A Wet & Noisy Easter- Part 2

Luckily we had a couple of fine days before Easter because we certainly didn’t see much sun over the long weekend. And little did we know when we arrived, that the lake was hosting a powerboat regatta over Saturday & Sunday and the boat ramp was closed to all other watercraft. Not that we would have gone fishing; all the fish would have been sent to the bottom of the lake in fright. This is becoming a bit of a habit, it’s now the second time we’ve gate-crashed a regatta, the other one was the Classic Boat Show at Lake Rotoiti. That would also explain why there were so many campers about and people fighting for space to set up their tents and motorhomes.

Unfortunately for the organisers and participants the heavens opened up on Friday evening and it rained solidly all night and into the morning when it became torrential, with rivers of water cascading through the camp. Our water collection container was filling in 5 minutes flat- that saved us a trip to the water tap. For the neighbours behind us, there was nothing for it but to hunker down with a stubby around the camp fire while the kids had a ball riding around and playing in the rain.

By early afternoon the rain had stopped and it was all go down on the foreshore.

A crane and digger were used to lift the bigger hydroplane boats into the water.

And then all hell broke loose. The noise, oh the noise- our poor ears! But what excitement.

There were some awesome looking machines out there.

This looks like a very expensive sport.

The best bit was actually how close to the shore they were as they raced past. A thrilling spectacle.

Mrs Frosty Boy did a roaring trade even with the odd shower passing through.

And then it was the turn of the pocket rockets, the Formula One hydroplanes.

More noise and more excitement, these guys can turn on a penny. I was waiting for one to flip they turned at such a tight angle.

The turning marker buoy was right out front of the spectators, the bigger boats had used the island as the turning point.

Once the F1s had been seeded they then raced by starting directly off the beach, after being held steady by supporters.

On ignition the boats burst out of the blocks at near full speed.

And then there were the little guys; the Clubmans & Juniors.

Well they were little boats, some of the guys weren’t so little.

The rain held off for the rest of the afternoon with just a couple of passing showers. Sunday dawned sunny and we decided we’d go for a drive to explore while it was fine. And to escape the noise. There’s only so much you can take when you’re not watching the races- a few of the campers were here just for the break, like us, unaware that the racing was on. I bet they wished they'd picked a different lake.

We returned late afternoon to find the racing still in full swing with a lot more spectators. A sunny holiday afternoon brings out the Sunday drivers.

We watched some of the last races from our door.

Monday morning dawned overcast and the rain set in again by mid-morning. Most had packed and left before it started although a few had to struggle packing up wet tents & wet kids in the heavy rain.

And then they were gone, the only evidence of an action packed weekend were the overflowing bins…

….and the rained filled tire tracks. At least some of the local residents were pleased with the outcome.

And then we were back to being on our own again. And we’re still waiting for some sun, overnight the rain was non-stop torrential, the noise on the roof deafening and it’s rained on and off all day. The mist and cloud sit low around the lake and it’s pretty miserable but we’ll sit it out for a day or two, there’s not much point moving when it’s like this all along the Coast.