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March 2009

Jack, 51, of Melbourne and Callan, 29, of Bundaberg,Queensland, were driver and navigator in the speed-boat Grumpy Mongrel travelling about 140 km/hwhen the crash happened during the AustralianPowerboat Championships.

It was believed the boat reacted to a cruiser-wave,which caused the vessel to dig its nose in beforespinning out of control and catapulting both men intothe water.

Jack suffered a broken right ankle and Callan smallfractures to his spine, a cracked eye socket and blackeye. Both were expected to make a full recovery.

The race was abandoned after the crash with placingsawarded according to the order of field last across thefinish line - which turned out that Grumpy Mongrelwas in third place.

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7th - 8th Feb ~ The Australian Offshore Powerboats Championship

Hans Kawitzki

Heather Hartkamp

Heather Hartkamp

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The big boats took to the waters of Corio Bay and was almost marred by tragedy as Peter Jack and James Callanhad a brush with death in a high-speed boat crash.

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The 2009 Geelong Highland Gathering was held onthe Labour Day long weekend at Queens Park.

Lots to see and do. There were highland dancers ofcourse, massed pipe bands, some medieval mayhem,the heavy games, haggis hurling, lots of tartan, evenan owner/scottish dog breed lookalike contest!

8th March ~ Geelong Highland Gathering

Lisa Kenny

Lisa Kenny

Lisa Kenny

Lisa Kenny

Olympian, Scott Martin. Photo: Di Schoe

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13th March ~ Avalon Airshow - Geelong

Avalon Airshow 2009 hit the region and if you didn’tmake it, you would have at least heard it, no matterwhere you were.

Despite all things aviation on display, there was timefor the quirky, such as the jet driven “MAD” truck andnot forgetting, the showcase, a modern take on ahuman-piloted, high-tech, flying backpack firstdeveloped for the US Army in the 1960s.

Newly improved by a Denverentrepreneur, the Go FastJet Pack is made fromcarbon-fibre aluminumalloys and other

w e i g h t - s a v i n gmaterials, which can lift a pilot almost 80m off theground and stay airborne for more than 30 seconds.

As the aircraft industry heads towards the future, inmilitary terms with the F/A18 Super Hornets, this wasthe last airshow displaying Australia's own RAAFworkhorses, the F-111s, the last “Dump & Burn”brought a tear to the eye of the “big kids”.

Qantas got to show off their newest commercial bigguns, the Qantas Airbus A380 and the newinternational carrier, Boeing 777-300ER.

The Airbus A380 is the world’s biggest passengerairliner, with a double deck, wide body and fourengines. Qantas has three of the aircraft in service andanother 17 on order.

The 777’s inaugural commercial flight to Los Angeleswas last month.

For the adrenaline junkies, triple World UnlimitedAerobatics Champion Nikolay Timofeev performed inAustralia for the first time.

The Russian is credited as one of the engineers whohelped change the image and limits of modernaerobatics and brought along his single seat Sukhoi SU26 to entertain the gallery.

Photo: John Conway

Lisa Kenny

John Conway

Lisa Kenny

Oh Oh! the Sukhoi has lost an aileron

The jet driven “MAD” truck

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Lisa Kenny

Lisa Kenny Lisa Kenny

Jane Keats

The cloud which had cast a gloomy shadow over themorning seemed to disperse as the super loud F/A-18Super Hornets ripped through the skies above theAvalon Airshow. The Royal Australian Air Force aerialspectacular, in their close formation flying, sped abovethe crowd that had turned up in droves, despite therainfall that had fallen.

As grenades were dropped, the awesome fire bomb matchedthe sound of the display.

With the ground secured and the enemy defeated, the BlackHawks returned to carry their men to safety.

An enactment from the Australian Army’sBlack Hawk helicopters, helped create ascenario of a military operation, transferringsoldiers down to the ground, where they tookon an imaginary enemy.

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Dave Miller

Jane Keats John Conway

Neil BoucherDi Schoe

Next was the US military’s turn and not to be outdone a display from the B1-B Bombers, F-16 Falcon jet fighterand C-5A Galaxy were set loose to greet the crowd gathered.

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The Super Constellation or the “Connie” as she is better known as, takes off at the Avalon Airshow

The C-17 Globemaster banks at the 2009 International Airshow at Avalon.

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Chris Moore

John Conway

The “Go Fast” Jet Pack

At this year Avalon Airshow, a number of GTers went along, from Gold PassMembers, to the cheap seats next to the highway, and that covered the full rangefrom what was on offer. A number of the Group got their photos published in theGeelong Advertiser, and well done to them we all say.

In no particular order, Chris Moore, Allen Gray, Peter Redmond and Jane Keats allmanaged exposure for their photography, well done!

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Torquay surf beach

The Torquay area is famous for its surf beaches, with Jan Jucand the world famous Bells Beach located on the town’ssouth-west outskirts. It was home to the popular OffshoreFestival in the late 1990s. Many of the world’s most famoussurf companies have their home in Torquay, including RipCurl, Piping Hot and Quiksilver - all of which make up part ofthe Surf Coast Plaza, which provides shopping and eating, aswell as the Surfworld Museum. Torquay’s population usuallytriples in the period January to the end of February, whenthe school holidays end.

Bells and the surrounding area are a rural surfing communitylargely responsible for the birth of the surf industry andprofessional surfing as we know it. It’s named after thefamily who first took ownership of the land for farming purposes. George “Ming” Smith won the first contest, alocal, grassroots affair, held at Bells in January of 1961, and the one-pound prize made this the first recordedprofessional surfing event. The event was later rescheduled for the Easter weekend and was officially named theBells Beach Classic, and is more recently known as the Rip Curl Pro. Why not pop along this Easter weekend.

Torquay

This month we take a look at a place,not far from the city of Geelong,Torquay.

Torquay, often referred to as the“gateway to the Great Ocean Road”,it is bordered on the west by SpringCreek and its coastal features includePoint Danger and Zeally Bay.

Wathaurong Aborigines occupied thearea before white settlement, withpicnickers beginning to frequent thearea from the 1860s. The area wassettled as Spring Creek in 1871,named after the watercourse alongthe south-western edge. In 1880more settlers moved to the town, andit was renamed Torquay in 1892 afterthe seaside town in England. The PostOffice opened on 20 August 1894and on April 3 1908 the Spring Creekbridge was built, thus connecting thetown to Anglesea.

In 1891 the Joseph H. Scammellsailing ship struck the reef near PointDanger in Torquay and subsequently became wedged on the reef and as a result the ship broke up in the heavyseas. The cargo of the Scammell was washed onto the beach of Torquay and was looted, the anchors of theScammell are still on display at the Torquay front beach and the Torquay boat ramp.

The town once had 145 bathing boxes on the main beach. In 1946 the Torquay Surf Life Saving Club was formed,opening their current clubrooms in 1971 after the previous one burnt down. Today it is the oldest and largest clubin Victoria.

A future Bells Beach Champ in the making?

Lisa Kenny

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Round 1 of The 2009 Formula 100 Titan Series was hosted by Geelong Kart Club, with a total of six rounds to berun. There was excitement aplenty with tight turns and break neck straights.

The Barwon River once again held court to a rowing regatta, this time it was the turn of the Schoolgirls.

The regatta was being used to promote the interests of Schoolgirl rowing in Victoria.

14th March ~ 100 Titan Series / Gokarting

21-22 March ~ Head of the Schoolgirls Regatta

Lisa Kenny

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What’s On The Throng

4th - 5th April ~ Geelong Challenge Triathlon

10th April ~ Queenscliff Seafood Feast

12th April ~ 34th Australian Van Nationals and Car Show

18 - 19 April ~ Australian F1 Superboats Grand Prix

25 - 28 April ~ Geelong Camera Club Exhibition

See the forum for more details and any added dates of new events

April 2009

It was a beautiful day at the historic Pirra Homestead,and the festival was a showcase of Lara and districtfood, wine and produce.

A cooking demonstration by celebrity chef GabrielGaté was featured and there was also a special guestappearance by Getaway’s Catriona Rowntree.

The thousands that went, got to taste the mouth-watering array of produce, all from our regions bestgourmet food and wine producers.

There was food, wine and friends, what more can youask for, a date worthwhile marking in next year’scalendar.

22nd March ~ Lara Food & Wine Festival

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Many thanks to the following photo contributors.Neil Boucher, Heather Hartkamp, Hans Kawitzki, Jane Keats, Lisa Kenny, Dave Miller, Chris Moore, Di Schoe, Peter Redmond, Jared Revell, Luka

Skracic, John Conway

Di Schoe

Di Schoe

Di Schoe