By 8am., drivers were deep in concentration at the briefing, mulling over course conditions. Day 4 racing would consist of four races, each 40km in length. The first and third starting out at Thomsons Landing and finishing at Dipton, while the second and fourth were the return legs. The river was challenging. As Roger Preston warned, “little shelves [are] sticking out everywhere to catch you.” Crossing those surging pressure waves would demand precision and, as he put it, “keeping about the right pedal” to avoid flameouts.
Pre-Race Prep: Repairs, Weather Woes, and Last-Minute Gambles
The night before saw its fair share of repair frenzies. Ant Holland had his engine out, tweaking every bolt to silence a mysterious knock.
Canadian Gord Humphrey’s fuel controller failure had ended his run. Dale Whiteside remained as the sole Canadian representative, holding the Maple Leaf high. As dawn crept over Southland’s chill, the teams huddled in Thomsons Landing, bracing for four teeth-rattling legs up and down the river.
By the first start at 9am, a cold but eager crowd watched from the river’s edge, with spectators advised to keep off the Winton bridge for better views further upstream. The boats roared to life, kicking up spray and charging upriver, waves breaking off their sides as they navigated the treacherous, narrow course.
Morning Run – Racing Woes on the Oreti
Early on, the Oreti claimed its first victim: Roger Preston. Mid-downstream-leg, the throttle on his boat’s spring gave out, forcing him to ride the throttle with his heel—a risky maneuver on the twisting course. Not content with just that issue, he faced a flameout too. The result? A costly few minutes lost, pushing him down from his lead. By midday, he was trailing Andrew Scott and Justin Hill.
For Andrew Scott, it was smooth (well, relatively speaking) racing. With a consistent pace, Scott was proving unstoppable, his turbine boat handling the lumpy river with a calm precision.
Final Legs and the Need for a Vice Grip
Midday updates came with fresh chaos. In true jet boat fashion, it wasn’t a day on the Oreti without a few fast fixes. Andrew Scott’s crew, in a rush to get back on course for the final legs, had to reattach a wing that was missing its bolt, resorting to crescent wrenches and vice grips in a frenzy of last-minute repairs.
Roger Preston was gunning to claw back precious seconds, hoping to snag his second consecutive title. But it wasn’t to be. The Oreti, ever merciless, gave no quarter. With each turn and each surge of the throttle, it was clear Andrew Scott and Hamish Toovey’s steady performance would be too much to overcome.
When the spray finally settled and engines died down, Scott and Toovey claimed the crown with an overall time of 3:04:34, followed less than one minute behind by a disappointed but gritty Roger Preston at 3:05:19. Justin Hill, ever the underdog, locked in third with a solid 3:12:10. Southland had once again reminded the competitors: you’re not the winner till you’ve crossed the line.
The Final Standings: A Nod to the Victors and Survivors
As the results came in, the exhausted teams huddled, congratulating each other in a mix of camaraderie and relief. Behind the top three, Tom Kelly clocked in just 20 seconds after Hill, with Adam Wilton rounding out the top five. For the Canadians, Dale Whiteside managed to finish in seventh, an achievement in itself on the relentless Oreti.
The 2024 Golden Homes Jet Boat Marathon may be remembered for its highs and lows, but this much is certain: no one walks away from any of the Golden Homes Jet Boat Marathon rivers unscathed, and for the teams that finished, each second on that final day was hard-won. Whether it was an 8-degree chill, a wayward throttle spring, or the gravelly shelves just beneath the river’s surface, today’s racing on the great Oreti River demanded every ounce of skill and courage. And the racers, in return, gave it their all.
