Dear Air Cushion Vehicle enthusiast,
The Queensland branch of The Australian Hovercraft Federation held a planning meeting on Tuesday, 17^th September 2013, in the Staff Room of the RC primary school, 350 Mortimer Road, Acacia Ridge.
This meeting was attended by:-

Other members attending were Bill Toppin, Dale Baxter and Arthur Stead.
Visitors for the evening were Rita Chaffey and Kerri Audsley.

Australian National Rally report - Saturday 28^th & Sunday 29^th September 2013.

OzHover 13, the Australian National Rally at Wyangala Waters near Cowra NSW, was held over the weekend of Saturday 28^th and Sunday 29^th September 2013.

Jeremy Ludlow of Kenwick WA travelled 3700 kilometres each way with wife Miranda, daughter Aurora and son Jericho with a blue Viper 5 in tow. Jeremy allowed a week to cross the Nullabor Plain. Neil and Libby Budworth travelled down the Newell Highway towing the Turbo 265 and met Arthur and Judy Stead at Coonabarabran as they filled with fuel at the Shell Garage and they passed Steven Odgaard and Rita at Wellington in the evening. Peter and Elaine took a relaxed pace and left on Sunday 22^nd September and spent time at the Cowra Botanical Gardens and World War 2 prisoner camp. Peter Venn thought they may be the first to arrive on Thursday morning but were surprised to find that Jeremy and Miranda had arrived on Wednesday afternoon.

Steven and Rita broke up their 1120 km journey by spending 45 minutes in the Moree Artesian hot mineral spa on Thursday morning and had a guided tour of Cathedral Cave in Wellington on Friday morning. When we had all arrived at Wyangala Waters on Friday the weather was perfect. No wind, blue skies and cool temperature.

We had a welcoming barbecue near the beach volley ball courts on Friday night where old friendships were renewed and new friends made at this informal 'catch up and meat and greet'. The tales of exploits since the last Australian National Rally at Lake Somerset in Queensland seemed to grow larger and more exaggerated as the night wore on. Never let it be said that a hovercraft enthusiast like Peter Venn ever lets a few facts get in the way of a good story.

Saturday 28^th September 2013

Drivers Briefing:-
Saturday it was very windy but regardless everyone gathered at the registration marquee at the nominated 10:00 am for a welcome and driver briefing including some words from Jim Canning, boating safety officer from NSW Maritime services. Jim was on hand to oversee the event and also assisted us as needed which was great.

Photos from the briefing

At the 10:00 am driver briefing there were :-

Speakers:-
Jim Canning of the NSW RMS (Roads and Maritime Services)
Eugene Zanozin Vice President of the AHF Inc.

In attendance were
From New South Wales:
Robin Zanozin, Karl and Judy Bowman, Peter Hardi and Irene Superb, John Mendham and Joy Sliger of Primbee, Eddie and Linda Pallone of Primbee, Michael and Lucy Riganti of Primbee, Buck Rogers and Allyson Neave of Dubbo.

From Victoria:
Peter and Joanne Streader, Col and Liz Dainty, Frank and Vikki Beamish, Tony Moretti, Rachel Smithson and daughter Abigail, Mike Girdler and Joan Pagonis, John Tabe, Ivan and Beth Price, Glenn and Li Azlin, Dave Cropley, Rodd Westwood, Shane, Renata and Shaun Wells and Flemming Jensen.

From Queensland:
Peter and Elaine Venn, Arthur and Judy Stead, Neil and Libby Budworth, David and Anna Marie Venn with young Thomas and baby Ruth, Steven Odgaard and Rita Chaffey.

From Western Australia:
Jeremy, Miranda, Aurora and Jericho Ludlow.

From South Australia:
Bruno and Susie Davids with baby girl and Heinrich and Cassie Davids.

From Tasmania on their honeymoon:
Colin and Laura de Bruyn.

Craft participating in the 2013 Australian National Rally

The Fly By:-
After the briefing we kicked off with the traditional fly by. In the very windy and choppy conditions it was not an easy task to get 24 hovercraft in a straight line formation!
20 craft on the western spit, 1 on its trailer near the tree line and 3 craft on the eastern spit near the boat ramp. The blue Expo Turbo had a broken fan blade when the stator cord was not removed before starting and the MerlN Revtech Renegade had a blown ignition coil. But the grand parade went on with a much improved line of 18 craft who listened to Peter Streader’s instruction to watch the craft on the right and “do not”, repeat “do not! overtake that craft on your right”. 4 other craft on the water did not quite make the photogenic straight line and one was even seen passing in the opposite direction at the time for the best snap shot. The first attempt wasn't too bad so some drivers decided enough was enough and peeled off for home whilst the remainder went round again for a second try.

Congratulations to the following 18 who formed the best opening parade line up.
Peter Streader Red Baron HV23, Eddie Pallone Renegade AFK662N, Karl Bowman Renegade AXV643N, Col Dainty Turbo 265 MG579, Glenn Azlin Turbo 265 HV35, Ivan Price Ivan Wedge HV44, John Tabe Turbo 265 QA587, Flemming Jensen Turbo Vortex No Rules HV72, Bruno Davids Eclipse XW186S, Michael Riganti Renegade AFM419N, John Mendham Renegade Hovvern, Jeremy Ludlow Viper 5 EL381, Neil Budworth Turbo 265 VJ927Q, Peter Venn TP6 30197QE, Buck Rogers Turbo Wedge 235 AFE554N, Arthur Stead Renegade RM043Q, Frank Beamish Revtech Rocket HV05, Peter Hardi Viper 5 AXV643N.

Fly By Photos

At 11:00 am two more craft arrived. Paul Moody with a Revtech Renegade M1 and Owen Ellis & Debbie Byrnes with a Revtech Renegade IQ. This made a tally of 26 craft at the 2013 National Rally, only 2 less than the last National Rally held in Queensland. After lunch Frank and Carmel Reynen who used to build the Hurrican model, arrived at Wyangala for the rally, unfortunately without a craft.

Slalom & Time Trial:-
The afternoon saw some friendly but hotly contested events which, given the conditions, were a great test of both craft and driver! The slalom event was won by Frank Beamish, with Owen Ellis coming in second and Colin Dainty in third place.

After lunch the same buoy pattern was used but as a straighter course speed timed trial, one craft at a time. This was won by Frank Beamish in his Revtech Rocket. Owen Ellis came second in his Revtech Renegade IQ and Rod Westwood came third in his Revtech Rocket.

Saturday evening we all headed of the Wyangala Country Club for a very nice dinner then back to the Community Centre (at the Rally Site) to see some video of the days’ events, receive an update and tips in regards to the forum website from Paul and then enjoy a very entertaining trivia session put together by Rachel. Some then headed towards bed whilst others found a quiet spot to enjoy one or two more drinks (and talk some nonsense) to round out a great day!

Sunday 29^th September 2013

Treasure Hunt
On Sunday the weather gods smiled down on us and we enjoyed a stunning calm and sunny day! The main event for the morning was the Treasure Hunt, an orienteering challenge and an excellent way to give everyone an opportunity to take in the magnificent scenery and space Wyangala Waters offers. As it turned out this event became more of an endurance test then anything! Of the 18 craft that started the run, several craft ran out of fuel, one craft swamped whilst under tow and only 5 craft finished the event with a complete set of clues.
The best time to achieve all 5 check points was recorded by John Mendham and Joy Sliger of Primbee NSW followed by Arthur and Judy Stead of Wynnum Qld and third by Paul Moody of Vic.
With much persistence Glenn & Li Azlin also completed the 5 check points and so did Ivan Price with Rachel Smithson of Vic.

Frank Beamish loaned his craft to Colin and Laura de Bruyn of Tasmania, but after they ran out of fuel, a passing boat offered to tow them in. This is when disaster struck. Without the use of a tow mat or without cutting the rear skirt segments, the Revtech Rocket nose dived under the enormous and turbulent drag of the wallowing sea anchor effect. Poor Colin and Laura experienced which so many of us have learnt the hard way, yet were lucky in that Frank was eventually able to bail out the craft and restart the engine which had been totally submersed in fresh water. Such is the simplicity of the carburettor and ignition system on the Revtech Rocket and Frank Beamish’s long experience in matters of engine maintenance. Suffice to say that all craft, drivers and passengers were eventually safely returned to base and even Frank’s swamped rocket triumphantly returning to celebrate with a series of victory 360's!

Award Presentations:-
The AHF supplied barbeque lunch in the Community Centre was an absolute feast and a credit to all those who pitched in to help. This was followed by the presentation of certificates to event winners (1st, 2nd and 3rd) and a round of "thank you's" after which the official program concluded.

Individual Slalom.

• 1st place - Frank Beamish - Revtech Rocket
• 2nd place - Owen Ellis - Revtech Renegade IQ
• 3rd place - Colin Dainty - Turbo 265

Time Trials.

• 1st place - Frank Beamish - Revtech Rocket
• 2nd place - Owen Ellis - Revtech Renegade IQ
• 3rd place - Rod Westwood - Revtech Rocket

Treasure Hunt.

• 1st place - John Mendham & Joy Sliger - Revtech Renegade
• 2nd place - Arthur & Judy Stead - Revtech Renegade
• 3rd place - Paul Moody - Revtech Renegade M1

Cruise Photos

However, for many, the fun was not over and the remainder of the afternoon was spent cruising the huge lake, swapping hovercraft or general hover talk. This was punctuated by a couple of break downs requiring the generous towing services of Peter Venn with his big and grunty TP6.

Other News:-
Club shirts and caps with QSH motif suggested by Bill Toppin are now available as 29 shirts and 30 caps have been supplied by Angus Kerr and Anne Torrance.
Sale price:- Shirts $30.00 - Caps $15.00.

Next Queensland branch meeting:
The next club meeting will be on Tuesday 15^th October 2013 at 7:30pm.
It will be held in the Staff Room at Our Lady of Fatima RC primary school, 350 Mortimer Road Acacia Ridge. Use the staff car park.

Anyone with an interest in air cushion vehicles is welcome to attend.
We discuss technical topics and plan cruises.

Regards
Steven Odgaard
QSH secretary