ALICE in WONDERLAND

George & Joan Bray

ALICE SPRINGS must be as far from navigable water as it is possible to get.

It came as quite a surprise to find that not only was there a river - River Todd - but that they were advertising a regatta for eights, fours, kayaks and sundry other vessels under the banner of “ Henley on Todd “.

Mark you Royal Henley it is not. There is very little evidence of boaters and champers amongst the crowded banks, the River Todd is a dry water course, the “boats” have neither oars or bottoms and are carried by their crews, and the results of the races are frequently affected by the consumption of Fosters both before and during races.Ironically the event was cancelled in 1993 when a freak storm caused the river to flow for 6 days.

While it may sound as obscure as the Jamacian bobsleigh team, the Alice Springs Yacht Club does exist and in conjunction with the Ayres Rock Resort is entering a boat in this year’s Fastnet race. They believe they have a good chance of performing well since their boat “The Spirit of Alice Springs” is a Sydney 40 voted last year as Australian Sailboat of the Year and the crew have between them more than 25 Sydney to Hobart races under their belts as well as many other major races.

Geoff Trewin, the helmsman, also expects a degree of media coverage :-

” After all, a yacht club from a region that gets no more than 80mm of rain a year and that is famous for it’s dry river bed and red sand is a little unusual”

Watch this space.