, Angus Kerr, Arthur Stead, Dale Baxter and Steven Odgaard.

Cruise report - The Spit, Lake Somerset, Saturday 10th July 2010.

The last club cruise was held on Saturday 10th July 2010 at The Spit on Lake Somerset.
Those attending the cruise were:-

Peter Venn - Turbo TP6 powered by a Subaru 1800 & Honda twin cylinder.
Dale Baxter - ASV Vortex.
Arthur Stead - Revtech Renegade powered by a 20hp Honda 2 cylinder.
Steven Odgaard - Billy Baker 2 powered by a 44hp Chaparral engine.

Peter and Elaine Venn, Arthur and Judy Stead, and Steven Odgaard, all met at the Fernvale Information Centre at 10:00 am. We organised the necessary permits for craft use on Lake Somerset then headed north in convoy via Esk to The Spit. Dale and Aubrey Baxter travelled in through Caboolture and Kilcoy to the north at 11:15 am just as we arrived from the south. The Lake was at 100% capacity and The Spit was almost deserted, leaving plenty of room for us and our unique craft. We managed to have four air cushioned vehicles operating on the Lake in almost perfect hovering weather.

All four craft spent some time hovering within a few kilometres of The Spit, but after lunch Peter and Arthur travelled 15 kilometres north to Kirkleagh camping ground, the venue for the 2011 Australian National Rally. This will be held in 12 months time on the 9th and 10th July, so our cruise this weekend is early reconnaissance for that event. The pair returned to The Spit the long way round, exploring every bay, cove and peninsula along the western shore of the lake along the way. Meanwhile, Dale took a friend Neil for a run in the white ASV Vortex, as well as his partner and family, while Steven continued to explore the area around The Spit.

Peter & Elaine and Arthur & Judy stayed overnight at the Kilcoy Gardens Motor Inn, about a 10 minute drive north from Kirkleagh, and dined at Kilcoy's Stanley Hotel - our proposed Saturday night dinner location for the 2011 rally.

On Sunday they launched their craft at Kirkleagh and cruised to the northern extent of the lake at the Villeneuve bridge over the Stanley River, before returning to Kirkleagh and making the journey back to Brisbane in the late afternoon.

Australian Hovercraft Federation News:-
The Australian National Rally is held every two years and over recent times it has been held around the same time as the World Hovercraft Championships, also held every two years. This makes it virtually impossible for those wishing to attend the World Championships to also attend the National Rally - and vice versa.
To overcome this clash in timing, the Australian Hovercraft Federation will hold a National Rally in 2010 and another in 2011 - with subsequent rallies held in odd numbered years, thus eliminating the conflict of dates with the WHF event.

The Hovercraft Club Of Victoria will host the next Australian National Rally at Lake Narracan near Moe in Victoria on the weekend of October 2nd & 3rd in 2010 (this date yet to be confirmed).

On the weekend of 9th & 10th July 2011, the Queensland Hovercraft Club will host the Australian National Rally at Kirkleagh on Lake Somerset, about 2 hours north of Brisbane in Queensland.

Stay tuned - more information will be posted as it becomes available.

World Hovercraft Championships - 2010:-
OzTeam 2010 - THUNDER from DOWNUNDER:-
Preparations are well underway for an Australian challenge in Endurance Racing at the 2010 World Hovercraft Championships being held at Towcester in the UK during August. The Australian team will compete under the banner 'OzTeam 2010 - THUNDER from DOWNUNDER' using a new version of the Revtech Renegade built specifically for the challenge.
Check out the website at revtech.qhover.com

Peter Venn and Arthur Stead will be heading to the UK for the World Hovercraft Championships at Towcester, and doing a bit of sightseeing along the way. You can check out a log of their trip starting on Monday 16th August at uk.qhover.com

Next club cruise:-
The next club cruise will be held on Saturday 7th August 2010 at Muriel St, Redland Bay.
Meet at 9:00 am at Peter Venn's place at 96 Muriel St, Redland Bay for a launch into the Redland Bay Channel and a run amongst the southern bay islands.
UBD Reference - Map 267 B9.
Contact for the event is Steven Odgaard on 0400 798 404.
Visitors for this cruise will be Peter and Sue Morgan from Wanganui in New Zealand.

The next club meeting will be on Tuesday 17th August 2010 at 7:30pm.
It will be held at Our Lady of Fatima RC primary school at 350 Mortimer Road Acacia Ridge in room 15.

Hope you can come. All welcome.

Regards
Steven Odgaard
QSH secretary