Whitianga Festival of Speed: Big Boat race - Two for McGill??

8:49 AM Wed 24 Mar 2010 GMT

'Riviera skippered by Bruce McGill' Whitianga Festival of Speed

Was Bruce McGill a one show wonder or will he be able to uphold Riviera's reputation and repeat the 2009 Whitianga Festival of Speed big boat race win?

The word around the docks is that he is quietly shivering in his sea boots, knowing the competition may have got his measure this time.

Will Troy Woods ('Would if he could' ) and Grant Senior be able to get their navigation sorted out and take advantage of the Formula's great turn of speed to take line honours?

Last year they should have taken a comfortable second place but their tender had a mind of its own and undertook a few circles before the crew managed to get control of the tiller.

Formula Icon 52 in a tight corner - Whitianga Festival of Speed

Will the upstart, Dean Salthouse upstage them all in his Next Generation speed machine? He has plenty to say and a reputation to create, given he was the prime mover in establishing the big boat event.

Rumour has it that he is attempting to attach a 50hp outboard to his tender and take out the LeMaans style start and finish.

Will Don Senior and the Maritimo brand uphold this famous Aussie based boat builder's reputation as the big name in power boat racing? Last year the brand was elsewhere to be found, but we are informed, it will not want to see Riviera steal the show again.

Riviera streaks across the finish line - Whitianga Festival of Speed

The big boat sprint is a unique Whitianga Festival of Speed event which will take place around the middle of the day on Saturday April 10.

It will feature a LeMans style start and finish. To make things even more exciting, tenders will be replaced by Thunder Cats in the 2010 event.

Whitianga Festival of Speed - Whitianga Festival of Speed

Organisers expect a big crowd of close to 30,000 spectators will be lining the beach and surrounding vantage points.

If you would like to register your boat please email paul@hoppers

Festival details are available on www.whitiangafos.com

by Paul Shanahan

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Whitianga Festival of Speed: Big Boat race - Two for McGill??

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