REPCO BEACH HOP POSTPONED UNTIL NOVEMBER

As you will all be well aware by the time you’re reading this, Repco Beach Hop 20 did not go ahead as planned 25–29 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the event has been postponed until 25–29 November 2020, where the 20th anniversary celebrations are hoped to go ahead as planned, as well as our annual Beach Hop Special.

Organizers released the following statement via social media in regard to the postponement: “After careful consideration of the COVID-19 situation and discussions with the DHB and Ministry of Health, we have decided to postpone Repco Beach Hop 20 until 25–29 November 2020. We hope that the virus pandemic will be more controlled over the next [eight] months so we can celebrate our 20th year of this wonderful event. “More details for entrants about how this will work will follow in due course, so please don’t throw away your entry packs in the meantime. We plan to roll everything over to these new dates including the prize vehicles.

“We have taken our time to evaluate the options and considered what is best for our community to make the right decision. Each and every major event has a different dynamic, and people must try to understand what goes on behind the scenes when making critical decisions in very stressful circumstances. You simply cannot compare one event to another.

“First and foremost, we treasure the town we live in and want to protect the people that live here and not put them at risk. We’ve been looking to the central government for leadership to guide us in making this decision.

“We appreciate the damaging effect on the economy both national and local and feel for the businesses that rely on the festival to survive. No doubt they’ve invested heavily in the event and we hope they will recover from this unforeseen hit. We are in exactly the same situation as we’ve invested hundreds of thousands of dollars, and long hours, into Repco Beach Hop 20. If we can’t recover this, then the future of the event is in serious jeopardy. On behalf of the Repco Beach Hop 20 Committee, I wish you all the very best and hope you look after your health, your family, friends, and community through this crisis.”

At RNZAF Base Ohakea, Sergeant Dean Hart has broken both the flying mile and flying kilometre land speed records driving his turbine-propelled drag car — earning him the Castrol Trophy, which has been held by Owen Evans since 1996, for his efforts. To set the record, the car had to run in both directions within an hour to take account of any wind factor, the times then being averaged for a final figure. On the first run, Hart clocked 213.258mph over the flying mile and 324.646kph (201.731mph) for the flying kilometre, both falling just short of the previous records. The second run in the opposite direction was where the magic happened: he clocked in at 251.046mph and 402.280kph (249.972mph), respectively. The times were averaged out, to set the records at 232.152mph for the flying mile and 363.463kph (225.852mph) for the flying kilometre. Owen Evans set the flying-mile record at 216.385mph in 1996, while Eddie Freeman has held the flying kilometre at 355.485kph (220.894mph) since 2012. During the runs, Hart reached a top speed of 458kph (285mph).

Hart achieved his feat after spending 12 years on the project. He commented afterwards, “That’s me done for land-speed-record attempts.”

Thanks to the efforts from a convoy of cars that travelled from Orewa to Ardmore Airport on 1 March as part of the Hibiscus Rodders Club’s annual Rodders Beach Festival, a substantial cheque was able to be handed over to the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust (ARHT). Totalling $70K, the donation was $10K more than last year’s record-breaking $60K donation and a massive increase over the event’s first donation back in 2010, where it raised $3750. The ARHT’s general manager of marketing and fundraising, John Hooper, accepted the cheque on their behalf. Thanking the Hibiscus Rodders Club, he said that he had entered the club in the 2019 New Zealander of the Year Community section because of the good work it does in raising funds for rescues. With the help of donations such as those made by the Hibiscus Rodders Club and others, the trust has been able to not only move to new purpose-built premises at Ardmore Airport but also purchase two new helicopters that improve response time.

If you’d like to help fund the next rescue, go to rescuehelicopter.org.nz, or, to make a $3 donation, text ‘chopper’ to 8663.