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Well what a Nats it was, lost the first day due to very bad weather like it was over most of NZ, but the next 3 days were cracker with a lot of racing. A big thanks to BOP club for doing the grunt work and hosting so the rest of us could arrive and enjoy.

Thanks to all from the B O P Club great place to you have there to race boats sad about the weather but stuck it out an had a great time an nice to meet new people in the hobby an a big thanks to the cook who came down every day an feed us allan to everyone else it was good to catch up with you all

Cheers to the BOP club for a great nats. Do we know the results for open electric yet?
Cheers matt

A preliminary report on the 2014 Nats from Steve

The BOPMPBC had worked steadily toward hosting the 2014 Nats, putting in long hours and large contributions toward materials and product to again improve the facility at Thunder Valley, all with the vision of having it the best we could to reward all those that made the effort to attend.

It was very unfortunate that a storm that had brewed, moved across our part of the county on the very day we tried to make a start with racing on Thursday, we only managed 1 heat before torrential rain and gale force winds forced us into submission, a first that I remember, at least at a Nationals !

We had to quickly deconstruct the venue to minimise damage to tents etc, unfortunately we later discovered that the gale winds had forced rain water past the seals of the container doors and had ingressed some componants of IRMS, so Matt Bindon and I spent the rest of the afternoon searching out replacement electrical bits and peices and remodeled IRMS into a functioning unit again ready for the next day, at that stage the course markers were completely under water at one end and the newly built hotpits were also about a foot under water.

Upon completing repairs to IRMS about 4 pm, suddely the rain just stopped, and blue sky appeared, we crossed our fingers and hoped that with the modified lake outlet that the water level would drop to allow us to resume racing Friday morning.

Friday morning dawned and the bouys were up, no wind and only the occasional shower, with longer fine breaks, racing was on !!

Unfortunately our new hotpit area turned into a quagmire, however was still safer than trying to carry running boats up and down what would have quickly become a steep slippery mud slope.

We were doing our best to make up time to try to catch up events missed due to the loss of Thursday, but unfortunately with the entry level of many being in most events then it was almost always going to be impossible.

The racing in many heats was spectacular, with an amount of rubbing during racing then things were quite tight, it was noticable that as the events progressed, everyones starts got better and better, it was not unusual to see 5 or all 6 boats lined up side by side for the starts, and while there were a few minor misdomeanors, most worked hard to maintain their lanes as per the rules and the laps that unfolded were great to watch.

It was noticable that the "Richie Rich" Team ( Matt G, Brendon K and Glen V) had a game plan. They worked all weekend to support each other with mechanical work, pitting and general chores, they set the bar very high in terms of performance at the Nats and the amount of trophys stacked up at their table after prize giving was testament to this.

There were a number of selfless duties carried out over the Nats, notably Warren B not even entering an event, so he could focus on Race Directing duties, while Ash A provided our on site security staying at the venue in his caravan in weather where most would have capitulated and run home, supporting his wife Megan who had taken on the catering challenge, ( the food and drinks were AWSOME ! ) and apart from the odd race with his 1 boat, spent most of the rest of the weekend in the rescue dinghy, a very special effort indeed and well appreciated by all.

All the racing is some what a blur as my main focus was simply on pushing through as much racing as possible, ultimately we were able to catch up 2 events from the abandoned Thursday, so all in all not a bad result.

Congratulations go to the BOP Club for again winning the prestigeous "Thunder Down Under" champion club trophy. There was no one significant contributor that necessarily acheived more than another within the BOP team, but a stream of good results with a weight of numbers eventually won over.

One of the key things for all to think about and "get real" with is the fact that even though we only had an entry of some 19 odd people, there was still 27.5 hrs of race time to get through over the 4 days, thats not including the 10 minute tune before each event or lunch breaks or for any other lost time ( waiting for people not ready or organised for the next heat or still looking for a pit person etc) so for all those that still think the Nats should only be a 3 day event, then I challenge you to come forward and tell us how that is done !

A number of loose ideas were shared over the regatta, and a common theme was to simplify the classes we have, so just to get the juices flowing here is an overview of those ideas:

With the nitro classes, keep A&B classes combined, remove the split between C1 and C2 and all becomes C Class.

With the petrol classes, formally establish the Stock mono and stock tunnel classes to compliment the existing T1 Thunderboat class, all use same motors as currently specified, but especially note that Easy Start recoils are allowed along with aluminium carburettor isolator blocks ( The std plastic ones dont seem to last long before they warp and leak) but no other bling or removing cylinder gaskets to create more compression etc !

Stock boats are only to run in stock classes, but could still run in Petrol Open Oval ( PX still included) and / or Petrol Open Oval.

Then change the CC peramiter for all other to go from say 23cc through to 31cc ( ie remove the P1,P2 & P3 split) hot motors of any brand ok.

Change T2 Thunderboat to allow any brand 27cc engines. ( Boats as they ran in T1 cannot run in T2)

Change Sport Petrol Hydro to be Picklefork only.

The above are just a few ideas to simplify and minimise, if you have thoughts around this please discuss with a committee member or better still make a written presentation to the committee. This all needs to be looked at as a matter of interest to all, so have your say. Even with all this we may still be faced with 4 day National Champs with increased entry levels. That being the case consider if you prefer to start racing on Thursday and finish Sunday so Monday is the travel home day, or, if you prefer to start racing on Friday and finish Monday, travel home Tuesday. Maybe a completely different time of year should be considered ?

While the committee will try, we will never please all !!

Anyways, I never was any good at writing regatta reports so will leave off there !

Regs, 232.

Sorry you feel that way, but I would suggest that you have a read of the rule book concerning 'Open Oval' and also give some consideration for what the Association is trying to achieve. The rules for T1's have been around for years. The rules say stock Zenoah's, and that's that. Likewise, if the stock classes say Zenoah's the same applies. You can't rock up to a Formula Ford race day and expect to enter a Datsun or Subaru. The rules are the rules, and these have been arrived at over a long period of time, and after a lot of thought. Are you seriously suggesting opening up to all stock motors, and if as you say, are concerned about costs, where do the CMB's and the new Tiger Kings for example fit in? Instead of trying to 'knock' the Association all of the time, do some homework, and try some constructive criticism.

Have a nice day,

Wayne