The Diamond Cup

Round 2 Hi-Points Series- Lake Cowley Taranaki

November 7^th & 8^th 2009.

Article Bob Gutsell                                                                   Photos Andrew O’Neil

Jafa & Snifter's Travels Cont'd

The first weekend of November as set aside for the SUHA Diamond cup to be held once again in the wonderful 'Naki, and so it was that our intrepid duo, Jafa (some people call him Andrew O'Neill) & Snifter headed south once again to do battle on the mighty Lake Cowley with the local 'Nakians, a token "BOPian" and some other Jafas.

Most had driven down on the Friday night, but as the intrepid duo didn't have race commitments until Saturday afternoon, the decision was made that we would drive down Saturday Morning.

The schedule for the weekend was to be fairly standard, electrics, followed by sport 45 hot laps then heats, Classic Petrol Hydro (Thunderboat) Hot laps and heats for Saturday Afternoon. To be followed by scale hydro hot laps and heats for Sunday morning. Well that was the plan! Upon our arrival we were greeted by a building 3" chop and the boys had only been able to run the electric classes and given the worsening wind conditions it was decided that would be the end of racing for the day.



On Saturday night the team all reconvened at the local Nakian Cobb & Co. where more of that glorious amber liquid and other local delicacies such as deep fried Camembert were used to lubricate the memory cells and stories of old were told well into the evening. A decision was made to try and beat the elements and a 6:30am start was planned for the next morning.

Sunday morning dawned bright sunny and windless just like it usually is in the Naki we were reminded.

Given the uncertainty of how long the weather would last, the decision was made to start with heat racing for the Scale Hydros and the six boats with the highest points qualified for the winner take all final for the Diamond Cup. Despite 5 of 7 boats qualifying for the Diamond cup, only one finished and that was Chris Breen's Llumar.











Following the completion of the 1/8 scale racing, the water was still nice and flat so it was decided to run Saturday's races.

First up were the sport 45 hot laps taken out once again by Steve Trott's Oh Boy Oberto with 14.63 seconds for once around the oval.

This was followed by the Sport 45 Heats, which were duly taken to by Steve Trott's Oh Boy Oberto, followed by Jason Lester's Genesis in second place, and Merv Sowden's Rite On in Third. The winner take all final was once again taken out by the irrepressible Trott/Oberto combo, with the Sowden/Rite On entry in second and Paul Garner's Annihilator making it's first showing for the weekend in third place.

Once the Sport 45 racing was complete, it was time for a short lunch break which despite it's brevity was still too long from the perspective of the weather. About 15 knots of wind sprung up over the 15-20 minute break. Which meant that the Classic Petrol Hydros ended up being raced in about 3 inches of Chop, needless to say the racing was fairly average given the slow speeds required just to stay on the water.

Overall, despite the relatively small turnout and the weather related interruptions the weekend was brilliant and enjoyed by all. Thanks to the Nakians for another great event.

The next round will be the world cup at LakeHakanoa, February 27/28^th 2010.

Seeya there.

Cheers
Bob

DIAMOND CUP    TARANAKI  08/11/09