Fifth Annual Jet Boat Rally
A record entry has been received for the fifth annual jet boat rally on the Waimakariri river on Saturday. However, the number of starters has been limited to 66—the same number that took part last year—and several entries have had to be refused. Boats from Taranaki to Southland will start in pairs from the launching basin just west of the Waimakariri bridge on the Main North road, at intervals of two minutes on the run upstream to the Waimakariri Gorge. The first boats are scheduled to start at 9.30 a.m. and the last are expected to be away at 10.34 a.m. If the river and weather are unsuitable, the rally may be postponed , until Labour Day—when the starting times will be the same. The last boats are expected back at 3 p.m. The run upstream is a time trial, the boats having to complete the journey as close as possible to the times allocated to them. Code Names Marked
The round trip is about 80 miles. On the downstream section, the competitors will have to negotiate a flagged series of streams marked with code names.
A high-speed course, of short duration, will be over shallow, fast-running water, and should prove very exciting. Spectators will not be able to see this part of the rally as the course will be out of sight from the road traffic bridge. A tightly-set slalom course, testing the manoeuvrability of the jet boats and the skill of the drivers, will complete the rally in the start-finish area, and will be within sight of spectators near the road traffic bridge. The overall winner of last year’s rally, E'. Scandr' tt, of Karamea, will defen his title, hoping to keep the C. W. F. Hamilton trophy, a handsome stainless steel abstract on a piece of rock from the excavations for the foundation of the Benmore dam.
The starters this year include two women, Joyce Hamilton and Ann Fairbairn.
Telegrams For Laos.— Transmission end delivery of telegrams in Laos had returned to normal, the Chief Postmaster in Christchurch (Mr M. E. Wilson) said on Tuesday.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31195, 20 October 1966, Page 14
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352Fifth Annual Jet Boat Rally Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31195, 20 October 1966, Page 14
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