Sixty years of history for the 80

The first day’s racing involved competitors starting at Echuca and going to Torrumbarry Weir, then returning to Echuca and continuing upstream through Barmah, Tocumwal and finishing at Yarrawonga.

On the second day, competitors retraced their steps to complete the arduous event.

The number of competitors was between 18 and 47.

Between 1967 and 1974 the Victorian Water Ski Association took over the running of the Southern 50 (mile) race, which started at Torrumbarry and finished at Echuca.

The race was originally known as the Southern 50 because of the imperial measurement and was raced in May as part of VWSA’s point score circuit.

The race was changed to its current summer timetable following the 1971 race which was marred by wet weather.

In 1975, the recently formed Moama Water Ski Club took over the running of the Southern 50 and the event was renamed the Southern 80.

There were 47 boats entered, and the winner was Suicide II.

The Tack took out the 1979 Southern 80, finishing in 41:45.

Skiing behind The Tack was 17-year-old Craig Beehag, while his brother Tony Beehag was the observer.

The 1980 Southern 80 went to Violator.

Powered by a 454 Chev, the boat finished the race in a new record time of 40:33.

The 1984 Southern 80 was without doubt the closest in history, with Ted Hurley’s new boat Rolco VI winning in a time of 40:30.

It defeated Aquaholic by a mere 0.06 of a second.

Lester Freemantle’s Moonshot won the 1985 Southern 80 in a time of 39:11.

Rolco, owned and driven by Murray Price, took out the 1986 Southern 80 in a new record time of 36:18, slicing nearly two minutes off the 1982 race record.

The 1987 Southern 80 was engulfed in tragedy with the death of 19-year-old Ashley French.

He hit a submerged snag at Willis’ Bend while skiing in under 19s.

The 1989 Southern 80 went to local entry Island Cooler in a new record time of 35:03.

The boat was driven by Dennis Rowbottom, with Leo Welch observing and Jamie Oliver and Mark Pickering skiing.

In 1990, the Southern 80 was held over two days for the first time, with the introduction of the Bakers’ Blitz.

On Sunday, Island Cooler managed to take back-to-back victories, this time towing Jamie Oliver and Damien Matthews.

Their time of 34:18 was a race record.

The 1992 Southern 80 went to the under 19 competitors Thundernuts, breaking the race record with a time of 33:34.

North Queensland’s Gotta be Crazy took out the 1993 Southern 80, winning in 33:48.

It became the first boat to win both the Bakers’ Blitz and the Southern 80 outright.

The 1995 Southern 80 was dominated by God’s Gift, driven by Graham Ritchie, with Stuart Thomas observing and Jamie Oliver and Nathan Glynn skiing.

They broke records in both the Bakers’ Blitz and Southern 80, setting a record time of 32:38.

In the 1996 Southern 80, Gotta be Crazy managed to take five seconds off the record time, finishing the race in 32:33.

God’s Gift did it again in 1998, winning both the Bakers’ Blitz and the Southern 80.

Towing Jamie Oliver and Stephen Robertson, they finished in 32:02 — the then race record.

Showdown won the 1999 Southern 80 in a time of 32:50.

The 2000 Southern 80 heralded a new era in water ski racing, with a massive 465 entries.

Top Shot recorded a convincing Bakers’ Blitz win and started as favourite in Sunday’s superclass race.

With 80km of clear water ahead of it, the Top Shot team, towing Jamie Graziano and Justin Cadden, scorched down the course, smashing the 1998 outright record set by God’s Gift.

For owner and driver Tony McLeod and observer Errol Thurgar, the time of 31:23 was just reward after years of trying to conquer the mammoth course.

Twin-rig outboard Showdown finished second, ahead of The Sting.

Several NSW-based teams flexed their muscles in 2001, dominating the Southern 80.

Stinga powered home to take out the Bakers’ Blitz, but after an error in its paperwork, the team was penalised by one minute, making Lester Freemantle’s Moonshot the official winner.

The Sting backed up its third placing from 2000 to take out superclass in a time of 31:57, followed by reigning champion Top Shot in 32:12 and Showdown in 32:40.

After months of tireless work, the 2002 Southern 80 was finally held in April after being hampered by insurance troubles.

Entries were down 20 per cent, but the love for the sport of water ski racing and the event shone through with 330 entries lodged.

Mark Cranny began what is now one of the most prolific runs of success in the sport, steering Hellrazor and skiers Steve Rowe and Justin Cadden to Bakers’ Blitz victory in 6:51, ahead of Stinga.

In superclass, Cranny backed up Saturday’s win to take out the race in 32:33.

Showdown was second in a time of 33:09, while God’s Rival, sporting the motor of former ski racing powerhouse God’s Gift, came third.

After an eventful 2002 event, the 2003 race was back on its feet in February with a strong number of entries.

Greg Houston’s Stinga took out the blitz ahead of The Sting and Blown Budget, but was unable to emulate his speed and consistency in Sunday’s main event.

Ski racing legend Mick Dominguez won his first Southern 80 since Thundernuts’ 1992 win when he drove Blown Budget to victory in 31:42, with sons Tim (observer) and Brett (skiing) and longtime family friend Steve Morley also skiing.

The Axe finished close behind in second place, while The Syndicate was third.

About 300 entries were received for the 2004 race, but another strong event was held none the less.

Stinga made it back-to-back blitz victories, finishing ahead of The Syndicate and The Axe.

On Sunday, Kelvin Black split the field apart in The Axe to take out superclass.

Hellrazor was second and Queenslander Gary Holzwart’s Special Edition, third.

The 2005 Southern 80 set the ball rolling and was a pivotal point in the event’s modern history, with more than 400 entries received.

The Syndicate cemented its position as the most consistent Bakers’ Blitz performer, winning the shoot-out ahead of Dominguez’s Blown Budget and Stinga.

Cranny returned with a new set-up — a superclass hull and turbo 500ci Chev — and towed skiers Daniel Campbell and Steve Rowe to victory in Sunday’s main race, ahead of The Axe and The Syndicate.

The event continued in leaps and bounds in 2006, with 475 entries — beating the record set in 2000.

Hellbent came through and won the Bakers’ Blitz ahead of The Syndicate and Stinga on Saturday, before Cranny and his crew well and truly stamped their authority on the sport to take out Sunday’s big race almost a minute quicker than the previous year.

Stinga was right on their tail and came through in second place, while Gary Holzwart, driving new boat Wildfire, was third.

Synonymous with being an eventful occasion, the 2007 event did not disappoint.

An unrelated incident which saw two social ski boats collide, caused the Moama Water Sports Club to shorten the course for Sunday’s race.

A new start line at Deep Creek Marina was established.

Saturday saw Hellbent win the blitz ahead of Stinga and Col McQuinn’s Chief. Stinga eventually cracked its maiden Southern 80 superclass victory, towing Chris Gelle and Jason Walmsley.

Hellbent was second and Chief close behind in third place.

For many of the event’s supporters, it was no surprise to see Hellbent dominate the 2008 event.

A total of 568 entries were received, with most finishing the course unscathed.

In the blitz, Hellbent finished ahead of Gassa and Noel Griffin’s new boat, Blazen.

Hellbent went back-to-back, towing former Stinga skiers Chris Gelle and Jason Walmsley to victory in a record-smashing time of 30:43.

No-one could have predicted the scorching temperatures and vicious weather of the second weekend in February 2009.

With the mercury tipping close to 50C on Saturday, teams found it tough, but soldiered through the extreme conditions.

Entries were slightly down, with 550 entries and 285 boats across 37 classes.

Blazen equalled Hellbent’s 2008 blitz time of 6:50, speeding home from Five Mile boat ramp ahead of The Syndicate and local boat The Mistress.

Due to the unforeseen circumstances of the Black Saturday bushfires, racing was called off shortly before the running of the superclass, meaning no winner was recorded.

Mark Cranny reaffirmed himself as a king of the Murray at the 2010 Southern 80, after steering Hellrazor to victory.

Starting from third position with observer Damian Matthews and skiers Jason Walmsley and Peter Procter, they smashed their 2008 record of 30:43 to win in 30:32.

Noel Griffin Racing’s Blazen and Burnin finished second and third respectively.

It was the fifth outright win for Cranny and Team Hell since 2002 — and signified the start of a period of domination for them.

The Bakers’ Blitz was won by The Syndicate, who smashed the 2006 record by Hellbent by eight seconds to finish in 6:34.

The 2011 event had to overcome many obstacles to take to the water, but it eventually did.

The race had to be postponed to April after heavy rainfall caused floods in Rochester earlier that year.

The Barrie Beehag ski race, which had been transferred to Lake Cooper in February, was also cancelled after choppy weather conditions made racing impossible, with one boat sinking.

Despite the delay to mid-April, it did not stop Mark Cranny and Hellrazor as his team came from behind for the second time in as many years to win the Southern 80 in 30:58.

Blitz winner Blazen, driven by Noel Griffin, suffered burns after his boat caught fire five minutes into the race as two other boats failed to finish and three did not start.

Cranny and Hellrazor continued their run with the double in 2011 — winning the blitz and superclass — to steer the boat to victory in 30:37.

They were clear winners from The Syndicate and Top Gun.

Cranny and Team Hell won their fourth straight title in 2013, with the old crew of Cranny, Matthews, Walmsley and Procter again reigning supreme, finishing the course in 30:36.

The crew also cleaned up the double in the blitz for the second year in a row and finished the big event 65 seconds clear of 99 Psycho Clowns.

Team Hell’s winning superclass run came to an end in the 2014 Southern 80, with 99 Psycho Clowns team of Daniel McMahon and skiers Steve Berry and Mick Kelly pipping Hellrazor by one second in superclass.

They finished in 33:07, with wind gusts wreaking havoc on the water.

However, Wild Thing became the first boat from outside superclass to win the overall event in more than 20 years, as the unlimited inboard expert team of Andy Smith, Peter Thompson, Jared Coey and Justin Cadden finished the event in 32:57, 10 seconds faster than 99 Psycho Clowns.

On the Saturday, Hellrazor smashed the blitz record by more than eight seconds to finish in 6:25.90, more than 24 seconds faster than the second-placed 99 Psycho Clowns.

Hellrazor regained its crown in 2015, becoming the first team to finish the 80 in under 30 minutes, recording 29:43.22 with team members Cranny, Matthews, Proctor and Walmsley dominating the race once again.

The run of five Hellrazor wins in six 80s gave way to an emotional victory for The Mistress, local driver Leo Welch paying homage to his son Jai, who died during a race in Robinvale the previous year.

Leo’s son Zac got on the skis for the last time in honour of his brother, moving into the driver’s chair for future races.

The all-local team, featuring observer Brian Griffin, and other skier Dylan Stevenson, took out the race in a time of 30:23.60.

The 2016 race saw the debut of future world champion Leilani Cartledge who took out the under-10 category.

The event was marred by a death on the water after a ski rope snapped, skier Kevin Vahtrick unable to be revived by emergency services.

The Mistress looked as if it may go back to back in 2017 after winning the Baker’s Blitz, but Merc Force stormed home in 31:10.18 to edge the defending champion by eight seconds.

Merc Force came from so far back in the running order, 16th, that The Mistress’ crew had already given a winner’s interview to The Riv before the title was taken from them.

Driver Don Gulley steered Merc Force home, alongside observer Kevin Boylan, while Kristopher Knights and Jake Tegart skied behind the boat.

A second death in as many years once again put a sour note on proceedings, driver David Morabito killed after being flung from his boat which flipped after hitting an air pocket.

After doing it as an underdog, Merc Force repeated the feat as the favourite in 2018, racing the second fastest time in the event’s history to that point, 30:08.56.

The same four team members repeated their feat from 12 months earlier to defend their overall crown.

The Mistress again looked to be in position to challenge Merc Force, starting in second behind the winner in pole, but the local boat dropped a skier near Merool.

The race record would be smashed the following year as TR took out the 2019 edition of the 80 in a rapid 29:22.28.

Driver Ian Tricker and observer Nathan Miller were joined by skiers Reece Simmonds and Raymond Ball for the record-breaking feat.

Arkham Asylum also finished under 30 minutes in a second-place performance.

2019, which marked the 50th running of the race, also saw the institution of the Southern 80 Hall of Fame.

Lenny Retallick, Roy Turner, Leo Welch, Jamie Oliver, Fran Hynes and Campaspe Valley Motors were the inaugural six inductees to the hall.

2020 saw only two Superclass entries make it to the water but Superman put the Super in Superclass when it beat out the previous year’s winner TR to take the title.

Engine trouble waylaid what looked a certain victory, and another opportunity at the record, for TR after the third split, the Superman crew of driver Darren McGuire, observer Steven Robertson, and skiers Daniel Cotton and Daniel Graziano instead taking the title in 31:06.09.

COVID-19 put an end to plans for the 2021 event, and the wait for another 80 was further extended as the 2022 running was moved to May due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic on the availability of emergency services.

That year saw Sapphire claim its first 80 title, driver Tim Pickford, observer Brian Griffin, and skiers Aiden Cuff and Lachlan Nix returning local boats to the winner’s list in a time of 30:09.24.

Superman’s effort to defend its crown fell well short as Sapphire took the race by 49 seconds from the defending champion.

An issue with Sapphire’s on-board tracking meant spectators had no idea how the eventual winner was faring until it began to approach the final stretch.

Sapphire continued to shine in 2023, repeating as champion by a big margin once again, finishing in 30:42.30.

An identical crew of four defended their title in the 80, which was held in late March due to high river levels.

It could well have been three in a row for Sapphire as it took out the 2024 Baker’s Blitz but the death of a skier early on Sunday necessitated a halt on all further racing at the event.