ANNIVeRSARY AIR SHow! - Royal New Zealand Air Force

sport
ohAkEA’S ‘RounD ThE
WoRLD’ RAFT RACE
by Ash Foote, pT Flight
on a typically beautiful Manawatu day earlier in the year, five
teams set out on the ohakea ‘Round the world’ raft race at
lake william. Teams had designed and made their own rafts,
with everything from the simple combination of tyre tubes
and planks, through to more elaborate—but possibly less
successful—creations.
Teams had two paddling crews who had to complete two
laps of the track each; this was not as easy as it seemed!
within the first five minutes team ‘Avionics Somali Pirates’
had major equipment failure and spent the majority of their
first lap swimming instead of paddling!
Team ‘S&S NZ’ had high spirits, even though their raft was
not visible above the water, after lap number one!
The slow but steady ‘lSS Ninja’s’ and ‘cIS/Medical Indians’
36 Air Force news
proved that sticking with the good ol’ tyre tubes and planks
was the way to go.
but, the team that powered ahead from the start was the
‘Mexican Armourers’ with their plastic-wrapped tyre tube
creation.
by the end of the race there were broken paddles,
submerged rafts, and soaked team members, but spirits were
still high and everyone managed to have a laugh. ‘S&S NZ’ and
‘Avionics Somali Pirates’ didn’t quite make it to the finish but
provided some good entertainment for the crowd. Thanks to
all those who participated!
results:
winners: Mexican Armourers
Second & best Raft: lSS Ninjas
Third: ‘cIS/Medical Indians’
wooden Spoon: Avionics Somali Pirates
The Mexican Armourers