IT will be an action-packed weekend for Mount Gambier’s Nick Neave and Anthony Tos, when they contest the first two rounds of the Riverland Dinghy Club’s 2019 championship series in Renmark.
Tomorrow afternoon will see the Dash 4 Cash event kick off the racing in the 10th anniversary of the series, before Sunday’s main event puts teams to the test in the 39th annual Dinghy Derby.
The Blue Lake city mates debuted in the adrenaline-fuelled sport of dinghy derby last year, when they built a boat and made their first appearance in the round-five enduro event in September, returning home with some positive results.
With the initial construction and design based on images of other boats, the two have come a long way since, having raced in round six of the series as well, with several alterations to the boat.
Tos and Neave said they are once again under-prepared, with no time to test out the most recent changes to the craft, but are confident they should be competitive.
“We have some new bits to try that we have not had time to test again because they only rocked up Monday,” Neave said.
“But that’s alright, we’ll do what we normally do and just wing it.
“It seems to be when we do our best.
“When we try to do a bit of testing and everything, it all turns bad.”
One of these “bad” runs came just two weeks ago, when they travelled to Renmark for a practice session on the course.
“We made some good changes and we thought we were on the right track,” Tos said.
“Then we went all the way to Renmark and realised what we did to the boat was completely the wrong way and we should not have done what we did.
“So we spent two days in Renmark and instead of going through the creeks, we spent it working on the boat in 42 degree heat.”
Tos added if it were not for him the boat would have been left at the bottom of the river, with Neave less than impressed with the outcome of what was supposed to be their opportunity to learn the course.
“Nick had the biggest dummy spit I have ever seen,” Tos joked.
“If it was not for me the boat would still be on the bottom of the River Murray, Nick was going to sink it, he had absolutely had enough.
“But we pulled through, I gave him a couple of Zooper Doopers and he slowly come good.”
Tos also voiced the frustrations of having to undo all the changes, which included alterations to the hull shape, as well as motor height and angle.
“Basically we were making changes to the boat we thought were going to be good, but were really bad,” he said.
“All that little stuff makes a big difference.”
To add to the turmoil of the practice, they had their biggest crash yet, after colliding with a boat which was pulled off a bank as they rounded the bend.
But with that drama now behind them, they have made further changes and are confident they should be on the pace this weekend.
“We have asked a couple of questions now and got a few ideas,” Neave said.
“We still have not tested it yet, but we are hoping what we have done now will make a big difference.”
Entries for the event have been received from all over Australia, with many from the Western Australian Power Boat Racing Club, as well as a team entry from both Mongolia and Canada.
The Dash 4 Cash will kick off the weekend tomorrow afternoon, with 112 entries across the various classes.
Neave and Tos will contest the 30hp standard category and said tomorrow’s race should be a “bit of fun” before the main event on Sunday.
“The Dash 4 Cash is in the afternoon and it will go into the night hopefully, if we are still upright,” Tos said.
“We will hopefully go decent because we do not have to think about where we are going and worry about logs because it’s on the open river.”
Sunday’s main event will be the Dinghy Derby, which will see a larger field of around 126 take to the more challenging course over several laps.
“Sunday is all through the creeks and a bit of open river as well,” Tos said.
“It is long distance and you have to know how many laps you are doing and how many laps you have done.
“And we do not even know the track.
“We have been through the creeks, but we do not know the course.
“It will be a little bit of a mind game as well as trying to go fast.”
Previously, lack of speed on the straights was the only downfall, with Neave and Tos eager to test their current changes and see how they square up against the opposition on the weekend.
“If we get there and we are faster on the straights, we should – fingers crossed – be competitive,” Neave said.
“Our aim is top five.
“Obviously you want to win, but the people who live up there, you have no real chance of beating them.”
There is no denying the duo is hooked on the sport, with the thrill of the ride along with simply “getting out and about” the major drawcards.
With the confidence gained from their first attempt egging them along, the pair is keen to put themselves to the test again against some strong competition.
“We wish we had a bit more time to get stuff ready, but it is a bit hard, we both have things to do,” Neave said.
“We have done all the work we can, so once we get there we can just relax and enjoy.
“Hopefully we can get it done.”
