2011 Naki Nut Buster land kiting Competition results.
29/1/11
Flexifoil Challenge Time Trial
Western Circuit Buggy points event
1st Thomas Martin 10 Points
2 Brett Cudby 6
3 Paul Crafar 4
4 David Plumtree 1st board
5 Perrin Melchior 3
6 Conrad Stephens 2
7 Deano Beano 1
8 Al Noblet
30/1/11
Taranaki Board Racing Championship
Western Circuit Board points event
1st David Plumtree 10 Points
2 Deano Beano 6
3 Dan Doom Spiegel 4
Long Jump
Board
1st David Plumtree 16m.60
Buggy
1st Perrin Melchior 8m.40
2 Al Noblet 5m 80
3 Thomas martin 2m 60
Restaurant Parking
Buggy
1st Al Noblet
2 Perrin Melchior
3 Thomas martin
4 Conrad Stephens
Board
1st Dan Doom Spiegel
Taranaki Buggy Racing Championship 1 hour Race.
Western Circuit Buggy and Board points event
1st Al Noblet 10 Points
2 Perrin Melchior 6
3 David Plumtree Board 10
4 Conrad Stephens 4
5 Thomas Martin 3
6 Paul Crafar 2
The 1st annual Naki Nut Buster board and buggy meet was held 29/30 January 2011 on Fitzroy Beach New Plymouth NZ. A beautiful location at the edge of the city with a motor camp beside the beach and a scenic panorama of the city and port with occasional glimpses of Taranaki Mountain .
With summer crowds on the beach and 2 surf clubs the buggy area was restricted to a 1 km stretch at the north end littered with large boulders and hemmed along the foreshore by a field of driftwood. It is a great place to ride but a certain amount of caution and common sense is required.
Paul Crafar had recently sacrificed 700 virgin goats when his boss downsized the farm and this bountiful offering was rewarded with oodles of wind. 30 – 40 knots with big gusts on Saturday and a nice 15 – 20+ on the Sunday. The big wind on the first day caused some issues early in the day with a few scary moments and some breakages and unexpected failures. Al's Hardwire system was ripped off his frame. Perrin had a line break only to snap back and injure his thumb. Plummet had a big scud between launching and landing some giant sausage of a de-power kite, Cudby landed on his head lofted by a wee peel and the rest all seemed to have some incident.
After a while it all settled down. A couple of flexi stacks handled it well and a super speed wing was passed around. Perrin and Al managed to get their 2 mtr quads running on 7mtr line sets and between that lot most people got in a half decent ride surrounded by hazards in 40 knot + winds.
The conditions prohibited any kind of full field race so racing was officially abandoned early in the day. By late afternoon the wind had lost a bit of its ferocity and a time trial was held. All riders used the same stack of 2 x 6’ flexi stackers around 2 laps of a very short course that was getting smaller with each wave of the in coming tide. It was a relatively fair race and earned the top 6 places Western Circuit points. Al and Deano crashed the stack, Plummet did pretty well with the board but Thomas Martin in only his second ever event took the win in fine style easily beating the rest of the field. After 10 years out of the seat Cudby came back for a well deserved 2nd and Crafar the most experienced man in the field with 32 years on the handles and 19 years in the seat took 3rd.
Saturday and conditions were perfect. 15 – 20+, nice angle and a bunch of riders ready to get some real riding in after the battering they took on Saturday. Kites and buggies appeared and the beach was ours.
The rule is that if 3 boards turn up there is a board race. 2 boards and the doom wheels fronted up for the Taranaki Board Champs. A 3 lap straight course, 2 flags 500 mtrs apart. Deano was complaining of a sore foot but hobbled to the start to line up with Dan doom and the local boy who was keen to claim the beach as his. The flag drops and Dan roars off into the distance leaving Pummet and Deano trailing at the first mark. The first squall of the day makes an appearance and the whole field is blown up the beach towards the driftwood. Dan is rolling on the ground and they all have to do a wee dance to get back on the hard. The wind shifts a wee bit and the boys have to tack in a big wind. Deano resorts to walking, Dan does his side step but Plummet manages to make his big wheels work and slowly makes his way back up to the mark. 2 more laps on a less than perfect course and Plummet is 2011 Taranaki Champ. Deano rolls in for 2nd and Dan takes points for 3rd. An epic race in a changeable wind with Plummet showing his class to take the win on his home beach.
Two shovels appeared out of Plummets car so the Martin boys and I dug a jump ramp. Which is handy as Plummet was keen on a long jump comp. And what a comp it was. 3 buggies and a board. Perrin is one of the most experienced buggy jumpers in the world. Al’s buggy weighs 60kgs, Thomas had never jumped a buggy before and had to improvise a seat belt and straps. The comp turned out to be a beauty. The wind swung again and the ramp was wrong but the buggies hit it anyway. Thomas got some air, Al’s 2nd jump was better that Perrin’s 2nd but on his first run Perrin launched his big moose buggy high and long for the Buggy win. Plummet made us all go WOW with a 16.6 mtr air to take the board and the Nucking futs trophy. No breakages, no injuries, lots of fun.
I found Plummets stash of tennis balls and started throwing them at people. I got my 3mtr up on its short lines and entered into the tag zone. Suddenly it was all on. 2 boards, doom wheels and a bunch of buggies mixing it up in a small area with 8 tennis balls and a simple aim of hurting your buddies. We were supposed to be counting but in the end it was a case of just pick it up and throw it and then avoid getting hit. Buggies are great as they have a nice ball holder between your legs and we are riding right by the ground. The boards had to hold the balls and their precious bits were a bit exposed. I think Plummet won but I got him good. Al got me twice in the same spot and Perrin just seemed like a machine gun. A series of tangles bought the game to a close. Lots of fun but don't play it with an angry man.
Restaurant parking is a game where you park in a parking space. Not so hard. You have to do a slide and change direction along the way but none of this stopped 4 guys from lining up for the first parking game since the Toast in 98. Al had been practicing this since Christmas and Perrin had done it before so Conrad and Thomas were up against it. So what do you do when the odds are against you. You hit it hard. Thomas just couldn't stop. Beautiful entry, into the box, the suddenly the kite grabs and he is out and rolling in the sand. Wet sand. Wet soggy sand everywhere. Thomas repeats this maneuver over and over and never really gets where he wants to be but you have to give it to the guy for trying. Conrad has a similar problem Lovely entry, all looking good and too much power. Fortunately he manages to get out of the box through a series of well executed reverse 180 tacks. Consistently close but not able to stop on demand. Perrin just sticks it time after time and gets closer and closer but it is Al who took it out with a slightly controversial final run.
Dan Doom represented the stand up boys and put in the only perfect run to take out the board. He may have been parking in a buggy space but he centered it perfectly. Plummet was hiding somewhere.
Yes I did put the box in the wettest bit of the beach and it made the photos look much better.
Finally we came down to it. The Feature. A 1 hour race with boards and buggies over a technical course for Western Circuit points. Plummet set the course and everyone was ready to go when Conrad had a bridle failure. A quick kite change saw him starting with an under size kite against some hot competition. The flag dropped and 6 riders headed on the fast down winder to the first mark. Perrin and Al would go around this flag 23 times before the end with the lead changing many times right up to the last mark. Plummet ran a very lonely race for 3rd earning himself 10 more points but also adding another notch on his bar. After 5 laps he asked if the race was over only to be told there were 40 minutes to go. Crafar retired after 2 laps and Thomas and Conrad fought for the minor points. Conrad was obviously hamstrung by his small kite and put in an amazing effort to get round the course in good time with very few mistakes to bring in 4th. Thomas had a couple of offs and wee bit of kite trouble and the race went away from him. Up the front the battle was fierce, The lead constantly changing. Al ended up covered in wet Taranaki sand and could only just see. Just when it seemed Perrin had it in the bag Al did a kamikaze run down to the first mark and managed to haul in a big lead and pass a the first mark only to lose it at the second mark . Perrin had an uncommon failure, stopped and blocked the last mark. Al muscled his enormous buggy through the gap and over Perrin's buggy and went on for a well deserved win. The Blur took it from the vapor. The depower came in 3rd and Conrad got through the hour.
There was a presentation of trophies and we all thanked Plummet for running a fine event.
Thomas Martin left as points leader.
If all goes well this will be an annual summer event.
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