THOUSANDS WATCHED BOAT RACES ON LAKE TAUPO

Taupo Times, Volume 20, Issue 1, 7 January 1971, Page 1

THOUSANDS WATCHED BOAT RACES

ON LAKE TAUPO

4 Thousands of enthusiasts flocked into Taupo last Saturday to watch the sixth annual Rothmans sponsoreff power boat races on the lake.

The traffic flow increased throughout the morning and parking arcas in the town and along the lakefront reached saturation point. Picnic lunches, sunbathing s and swimming kept the huge crowd occupied until race time. But while the weather and lake conditions were excellent the races fhemsclves left a lot to be desired. ♦ At the start of the second > lap of the 80-mile race several of the leading boats, one of them from Christchurch, sped off at full throttle in the wrong direction and aufoTnatically disqualified themselves. t From then on it was alJk most impossible to follow the ■ progress of the leaders and a majority of spectators were icompletely in the dark as to how the boats were faring. There was a public address system, of sorts, at the yacht, club which served as head-] quarters for the occasion. j But for the huge crowds along the waterfront theii ^„.only »ource of inforrnatior was vi i portable radios — anc not everyone possesses one. Programmes were ur obtair.able well before th race scarted and the stai j Yitself, though spectacular, w; a shambles. Because of the large entr a record, fhe organisk*g ec* f mittee wisely decided to al • the starting point and to se all 83 boats off together fr ryidjacent to the lakefront. But the signal to sts though obviously seen by t competitors, went largely > noticed ashore and the f: indication most people H j^hat the race was on was t s*c*ge of power and the fo? i ing wakes of the poweil boats. The automatic disqualif,*tion of the five leaders ar ihe first lap resulted in mystified public in genl iiid brought criticism froa i number of boat owners. Each entrant was suppd ' ^vith a map of the coursat | the time of entry and chaes j to the circuit should Ye been more carefully expked | at the pre-race briefing. However, crews of thiis-

qualificd noats did agree that the brief .ng, though short, was adequate and one of them said it was simply a case of follow the leader, Sut it was the third time in six anri ial events that a sirilar incident has occurred, wAch tends to suggesl that th boaties themselves may nt be entirely to blame. The confusion surrounding te "aces secmed to carry over t officials and, despite the ^ailability of a computer, re,lts of the various sections ere still be.mg collated hours ftpr the frnal boat crossed ic finishing line. This meaat that members •f the pubiic had ro real :n twledge of who got what, ind their presence at the xcasion was purely, in most cases, to watch the boats go by. Wsth all*eruisers using the same course for almost half of each circuit the mix-up was real. The public deserved better and it i hard to under-

stand why the races were not run separately. The 40-miler in the morning, followed by the big boats on their 80-mile jaunt, would have been better value, particularly from the public's point of view. But with the action confined to a brief two and a half j hours, less for the really fast boats, and little or no up-to- f date information about 1 placings, withdrawals and so 1 on, the crowds, non-paying 1 certainly, could diminish on 1 future occasions. And so, too, could the big giamour boats, some of which travelled from as far south as Christchurch for Saturday's race. The lake is one of Taupoi's 1 major assets and its use for p events like power boat racing is automatic. But more thought will need to be given to the running of future events. Race report, further pictures - Page 8