Weekly Powerboat and Fishing Summary

Fatality at Murray River racing event, Victory team wins tenth World title, Jay Price leads F1 H20 Worlds

POWERBOAT RACING

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a man following a boating incident at an organised boat racing event in Yarrawonga on 28 November. The 45-year-old man was driving a boat on Lake Mulwala when the high-powered racing boat flipped near the start/finish line, ejecting him. The Mount Martha man was rescued by racing support crew and treated on the foreshore by paramedics and later died whilst being transferred by air ambulance to the Alfred Hospital. The man is believed to have been competing in the Lake Mulwala Power Festival. www.lakemulwalapower.com.au

Defending World Champions Arif Al Zafeen and Nadir Bin Hendi racing Fazza won a tenth World Title for Dubai’s Victory Team, in a dramatic and incident-filled race two of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The drama unfolded at the first corner when Victory 2010 spun-out and then rolled with both pilots emerging unscathed from the upturned hull. Immediately after this incident, a collision between Skydive Dubai and Negotiator, forced race officials to red flag the race and call for a restart. www.class-1.com

Qatar Team driver Jay Price led from start to finish winning by 4.42 seconds at the Eighth Grand Prix of Qatar. He has now moved into first place in the UIM F1 H2O World Championship for powerboating. The seventh race of the 2010 season will be held on 4 December for the 19th Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. www.f1h2o.com

POWERBOATS

The Savage 385 Big Boy is built by Australia’s oldest brand in aluminium boats. The Big Boy has the capacity to carry four people comfortably and with a 1.85 metre beam and an overall length of 3.90 metres there is plenty of space for fishing gear. Weighing 150kg, the 385 Big Boy is easy to tow behind a car and for one person to manoeuvre off the beach.

The 510 Freedom Sport is one of the most versatile boats in the Quintrex range. This popular Bowrider is for the family man and fisherman alike. The option of a ski pole will have the kids water skiing, on the doughnut, or wakeboarding, and they will have no trouble getting on and off the boat with a rear ladder. Underfloor front and rear storage, means there’s plenty of room for all the gear. Alternatively, stay out on the water all day with the Mark-5X Fishfinder and a 95 litre fuel tank.

Emarine Australia will take delivery of the first Sabre 40 Sedan into Australia in 2011. This offshore-capable, downeast-style motoryacht boasts modern high-performance and a luxurious, handcrafted interior. The classic style is blended with Sabre Yachts’ cutting-edge build methods, such as infusion hull construction and the application of ultra-modern technology like Zeus azipod drives and Skyhook positioning system.

FISHING

Fisheries officers in Victoria issued more than 50 fines to recreational anglers as part of a wide ranging blitz to enforce snapper bag limits and other regulations. All the indications were that the snapper season was showing great promise, with good quantities of fish between 3-5kg and a good run of smaller fish in the 1-2kg range. www.dpi.vic.gov.au/fisheries

NSW MARITIME MEDALS

NSW Maritime Medals were presented to Arthur ‘George’ Tedds for his involvement in marine rescue; some 600 Sydney Heritage Fleet volunteers for their time maintaining historic vessels; Robert Dyer for initiating the Broughton Island Marine Radio Base; Neil Grieves for his many years of service to recreational boating in the Shoal Bay area; The Broken Hill Speed Boat Club for creating and maintaining a recreational space in the far west of NSW; John Winning for extraordinary service and support to the sailing community; and Alan Lucas for his commitment to promote safe navigation through publishing. www.maritime.nsw.au

NEWS BRIEFS

Hitech Marine’s new purpose-built premises, in the northern Perth suburb of Wangara, has 14,002sqm of floor space. A third of that is the showroom which is big enough to have virtually the entire MerCruiser range on display. The rest of the building is dedicated to the giant workshop and storage for a huge range of spare parts. Outside there’s another 15,002sqm of concrete hardstand for customers’ boats.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Dec 11 -- Barrie Beehag Ski Race Classic. The Moama Water Sports Club postponed the race due to higher than anticipated water levels, floating debris and a flooded marina at Deep Creek. www.southern80.com.au

Dec 14 -- CYCA's SOLAS Big Boat Challenge. The biggest yachts in Australia race on Sydney Harbour in a countdown to the start of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. eBay auctions a number of places aboard competing boats with the proceeds raised going to the SOLAS Trusts. The opportunity to fire the 19th century replica cannon to start the race will also be auctioned on eBay at the end of November. www.cyca.com.au

Dec 26 -- Rolex Sydney Hobart starts on Sydney Harbour at 1.00pm on Boxing Day. Charter boats of all shapes and sizes and a variety of costs are available to watch the start of this iconic event. http://rolexsydneyhobart.com

Dec 31 -- New Year’s Eve - Spectacular fireworks are fired off the Sydney Harbour Bridge, barges, and city skyscrapers at 9.00pm and midnight. Charter vessels participate in a themed parade following the 9.00pm fireworks. A special area is set aside for charter vessels in the Harbour. www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/nye/

2011

Jan 16 - Grafton Bridge to Bridge conducted by the Big River Ski club Inc. www.graftonb2b.org.au

Jan 26 – Australia Day – Events on Sydney Harbour include a Ferrython, Awesome Forces displays, best dressed vessels competition, tall ships race, 174th Australia Day Regatta, Sydney Ports Jazz on the Water Concert. For details see www.australiaday.com.au

Photograph: Savage 385 Big Boy

Weekly Powerboat and Fishing Summary

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