Classic boat enthusiasts warm up for the Southern 80

Ms Reardon is part of the North Coast Speedboat Classics and helps to organise small races in different parts of the country. This is the third time the group has travelled to the Southern 80.

“It’s become a feature as a lead-up to the Southern 80. This is our third year of doing it, and it’s getting more and more well-known now,” she said.

“The organisers of the Southern 80 get behind us, which is great.”

As part of their Southern 80 celebrations, the group raced from Victoria Park to Wills Bend last Sunday, where they then enjoyed a picnic lunch together.

“We pulled up there for a beautiful picnic lunch on that sandy beach there, and we were able to all congregate under the shade of the tree there,” Ms Reardon said.

Ms Reardon said the group had a lot of members who used to compete in races like the Southern 80 and now like to take part in this event.

“My husband got into restoring old speedboats, and we thought, wouldn’t it be nice to have a run somewhere with somebody else in an old boat? And when we looked around, there wasn’t anybody doing it,” she said.

“Many of them are race blokes who were racing boats back in the 70s and are past racing. They don’t want to risk themselves or their boats anymore, but they still want to get out on the river and have fun.

“The boats have got to be 30 years or older, and most of them have even got the old motors as well.”

Ms Reardon said the whole group couldn’t wait to make a return trip.

“We’ll certainly be back here next year and doing it again. It worked out well to do it the Sunday before, so we’ll do the same thing again next year,” she said.