I picked up a hitchhiker on the way to this annual powerboat regatta, a French Canadian who was looking forward to experiencing the quiet beauty of this wonderful alpine environment. But the lake had been taken over by petrolheads (I guess I’m one too). We could hear the boats practising when we were still 10 or 15 kilometers away. Here are some pictures of the heavyweights, the super fast (and super noisy) Grand Prix hydroplanes.
(Update: you can see a larger selection of the photographs from Saturday’s racing, here.)
First the boat that was the eventual winner of the South Island Grand Prix, with the inspiring name of ‘GP57’, driven by Jack Lupton:
I thought GP57 had the best colour scheme.
Second was ‘Lucas Oil’, with Ken Lupton driving:
The third boat was the old favourite ‘The Boss’, driven by Raymond Hart:
These shots were taken on 1 March. I should have looked at the programme a little more carefully, as the two heats didn’t begin until the second day. However, I probably got some easier shots on this first, setup day, even if they weren’t really trying all out.
Link: www.nelson.photos (under ‘sports’, for many more pics from this event)
