MANAWATU POWER BOAT CLUB INC. NEWSLETTER March 2013

MANAWATU POWER BOAT CLUB INC. NEWSLETTER
March 2013
Wellington Regatta
2nd & 3rd March 2013
By Phillip Hoskyn
Matt Morrison Memorial
1st Kent Dunlop "Razors Edge"
2nd Mike Denham "Inject the Venom"
3rd Adam Parker "Heat Seeker"
4th Ben Ryan "Dancing Bear"
5th Ian Warmington "Razzle Dazzle"
6th Richard Smith "Balistic"
7th Jeff Robinson "Bavarian"
Mike Denham in Inject the Venom came home
second
Heat one and Gary Gregory in Broad Minded
leapt out to lead but broke down on the top
turn and was out for the day. John Ryan was
another to lose an engine on lap one also
putting him out for the day. Ian Warmington
was running very well as he moved up from last
after making a meal of the start to finish 4th.
Ben Ryan and Mike Denham had good battle all
race to finish 2nd and 3rd but neither were a
match for Kent Dunlop in Razors Edge. The Race
was stopped after Kent crossed the line when
Adam Parker had a flame out.
Heat Two and just the 7 boats starting Kent
once again dominated the race with the big
boat going very quick. Adam Parker held off
Mike Denham they were both fighting hard for
changing positions the whole race. Richard
Smith held off Ian Warmington for 4th place.
Kent Dunlop takes a dive into the Water after
Winning the Matt Morrison Memorial
Clubman’s
9 Boats were on hand for Racing and they got in
4 races in the day and all the boaties enjoyed
themselves. Ross Ledger only had the two races
before he went back to work and Kieran
Buttimore had his throttle fall to bits and
missed 3 races but we worked on the boat and
its going for Sundays racing.
Tony Arthur tipped out of his boat in the third
race but they have got that going for Sunday
races as well.
The Course was just the right with the race
organiser's consulting the drivers and setting
out the course to suit. Mad Dog Maddi had 2
wins and a 2nd but couldn’t restart the rerun
3rd race as his boat took in too much water
while sitting out on the track waiting for Buzz to
be salvaged. Pincoya was hooking up nicely a
different engine and a slightly bigger stock prop
making a difference in topline speed, Cornering
is a lot livelier too. Lookout was also trying new
props and is going faster as well. Spider,
Anarchy and Rampage were going well and
hope to make some changes to improve
performance.
Race 1 Start on Saturday. Photo by Derek
McAdam
4th Rodney Wood "Scorpion"
5th Adam Parker "Heat Seeker"
Heat one Philip had to deal with Alan on lap one
and the tunnel was able take the inside
advantage and held off the tunnel to win.
Rodney was able to finish 4th just behind Alan.
Adam beat home Ian for 4th.
Heat Two only three boats started Philip cruised
off to win with Adam 2nd and Ian 3rd. Adam
was DQ after the race because he came in
before the Yellow flag was put out.
North Island GNH
1st Alan Ballantyne "Rage"
2nd Rodney Wood "Scorpion"
3rd Alan James "Dundeel"
4th Brent Frampton "Fast FWD"
5th Brenden Hall "Foreno Tapware”
Heat one Rage was holding off Scorpion and
won the race. Dundeel was in a race of his own
in 3rd place. Foreno Tapware held off Fast Fwd
to come 4th.
Tony Arthur hangs on to Buzz. Photo by Derek
McAdam
North Island UU
1st Philip Stilwell "Acceleration on Water"
2nd Ian Warmington "Razzle Dazzle"
3rd Alan Ballantyne "Rage"
Heat Two and Rage lost turbo boost and had no
option but to roll to a stop and wait for the
pressure to rebuild he then drove well to pull in
and pass the field but had no answer for
Scorpion who won by half a lap. Dundeel was
once again in a race by himself in third and Fast
Fwd managed to beat home Foreno Tapware.
Just one second separated Rage and Scorpion in
the decision for the title.
Aftershock, Razzle Dazzle and Misty Blue were
in a race group of their own and had some good
races.
10 Clubman’s AB Marine, Pincoya, Evil Racing,
Jaffa, Envy, Outboard Marine, Spider, Anarchy,
Addictive and NotAlotofBucks were in group 3.
Rage passes Brent Frampton in Fast FWD
Cambridge/Waikato Club Days
Lake Arapuni
9th & 10th March 2013
Ironically the start boat was causing a few
problems on the start by going to slow, but
once underway there was some pretty close
racing going on and a lot of the boats have
improved vastly over the season to be a lot
more even in speed.
By Phillip Hoskyn
Six Manawatu Boats made the trip to Lake
Arapuni for the first racing Clubday held by the
Cambridge Waikato Club since 2005. Everyone
got in 3 races on each day. Results didn’t really
matter as it was a fun Regatta.
Great Day and Venue for Racing. No Internet
and very limited Cell phone coverage. Camping
area is very good with two roomy clean toilets
and running water. Portable Showers were
supplied by the club. The Lake where we are
racing is T shaped the main part of the lake is
plenty big enough for GP racing. On Saturday
however this part of the lake turned choppy as
the wind started to blow down so the course
was moved to the smaller sheltered part of the
lake in front of the boat ramp. The same wind
caused the rowing on Karapiro just down the
river to be cancelled as well.
There was a bit of a delay in shifting the course
but we got the first race underway at 1.00pm
and went through 9 races in quickly to be
finished by 4.15pm.
Plenty of fun races for everyone and the 18
boats on Saturday David Alexander ran the
Annihilator Race Boat in 3 races against Total
Chaos, Helter Skelter, Howzat and Challenger.
Sam Hughes and Brendon Cornes were sharing
the drive in Total Chaos with Sam supplying the
motor and Brendon the Boat.
Rochelle and Karl in a close battle
Next year should see even more boats out on
the water.
On Sunday Racing took place on the big part of
the Lake in Perfect Conditions. A bit of effort to
move the course again but thanks to the Rescue
Boats and all the Members crewing them they
soon had it ready to go and racing was
underway by 11am.
The Club had some Trophy’s to give out the first
time they have been used in years.
Griffin Cup Sam Hughes “Total Chaos"
Sullivan Cup Top points in Hydroplane Jack
Lupton "Annihilator Race Boats"
Dam to Dam Cup Nigel Zander "Helter Skelter"
Drag Cup Brett Mercer "Aftershock"
Jim Miller Trophy Top points Series 3000
Noeline Steiner “Misty Blue"
Bugga Trophy Mark Probyn "Challenger"
100 Cubic Inch Cup Presented to Top Points in
Clubman’s Andrew Macbeth"AB Marine"
Lake D Trophy for most Improved Driver Shaun
Smith "Envy"
Best Presented Boat "Outboard Marine" Codi
Francis.
JP Cup Brendon Cornes "Total Chaos"
Pincoya learnt a bit more about how much
water is too much inside the boat. Just about
sunk as we sat waiting in the rough water for
the start boat to sort its self out.
Steve Mathieson and Brody Mathieson came to
race on the Sunday.
King of the Lake start won by Brendon Cornes in
Total Chaos
Christine performed a perfect right hand turn,
don’t think anyone else saw it though so your
secrets safe with me.
JOE AND EDNA MATHIESON
By Steve Mathieson and Sharon Hall
Boat racing and the Mathieson family have a history dating back to 1955 in Mangakino. Originally Joe
moved to Mangakino from Paeroa in April 1952 and was a partner in Mangakino Motors. In June of
that same year he married Edna (Buckthought) from Waihi and they settled into the township of
Mangakino. Working from 7 am to 10 pm - 7 days a week at Mangakino Motors for a princely sum of
$50.00 or 25 pounds (as it was then) soon took its toll, so after three years Joe and Edna sold their
share.
It was 1956 and Joe and Edna now had twin sons and a daughter. Joe got a job with the Public
Works at Waipapa Dam Site where he worked for seven years until the project was finished. He
worked on a variety of jobs – bridge building, scaffolding, in the carpenters shop and general work on
the dam site. The family’s income was supplemented by Joe making wooden toys on his lathe in what
little spare time he had. Joe joined the Mangakino Volunteer Fire Brigade where he served for seven
years.
With friends, Joe and Edna became involved in the Mangakino Powerboat Club. In 1955 Joe bought
the first “Midnight” from Takaka. This was a cracker box design, powered by a 1936 flat head V8 with
a top speed of 44-46 miles per hour. This boat was raced successfully for three years. Midnight was
chosen as the name due to the work involved going late into the night to get her ready for racing.
Joe racing
the first
Midnight at
Maungatapu
Point,
Tauranga
Prizegiving for
the Ladies Race.
Edna being
congratulated
and awarded her
2 nd place prize a boxed set of
silver teaspoons
After much persuasion and pressure from Joe, Edna also took to the wheel of this Midnight in a
Ladies Race at Mangakino in March 1957. She came a very creditable 2nd. However, this was
something she decided never to do again.
Involvement with the Mangakino Powerboat Club was strong. Joe and Edna’s radiogram complete
with record player and tape deck became the mainstay of the many socials and dances that the Club
held. Not only did most of the men in Mangakino work together, but a lot of them were involved as
either boat owners or social members of the Club. Everybody knew everybody. It was during this time
that Joe and Edna forged a lifelong friendship with Win and Colin Lewis (mother and father of the late
Alan Lewis). Colin was then racing the first Little Cracker.
Joe at Lake Maraetai with
other Mangakino
Powerboat Club members
Colin Lewis (middle) and
Doug Barclay (right).
Behind them is the first
Little Cracker
Below: the pocket of Joe’s Mangakino
Powerboat Club Blazer from the
1950’s
Above: Lyn Probyn wearing her father-in-law, Kevin’s, original 1950’s
Mangakino Powerboat Club blazer with Steve Mathieson wearing a more
modern blazer with Joe’s logo sewn on. Photo taken at Lake Maraetai in
January 2013
Still in Mangakino, and now with four children, Joe decided he needed more speed so set to work
building Midnight the second. She was launched in the race season of 1960 and funnily enough that
was the same year that youngest son Steve also appeared (now bringing the total number of
Mathieson children to five). This Midnight was powered by a FJ Holden motor, overbored ¼ inch, 3
carbs, ¾ race cam, ported and polished head, pulled 5500 revs with a speed of 68 miles per hour .
The second
Midnight
racing on
Lake D just
out of
Hamilton in
the 1960’s
The new Midnight was an immediate success – but unfortunately for Edna, was not without mishaps.
Joe flipped the boat at both Karapiro and Flat Rock (Auckland) and hit a bridge pier in Ngaruawahia.
The front deck of the boat was peeled right back, there was damage to the nose and the side needed
replacing. It took about a month to repair the damage and made the pages of the Waikato Times.
Recovery of
Midnight
after hitting
one of the
bridge piers
at
Ngaruawahia
in 1969
The damage
after
Ngaruawahia
In 1962 Joe was transferred to the Aratiatia Dam Site and the family moved into the Aratiatia Village.
Joe and a mate (who he had worked with at Waipapa) were asked if they would like to do all the
scaffolding on the job. On one section they worked 28 hours non stop with the scaffolding following
up the continuous concrete pour on the surge chamber. During this time Joe also served with the
Aratiatia Volunteer Fire Brigade as Chief Fire Officer.
Midnight racing
against Polaris
driven by Ralph
Whitwell at Lake
Maraetai,
Mangakino in the
1960’s
Boat racing was fitted in as often as possible. In those days there was so much racing during the
season that Joe and family didn’t have to venture any further than Auckland in the North and Taupo in
the South. The “Christmas circuit” was the busiest on the race calendar – with 1st and 2nd of January
always at Karapiro and then the Blue Lake, Kawerau and Lake Maraetai followed. This was over a six
or seven day period. There was also racing on the Waikato River in front of the Ferrybank Building in
downtown Hamilton. At most regattas race placings were run on a points system and it was “pick of
the table” for a prize at the end of the day. Prize money was a bit of a rarity. In those days, boats
were launched first thing on arrival and stayed in the water until after the last race. It was a
continuous process all day of having to mop the boat out as water splashed in with the waves created
by boats going out and coming in. A good job for the kids.
The Mathieson family had now increased to six children and everyone was piled into the Chev along
with lunch, spare clothes, the umbrella, tools and tins of fuel.
In 1964 the family moved back to Paeroa into the house that Joe and Edna built. Joe returned to
work for Brenan and Company – picking up where he left off in 1952 – driving tankers. He was the
relieving driver for Paeroa and Mount Maunganui and carted diesel for the construction of the KopuHikuai Road. After two years driving he went into spare parts and managed this department for 24
years.
Joe was now a member of the Waikato Speedboat Club and most weekends in the summer was
dedicated to boat racing. Regattas and club days were generally held on Sunday’s, with Edna doing
the weekly baking on Saturday’s to make sure “the tins were always full”. Joe continued to race
Midnight for 16 years but unfortunately had to retire after suffering a heart attack on his 50th birthday in
1975. Midnight was sold to the oldest son of the Lewis family but was never raced again.
Racing on
the Wairoa
River just
out of
Bethlehem,
Tauranga
in the early
1970’s.
Note the
newer style
life jacket
Joe retired at age 65 in 1990 and also in that year Edna passed away at the age of 59. In Joe’s words
“altogether Edna and I were an item for 44 years - thirty eight years married and six years courting”.
During the 1970’s and 1980’s Joe’s three sons (twins Tony and Terry and youngest son Steve)
followed in his footsteps with two more boats being bought, raced and sold. These were raced under
the name Meridian. The third and current Midnight appeared in 1998 and once more brought all the
family back to racing.
Joe with
youngest son
Steve at the
current
Midnight’s first
race meeting in
November
1998. Very
fitting that it was
at Lake
Maraetai in
Mangakino
Joe passed away suddenly on Christmas morning in 2006 at age 81. He spoke often and fondly of
the great times and people he had met through boating. Joe’s later boating memories were of the
times shared at the Manawatu regattas following son Steve in Midnight and grandson Brody in
Meridian and the friendliness of the folk down there. He said it reminded him so much of the old days.
Our boating memories:
-
rides in the boat with Dad
the really cool playground at the Blue Lake, Rotorua
enormous crowds at Lake Karapiro
all 8 of us piling into the Chevvy to go racing
swims in the Blue Baths Rotorua
collecting the glass soft drink bottles at regattas and selling them back to the soft drink stand
for pocket money
“Le Mans” starts at Karapiro that involved drivers running down the bank and getting into their
boats
the huge life jackets the boaties used to wear
having to trek up the paspalem covered hill to the stinky long drop toilets at Lake D
the mud at Bottle Top Bay (Auckland)
Irvines family pies
listening to the music tapes Mum and Dad had put together for the Mangakino Boat Club “dos”
the swimming area at Mangakino with the pontoon in it
Dad hitting the bridge at Ngaruawahia
the boats – Air New Zealand, Polaris, the first Little Cracker, Trujen, Loopy Lou, Miss Print,
Road Runner, Belair, Miss Huntly and Allegro
the many good times shared with the Lewis family
thinking that hydroplanes were stupid – DUH!