Return to Lake Cargelligo
The wide open plains surrounding Lake Cargelligo in central
western New South Wales are magnificently green during
September with fields of wheat for as far as the eye can see.
With clear blue skies and temperatures in the mid 20's (C), Lake
Cargelligo looked like a great place to spend a quiet weekend,
and the breeze blowing out across the lake gently stirring up a few
white caps completed a picture of peace and tranquility.
After a drive through the township on Friday afternoon it was
obvious that something was happening - or at least something
was about to happen. All the various accomodation
establishments were sporting strange flying machines. They
could be seen at the hotels and motels, even in the local caravan park.
Was this some sort of alien invasion about to occur in outback Australia????
No . . . . . this was the annual Australian National Hovercraft Rally, organised by the Australian
Hovercraft Federation - or to put it more simply, the boys out playing with their toys.
A few craft hit the water on Friday afternoon, with Col Dainty and Peter Streader setting up the buoys
for the sprint races and slalom runs to be held over the weekend - not an easy task now that the
winds whistling out across the lake had increased to around 20 knots. The locals tell us that the wind
will ease overnight, so we're hoping that they know their stuff.
Flat trailer tyres
Hovercraft continued to arrive in town during the afternoon, and the Queensland group started with
Arthur and Judy Stead hitting town around 3:00 pm and Stephen and Mark Odgaard arriving around
4:00 pm.
Peter, Samantha and David Venn arrived in the dark around 7:00 pm after a delay of a few
hours with two flat tyres on their trailer in an isolated section of the Newell Highway south of Narrabri.
Old friendships were renewed and new friends made at the welcoming barbecue held at the caravan
park that night, and the various tales of exploits since the last Australian National Rally were
exchanged and seemed to grow larger and more exaggerated as the night wore on. Never let it be
said that a hovercraft enthusiest lets a few facts get in the way of a good story.
Rally Attendees:-
Present at the Rally this year were:- From Queensland after travelling around 1200 kilometres - Peter, Samantha and David Venn with an
Expo Turbo and a Hoverjet - Steven and Mark Odgaard with a BBV2 - and Arthur and Judy Stead,
without a hovercraft and at their first Australian National Rally.
Craft Photos
From South Australia after travelling around 900 kilometres - Royston and
Janice Downs with a Turbo 235 in tow. From New South Wales after travelling around 560 kilometres - Sam
Waugh and Lorraine Brighton with a Revtech Renegade - and Eugene and
Robin Zanozin, also with a Revtech Renegade. Not travelling quite as far
was Stephen Graham, a Lake Cargelligo local with a Turbo 235.
Unfortunately Stephen did not have his craft running and it was diagnosed
to have a holed piston in number 1 cylinder. From Victoria by far the largest contingent at the rally after travelling
around 600 kilometres - Peter and Joanne Streader with their own design
craft - Paul and Lynne Mott with a Turbo 235 - Colin and Liz Dainty with a
Turbo 235 - Ivan and Beth Price with a modified Turbo 235 - Reece Isaac
and sons Alex and Chris with a Turbo 265 - Tim Envall with his Explorer -
Frank and Carmel Reynen with a Hurrican - Rodd Westwood with a Revtech
Rocket - and Tony Westwood with a Turbo 225.
Saturday 23rd September 2006
Lake Cargelligo
Saturday morning we awoke to another glorious day in Lake Cargelligo. Clear blue skies stretched
from horizon to horizon, and yesterdays wind had abated leaving a stunning mirror finish on the lake.
Suddenly the peaceful tranquility of this idealic paradise was shattered by the ear piercing scream of
two stroke engines as a dozen or so hovercraft thundered to life and took to the water.
The invasion had begun.
When everyone had gathered at the Lake Cargelligo Boat Club, The Australian National Rally was
officially opened by the Vice President of the Australian Hovercraft Federation, Peter Streader, and
after a brief and warm welcome he went over a few rules and guidelines to assure that we would
have a safe and successful weekend.
The Fly By:-
The first event for the day was the Fly By, and a drivers briefing was held to ensure that everyone
knew exactly what they had to do in this precision flying exercise. The craft were then lined up along
the shore in front of the clubhouse ready for an outstanding display of skill and control. The Fly By has
been attempted at rallies on numerous occasions in the past, but with only limited success -
maybe today will be a different story.
Imagine 14 craft, side by side - skirt to skirt, with their noses lined up in perfect alignment, flying past
the clubhouse in complete syncronisation at high speed. It makes a beautiful picture doesn't it? Now
imagine these craft circling around in a wide arc and making another flawless pass in front of the
clubhouse, still in perfect alignment on their second loop, all flying as one. . . . . Absolutely beautiful!
Reminds me of the RAAF with the flying Roulettes showcasing their formation flying skills, or the
Stormriders - Holden's precision driving team with their adrenaline-pumping daredevil routines.
Well, in theory it sounds good . . . . . but in reality the picture wasn't quite so pretty.
David Venn's Hoverjet only covered a short distance before the lift engine failed and he had to return
to shore, but the first pass was completed successfully by the rest of the group. The side by side -
skirt to skirt bit left something to be desired though, and the noses in perfect alignment part, well . . . . .
perhaps it's best not mentioned.
Ready to fly
They're away
No lift
Lining up for the Fly By
During the second pass, just as the craft were lining up for the run past the clubhouse, Eugene
Zanozin's Renegade drifted across in front of the group colliding with Peter Venn's Turbo, causing
some of the other craft to brake suddenly.
Did I say brake???? Oh! Thats right - hovercraft don't have brakes, do they?
Have you heard the term, "Dog's breakfast" ????? Well, during the ensuring chaos, the explosion that
was heard was actually one of Tim Envall's thrust fans disintegrating into a thousand pieces as the
rear of his Explorer was impacted by Ivan Price's Turbo. The other craft managed to complete their
amazing display of syncronised flight, skimming past the clubhouse in perfect unison. (A bit of
imaginative thinking is required here to conjure up this picture).
Tim skillfully managed to coax his craft to the shoreline with the remaining thrust fan, and after a quick
5 minute repair job (the fastest I've seen anyone replace a set of blades on a fan), he was ready to
rejoin the activities.
Getting closer
Precision Flying
Looks OK from here
Tim inspects damage
After these two magnificent Fly Bys with the craft skimming across the lake in perfect formation (it's
back to using your imagination again here), it was decided to try again tomorrow.
The Cruise:-
Lake Cargelligo was connected to two smaller lakes and the Lachlan River in 1902 by a series of
cuttings with the creative names of Canal 1, Canal 2 and Canal 3. A regulator on Canal 1 where it
meets the Lachlan River controls the flow of water from the river into the lakes, and is the destination
for todays cruise, an easy relaxing trip over the smooth glassy waters of the lakes and canals.
Cruise photos
The leader of the cruise is Paul Mott, renowned far and near for his intimate
knowledge of the local waters, and he led the cruise off to the north-east
along the eastern edge of the lake. All the craft travelled together on this
stretch, dodging in and out of logs and sticks and landing on the odd bank
or two along the way, because in a hovercraft - you can. At the top end of
Lake Cargelligo the craft entered Canal 3, a narrow steep-sided cutting
about a kilometre long that links Cargelligo with Curlew Waters, the next
lake in the system. Steven Odgaard began having lift engine stutters on
the BBV2 at this point and decided not to chance going any further.
The prolonged drought has dropped the storage capacity of the lakes to
around 40%, and with the low water level there were numerous sticks and
things poking up trying hard to grab skirts as the craft carefully negotiated
their way through. It was in this area that Peter Streader's craft broke a manifold bolt, and with the
resultant loss of power and increase in noise, Peter decided that this was about as far as he should
go. The rest of the craft continued along Canal 3, under a narrow bridge, and out into the wide open
spaces of Curlew Waters where they landed on a sandy bank for a brief break to regroup.
After a speedy run across the glassy surface of Curlew Waters the craft entered the two kilometre
long Canal 2. This is another narrow cutting between lakes but without the steep banks on either
side, at least in the initial stages. About a kilometre or so along this narrow waterway the cruise came
to an abrupt halt where a large tree had fallen across the canal, blocking further progress.
An investigation into the possibility of getting around this obstruction showed it would be a fairly time
consuming process, so it was decided to retrace our steps and just enjoy our cruising time.
Team Slalom Relay:-
The slalom lineup
Two teams each with six craft lined up for the Team Slalom Relay. Team one
consisted of Peter Venn, Sam Waugh, David Venn, Steven Odgaard, Reece
Isaac and Chris Isaac, and in team two were Rodd Westwood, Paul Mott,
Colin Dainty, Ivan Price, Eugene Zanozin and Royston Downs.
The slalom course consisted of two rows of four evenly spaced buoys and
each team was allocated a row as their circuit for the event. Peter Venn
suggested that buoys are used as markers in these competitions because
girls can't be trusted to stay out there.
At the starters signal, one craft from each team headed out and back along their designated course,
zig zagging their way between the buoys as they went. As each craft returned to shore, the next one
in the team would be flagged off to complete their lap of the circuit.
Zig-zagging craft
Two craft operating simultaneously in the confined space of a tight circuit
make the event a heap of fun for the competitors, and a visual delight for
the spectators, especially when a craft zigs when it should have zagged.
After all the craft had finished their run Rodd Westwood's team had come
up as the winners. The teams then swapped rows and each craft made
another lap of the circuit. At the end of this second run Rodd's team had
again made it home first, but it was suspected the the two Victorians in
Peter's team had been planted there on a special sabotage mission.
Sprint Racing:-
Sam starts the sprints
In the sprint racing event, competitors with similar powered craft paired off
and made a frantic dash (from a standing start) between a couple of buoys
marking the extremities of the course. Sam Waugh flagged the start of each
race, while Lynne Mott and Joanne Streader determined which craft crossed
the finish line first. If the finish was close the pair would race a second time,
or even a third time if this was deemed necessary. The winner then paired
off with another craft for another sprint, and the losing craft was eliminated
from the event. This process continued until only one craft remained.
Colin Dainty won his sprint with Reece Isaac, but the burst of power required for the quick run
between the markers was too much stress for the drive system and every tooth was stripped from
the drive belt in the process, eliminating him from the rest of the sprint racing.
A close finish
During the afternoon Col fitted a new drive belt to his craft allowing him to
participate in the remaining activities of the weekend.
It was obvious that Samantha Venn, a novice to sprint racing, enjoyed the
event flying Sam Waugh's Renegade. After winning her first race she was
ready to take on one and all - the Venn competitive spirit clearly showing.
The sprint races became a test of who could go faster than Paul Mott, the
eventual winner of the event in his Fuji Robin EC44PM powered Turbo 235,
and normally the fastest craft at recent rallies.
Cork Scramble:-
First hovercraft ride
All eyes were focused on Steven Odgaard and Stephen Graham in the BBV2
as they did a slow circuit around Frogs Hollow, the picturesque inlet directly
in front of the township of Lake Cargelligo. The two Steves were dropping
100 or so corks overboard in random order for the cork scramble, always
a popular event at rallies, and one in which both driver and passenger can
expect to end up very wet.
Craft headed off in all directions as the scramble started, eager to begin
the search for as many corks as possible, and maybe even finding the lucky numbered cork.
Searching for corks
By the time all the corks were collected, Sam Waugh and Lorraine Brighton
had found the most, coming up with 13. Tony Westwood and Judy Stead
managed to collect 12 corks, with Judy doing quite well as this was only her
second time in a hovercraft, the first being with Peter Venn in the Expo
Turbo earlier in the day. She was also extremely relieved to discover that a
hovercraft doesn't sink when it stops on the water.
Paul and Lynne Mott managed to find the lucky cork - number 78.
Hovercraft Ski Challenge:-
The ski challenge was organised as a form of thrust test, but with a bit more excitement than the
standard thrust test using a tree or wall or some other immovable object. The first test was to pull a
skier on land, with those craft not up to the task being eliminated. The remaining craft would then
attempt the more difficult job of pulling a skier on water. Steven Odgaard was nominated as the skier,
mainly because he brought along the ski equipment . . . . . lucky Steve.
Steve on skis
First up to pull the skier on land was Ivan Price, so his Yamaha PE485
powered Turbo 235 was rigged up with the ski rope, and the challenge
began. Initially all seemed to be going well and as Ivan applied power, the
hovercraft inched forward, the ski rope tightened and stretched, and then
the skier began to move. Steve crouched nimbly on the skis as he steadily
glided across the sandy beach, but after about 20 feet or so, an explosive
sound thundered through the air as the fan could no longer handle the
stress, and disintegrated with such force that the guard was ripped from the duct and hurled 20 feet
Where is it?
out into the lake.
Well, that was the first craft to be eliminated. Unfortunately, with no spare
fans available, it also meant that Ivan's craft was now completely disabled,
so it was manhandled back to spend the rest of the weekend sitting
despondently on the trailer.
For some reason there were no more takers for todays ski challenge.
Annual General Meeting:-
The Australian Hovercraft Federation AGM was held in the clubhouse starting around 6:00 pm. Present
at the meeting were the three delegates from each state and a number of visitors.
Delegates for Queensland were Steven Odgaard and Peter Venn, with Arthur Stead as proxy for Angus
Kerr - for New South Wales was Eugene Zanozin, with Sam Waugh as proxy for Karl Bowman and
Peter Hardi - and for Victoria were Colin Dainty and Peter Streader, with Tony Westwood as proxy for
Ken Osmond. Visitors to the meeting were Reece Isaac, Mark Odgaard, Royston Downs, Tim Envall,
Frank Reynen, Robin Zanozin and David Venn.
After the minutes from the last AGM were tabled by Steven Odgaard, and the Treasurers Report and
Public Officers Report were tabled by Colin Dainty, all Office Bearers positions were declared vacant
and the new Office Bearers for the Australian Hovercraft Federation for the coming year were
determined as follows:-
President - Peter Streader - (Victoria).
Vice President - Eugene Zanozin - (New South Wales).
Treasurer - Colin Dainty - (Victoria).
Secretary - Steven Odgaard - (Queensland).
The meeting continued at the Lake Cargelligo Bowls Club several hours later, with all rally attendees
present after a lengthy wait for our evening meal.
Reports on activities of the State Branches over the previous year were given by Eugene Zanozin
(New South wales), Tony Westwood (Victoria) and Steven Odgaard (Queensland), and Peter Streader
gave a presentation on the healthy progress of the Schools Program in Australia.
The evening finished with videos being shown of the Victorian Branch cruise along the Goulburn River
from Seymour to Nagambie and back in May, and the New South Wales and Queensland Branch
participation in Camp Quality joyrides for kids with cancer on Lake Macquarie in March.
Sunday 24th September 2006
I awoke on Sunday morning to the sound of hovercraft screaming across the surface of the lake. The
activities at the Bowls Club last night had finished quite late, and I didn't expect todays events to be
making such an early start. Peering through bleary eyes out the motel window and scanning across
the lake, I couldn't see any signs of hovercraft, but I did notice the trees and shrubs were blowing
around wildly - the noise I could hear was actually the howling wind.
Over at the caravan park the Venn family's tent had collapsed in the gusty
conditions, and the comment was heard, "Well! there certainly won't be any
hovering today", however Peter Streader quickly put an end to this nonsense with
"We're not just a fine weather club, we'll fly in any weather".
Another Fly By:-
The drivers briefing for todays Fly By was somewhat shorter than yesterdays. Now that we have this
precision formation flying under control, and total confidence in our abilities, it's just a matter of adding
the finishing touches to tidy up the exercise. The starting point for today has been changed to the
northern shore of the inlet, making it a straight run for a Fly By past the clubhouse, rather than looping
around in a wide circuit as was done yesterday. This should also make it better with the wind which
had sprung up again today to make things a bit more interesting, but as Peter Streader had said at
the briefing, "We'll fly in any weather".
There were fewer craft taking part in the fly by today with breakdowns taking a toll yesterday,
but that makes less craft to look out for . . . . . and as Col Dainty recons "Tooo eeasy".
No mishaps occurred, and all participating craft completed two Fly By's in front of the clubhouse to the
delighted cheers of the crowd gathered outside. The following pictures tell the story - a display of
formation flying with impeccable clockwork precision that really had to be seen to be believed. Oh well,
I guess you really need a good imagination to see it in all it's glory.
Ready to fly
Lining up for the Fly By
Perfect alignment???
At last
OK, not quite like the graceful flight of a flock of migratory birds serenely gliding across the sky in a
majestic vee-shaped formation; perhaps more resembling the erratic stampede of a startled herd of
cattle, but it was a lot of fun anyway - maybe next year.
Individual Slalom:-
Slalom Photos
The individual Slalom was a popular event, with competitors eager to show
their skills, and spectators eager to let them know when they went astray.
The course was the same one used in the Team Slalom yesterday, except
the craft would go out along one row and return on the other, zig zagging
their way through the buoys as they went - with the gusty wind adding
another dimension to a timed slalom run. Each craft had a couple of runs
through the course over the duration of the event, trying to improve their
times with each run, and the winning times were as follows:-
Rodd Westwood - 45.02 seconds.
Paul Mott - 46.86 seconds.
Peter Streader - 55.51 seconds.
Tony Westwood - 57.00 seconds.
Reece Isaac - 59.00 seconds.
Hovercraft Ski Challenge:-
Another Hovercraft Ski Challenge today using the same rules as yesterday. The craft chosen for
today's attempt was Frank Reynen's Hurrican, and with a one metre duct powered by a Subaru engine
this craft should have sufficient thrust to pull a skier.
Tim Envall took the helm of the Hurrican, and on the initial land test run had no problems pulling
Steven Odgaard across the sandy beach, so they decided to head out and try for a water start. This
was looking promising for a while, but each time Steve began to lift up out of the water, he would sink
back down again - just not quite enough speed.
Reece Isaac stepped in to lend a hand and what a spectacle this turned out to be. Steve sitting on one
side of Reece's Turbo with his ski's dangling just above the water and the ski rope clenched in one
hand, as he hung on tightly to the craft with the other to prevent the Hurrican hauling him into the
water prematurely. Meanwhile, Reece is leaning as far as he could over the other side to keep the
craft in some sort of balance as they wobbled their way across the water, slowly increasing speed
behind Tim in the Hurrican.
When both craft had reached planing speed, Steve gracefully stepped off the Turbo, and applause and
cheers roared from the delighted spectators at the clubhouse as he continued ski-ing across the lake
to the melodious sound of the hooter signalling that it was time for lunch.
Attempted water start
A team effort
Up and away
At last
Award Presentation:-
After the lunchtime barbecue which was enjoyed by the rally attendees and supplied by the Australian
Hovercraft Federation, the new president Peter Streader presented the following awards for the
weekend's activities.
Team Slalom Relay Winners - Team Two, consisting of the following members.
Rodd Westwood
Eugene Zanozine
Colin Dainty
Royston Downs
Ivan Price
Paul Mott
Sprint Racing.
1st place - Paul Mott
2nd place - Peter Streader
3rd place - Ivan Price
Cork Scramble.
Most Corks - Sam Waugh and Lorraine Brighton (13 corks)
Lucky Cork - Paul and Lynne Mott (number 78)
Individual Slalom.
Rodd Westwood - 45.02 seconds
Paul Mott - 46.86 seconds
Peter Streader - 55.51 seconds
Three special awards were presented for the weekend to the following people.
Arthur Stead - for work done promoting the rally on the Queensland web site
David Venn - for never giving up - keeping a cantankerous lift engine running all weekend
Samantha Venn - for the novice driver of the weekend and joining in so well
Australian Hovercraft Federation Perpetual Award.
Awarded for their untiring work which has contributed to the magnificent success of the
Discoverhover Schools Program in Australia.
Ken Osmond - retiring president of The Australian Hovercraft Federation
