Macdonald aims to retain jet boat marathon title

Press, 17 October 1987, Page 80

Macdonald aims to retain jet boat marathon title

By

MALCOLM CONDIE

Ken Macdonald, in his 454 cu in Chevrolet, Hamilton 182, will be looking to retain the NZI sticker on the hull of his boat in the BP New Zealand jet boat marathon next week.

The number signifies he won last year’s New Zealand and world jet boat marathon in New Zealand.

Macdonald tried earlier this year to take the world title two years running in Canada but mechanical troubles intervened. He has just completely rebuilt his engine and spent several hours trimming the boat to suit the rivers it will be racing on. With about 900 hp to push his boat along, Macdonald hopes he will have the most powerful boat in the race but will have to watch several other A class entries.

Angus McFarlane (Christchurch) has a supercharged 500 cu in Ford in a Kwik-Kraft tunnelhulled boat and if the

machinery proves reliable, it will be a real threat to Macdonald.

Other A class (402 cu m or 6601 cu cm and above) boats range from 460 cu in Fords to fuel injected 454 cu in Chevrolets. Apart from the brute power of the A class, most interest has centred on the B class (5101 cu cm to 6600 cu cm) class. There have been 19 entries for this class and it will be very evenly raced.

The. most interesting part of the marathon will be the mass starts from Kairaki at 10.30 a.m. on Monday.

Each class will start at the drop of a flag and have to sort its own places out as the river narrows past the motorway bridge and up to the Waimakariri Gorge where the first stage finishes. The second stage starts from the gorge bridge and is raced to the motorway bridge. Times are added after each stage. Winners are decided after all nine lap times have been

added. Tuesday’s racing starts on the Waitaki River, stopping at the Waitaki Dam and return for stage four. Stage five, on Wednesday, starts at the Rakaia Huts settlement and is raced up to the Rakaia Gorge and return for the sixth stage. Thursday’s racing starts on the Waiau River, starts ing at Spotswood and finishing at Glenhope before returning for stage eight The final run starts at the Waimakariri Gorge and is a repeat of stage two.

Conditions for the marathon should be good in the southern rivers but with recent snow drops and rain upstream; several rivers are still in flood and will still be dropping for the marathon. This will favour the larger boats and depending on the height of the rivers may make navigation around some shingle banks difficult. One river which will remain stable no matter

what the up country weather is like wijlbe the Waitaki, fed by lakes and halted by dams. It is the first time ever the Waitaki has been included in a national marathon.

All races this year are being run on Canterbury rivers to coincide with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the New Zealand Jet Boat Association and the celebrations which follow the marathon.

Originally 41 entries were received for, the marathon but with one driver’s motor blowing up and another unable to repair his engine, entries have dropped to 39. These are spread among five classes. s .

Any boat, from any class, can win the over-all marathon. There will also be class prizes. A display of several of the marathon boats is on in the King Edwards barracks, Cashel Street today and tomorrow, along with some of New Zealand’s oldest and fastest jet boats.