HOP THE WATER CLASSIC
by Nigel Jarvis
The 4th edition of the classic was contested 12th September 2010, after the race was postponed by a week due to the ferocious storms and floods that ravaged Victoria the previously set date for the event.
Basketing
506 birds from 113 competitors were basketed from Gippsland, Rosebud, Melboure, Melton, Kyabram, Bendigo, Ballarat, Colac, Geelong, Warrnambool and Portland flying areas. The task of coordinating the gathering of birds from such an enormous area was made easier with the help of our trusty delegates and basketing centers. Tom Lett drove the Gippsland birds to the WPF centre in Melbourne as did Brian Haby from Rosebud. The WPF centre was capably manned by Frank Brifaa, Frank De Pasquale, Luke Spencer and Joe Angelino. Aaron McKay and Chris Brennan drove the main unit to the WPF rooms for direct basketing in an attempt to limit the stress placed on competing birds and avoid double and triple handling. Once the unit returned to Ballarat, the Bendigo, Kyabram (thank you to Gary Beavis and Ray Armstrong), Geelong, Melton, Colac (thank you to Dave Walsh and Peter Virgona) and local birds were loaded. The Ballarat basketing centre had many helpers, particularly Phil jarvis, Reg Eden, Aaron McKay, Chris Brennan, Rob Lovett, John Camalleri, Ian Jones and Greg Henderson. Young Maggie Camalleri spent the night on the basketing table allocating birds to the baskets and keeping count, as well as ordering the lads around to make sure baskets were sealed and the next ones were ready. The unit then begun its journey with race liberators David Gourlay and Brian Meaney to Horsham where the local birds and Portland birds were loaded and all the birds were given access to water. Next stop was the residence Warren March in Jervious near Murray Bridge where the birds were fed and watered before they traveled to the ferry. Warren’s residence was also the liberation point for the Ballarat East Classic birds, which is an open race that was transported by the Hop the Water crew. From Warrens the unit drove to Cape Jervis to await the ferry booking to travel to the Island. Enroute the boys enjoyed a well earnt magnificent rib eye steak at one of the local pubs. Once loaded onto the ferry the water crossing was completed to Penneshaw on Kangaroo Island and the unit continued 5km down the road to the highly recommended Figtree B & B at Baudin Beach, who looked after us exceptionally well on price and supplied secure undercover parking for the unit.
Liberation
The birds were then liberated from the ferry carpark at Penneshaw the following morning at 7:30am. The liberation report stated no wind at release; birds took 5 minutes to clear and headed off slightly South of an Easterly direction. As it turned out, the forecast Northerly winds picked up during the day, with reports from the Victorian coast of variable winds.
Clocking
The first birds reported in cam from Colac members Pete Virgona and Dave Walsh at around 2:30pm, followed 7 minutes later by fellow club member Steve McKenzie. The clocking of these birds had the Geelong and Western Melbourne fanciers jumping out of their skin. The next calls came from Ballarat fanciers Arthur Martin (2 @ 2:40pm), Aaron Mckay (2:42pm & 3:00pm) and Shane Tucker (2:47pm) followed by a 4th bird in Colac to Dave Walsh (2:58). What occurred for the remainder of the day is part of what makes this great sport of ours ever so intriguing. For the next hour the only bird called in was to Horsham member John Muszkieta who’s bird put in a brilliant performance to be timed in at 3:30pm. At the end of day one, a total of 20 birds were clocked, with the leading birds traveling 581km at a velocity of 1381mpm, leaving us all scratching our heads. However, one thing was agreed to and that was the 20 birds were all little champions spread across the state. 1 in Portland, 2 in Horsham, 5 in Colac, 7 in Ballarat and 5 in the Melbourne area. Day two saw another 27 timed in, with some of the longer flyers moving into the top 20 and of particular note was the performance of Ian Young flying 814km into Traralgon homing 2 of his 3 entries to be place 15th and 23rd Overall. A number of birds were reported in on day 3, however only 2 were presented giving a total of 49 birds in the overall result.
Overall Prize Winners
Winner: This year's champion was Pete Virgona of Colac. Pete bred his little champion and purchased it back at the Horsham sale. The Horsham sale is a closed section, which Pete’s loft was outside of, but picks up 5 rings for taking a position in the top 20 with a bird flown outside of a sale area. After winning $4,000 the day before in the Horsham Cup (rings for this race are $10 each, call Graham Elbourne 0353823713) from Little Topar, Pete proved the loft was on fire by winning the first prize of a cool $20,000! Pete’s young cockbird was bred down from classic Aussie blood he has been flying for many years and developed in conjunction with Greg Hamilton. The sire was bred by Greg from Pete’s 2006 Eureka Cup winner which won $3,000 (g/son of ‘Wilcannia Cock’ & ‘Diamond’), when mated to Greg’s top hen ‘Magdala’, who was bred from a son of the ‘Goldmine Cock’, mated back to the nestmate of the ‘Goldmine Cock’. The dam of Pete’s winner is a double g/daughter of the ‘Goldmine Cock’, with her 2 g/dams ‘Magdala’ and the ‘Farina Hen’, 1st SAHPA Farina Derby 1998.
Second: Dave Walsh of Colac took out second overall ($3,316.00), just behind his good mate Pete. Dave bird was sired by a 1993 rung double g/son of Goodgers Lot 53 & 60. The dam also featured Lot 53 & 60 also as well as the line of the late George Fraser of Colac who was renowned for his Harrison line of distance birds.
Third: Steve McKenzie also of Colac was 3rd Open ($1,658.00) with a young hen he bred from a Doug Ince line cock mated to the ‘Cunningham Hen’ which was purchased at Jim Speechleys complete dispersal sale.
Forth: Arthur Martin bred his little champ from an old Misfud Barker cock of his own line preserved for many years mated to another hen from the Jim Speechley sale to win 4th Open ($829.00).
Fifth: Arthur Martin was also 5th Open ($414.50) with a young Janssen hen bred by South Australian fancier Warren March.
The remaining 15 positions were taken out by:
6th: Aaron McKay, bred by Mick Portelli ($414.50), full brother to the 2009 winner.
7th: Dave Walsh ($207.25), bred from a 1996 rung Goodger cock mated to a half sister of 2nd Open.
8th: Shane Tucker ($207.25), bred by Steve Howard from his classic old Bob Marchant family.
9th: A McKay ($165.80), bred by Angaston fancier Len Colegate from a direct Cliff Patterson cock (Blanden/Doug Green/ Millay) mated to a Harry Jackson hen (Chadwick Braker/Harrison/Moss), all SA legends.
10th: Wayne Williams and Son ($165.80) bred by Dave Hunter direct off his imported Houbens.
11th: Raf Lay ($124.35), with own of his homebred champions.
12th: Craig Rizza & Son with another bred by Dave Hunter that is the nestmate to 10th Open.
13th: Joe Phillips ($82.90) bred by Pete Phillips.
14th: Robbie Saggers ($82.90) bred in Horsham by Mark Eldridge.
15th: Ian Young ($82.90) flying 814km, bred by himself.
16th: Egan & Warren ($82.90) and bred by Sean Malloy from his straight Van Loon family into his ‘Braveheart’ family. The nest mate was 28th Open.
17th: Larry Johnson ($82.90) of Colac with one of his own.
18th: Bred and raced by Greg Henderson ($82.90) from a Janssen cock to a Blanden hen and purchased by Mark Horridge of Queensland.
19th: Mick Portelli ($82.90) from his own line, and same way as 6th this year and 1st Open last year.
20th: Mick Portelli ($82.90) from Micks own line.
Zone Champions
A new incentive was introduced in 2010 to recognize the best birds in each area. The state (Victoria) was divided into 7 ‘zones’ with the first 3 birds in each zone winning $240 worth of rings for the folowing years event.
Zone A (Horsham & District)
Two birds were timed in ton the day with the leading bird an hour and a half flown by John Muszkieta and bred by Keith fancier Lynden Frick. The second bird was flown by Kev King and again originated from Keith, this time bred by Clive Sanderson. Club stalwart Rob Nelson timed in one of his homebred champions early on day two to take out 3rd Zone.
Zone B (Portland/Warrnambool)
The only bird timed in over 3 days in Zone B was on the day to Portland legend Darren Davies. This feathered champion was purchased at the Portland sale by Nigel Jarvis and bred by Warrnambool fancier and all round top guy Alan Smith.
Zone C (Ballarat/Melton)
2010 Central Highlands Combine aggregate winner Arthur Martin landed 2 birds together to claim the honors in Zone C. the first through the ETS was bred by Arthur himself from an old Misfud Barker cock to a hen he purchased from the complete disposal sale of Jim Speechley. His 2nd bird was bred by Murray Bridge fancier Warren March, who has shown a great deal of support to this classic race in many ways. The 3rd bird in Zone C was to the loft of CHPC aggregate runners up Aaron McKay and bred by ex WPF fancier, now VHA member Mick Portelli. Mick won the 2009 Hop the Water Classic with a full sister to Aaron’s clockbird.
Zone D (Colac/Geelong)
The leading 3 birds in the main event were all from Zone D, and each competitor clocked a homebred champ. Pete Virgona followed up his win in the Horsham Cup the day before with a win in Zone D, with fellow club members David Walsh and Steve McKenzie filling 2nd & 3rd respectively.
Zone E (Bendigo/Kyabram)
Unfortunately the North wind played against these lofts, and no birds were recorded in race time.
Zone F (Melbourne)
Wayne Williams and son playing against the state of play timed in the first in Zone F despite racing from Epping in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne. To complement his fine flying effort, his mate Craig Rizza nearby was 3rd Zone F with the 2 lofts clocking nestmates bred by Dave Hunter from his direct imported Houbens! Splitting the 2 in 2nd Zone F was Raf Lay from the South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Raf has enjoyed his best season in the VHA in 2010, including recently landing 5 together to top the fed!
Zone G (Gippsland)
Having a crack at the event for the first time, the Gippsland boys flying in excess of 800km (500mile) were well represented by champion Traralgon flyer Ian Young. Ian homed 2 of his 3 entries flying 814km! Truly an outstanding performance.
Sale Sections:
Wendouree City Sale Section
The first and only bird timed in from this sale was to the Colac loft of Steve McKenzie (3rd Open) who won with a pink ring he bought at the event and bred himself to win $430.30, with $231.70 jackpotting the the WCHC in 2011.
Rosebud Sale Section
Once again just one bird sold at the Rosebud sale returned in race time to the loft of Glen Mason and bred by Tony Segota (37th Open) homing on day 2 to win $618.48. A carryover of $333.03 will jackpot to the 2011 event, and as the Rosebud club have decided not to conduct a sale this will be allocated to the closest sale’s 2011 prize pool.
Portland Sale Section
Just one bird again, this time flown by Darren Davies (27th Open), purchased by Nigel Jarvis and bred by Alan Smith of Warrnambool who each share the $302.58 first prize, with $162.93 jackpotting to the Portland sale for 2011.
Horsham Sale Section
Club legend John Muszkieta took out 1st ($879.13), 4th (2 rings, $67.63 for breeder) and 5th (2 rings, $67.63 for breeder) in the Horsham sale section with birds bred by Lyndon Frick (22nd Open) from Keith, Dave Gourlay (40th Open) from Ballarat and Warren March (41st Open) from Murray Bridge and purchased by Len Colegate. Ensuring John did not have it all his own way was Kevin King (30th Open) in second ($270.50) with a bird bred by Keith fancier Clive Sanderson and Rob Nelson (39th Open) in third (2 rings, $67.63) with one of his own bred birds.
Ballarat West Sale Section
Shane Tucker timed in a beauty (8th Open) to win the sale section ($781.30) with a bird bred by Steve Howard who continues to maintain the old Aussie lines that are highly sought after at Hop the Water sales. 2nd Section ($240.40) was won by Raf Lay (11th Open) followed by Egan & Warren in 3rd (2 rings, $60.10 for breeder) (16th open) and bred by Sean Malloy. 4th (2 rings, $60.10 for breeder) went to Ballarat father/son partnership Rob & John Draper (21st open) with one of there own bred birds, with Eagn & Warren (25th Open) claiming 5th (2 rings, $60.10 for breeder) with another Sean Malloy bred bird. In conjunction with the West sale, the blind auction was held. Regulars on the result sheet, Aaron McKay (32nd Open) and Pete Virgona share the first prize of $2,000 for winning the blind auction event in 2010.
Ballarat Invitation Sale Section
Ballarat gun Aaron McKay and Altona’s Mick Portelli shared 1st ($1,012.05 and 2nd ($311.40) with 2 birds bred the same way as last years winner (2010: 6th & 19th Open) with the winner flown by Aaron and second by Mick. A nice little partnership. 3rd Section (2 rings, $77.85 for breeder) went to committee man Ian Jones (36th Open) with a bird bred by perennial place getter Warren March with Nigel Jarvis (42nd Open) taking out 4th section (2 rings, $77.85 for breeder) with a young hen bred by Ronnie Taylor of Stawell. 5th prize was unclaimed and $77.85 now jackpots to the corresponding sale for 2011.
Bendigo Fed Sale Section
With the only bird home in the section, Melton flyer James Attard (35th Open) cleaned 1st prize ($724.46) on the 2nd day with the 2nd bird into Melton. Jackpot for this section was $390.09 to the 2011 race.
WPF Sale Section
The combination of Vatzakis & Fontana (48th Open) homed a young cock bird on the final day of clocking (day 3). When they called me to ask if it was worthwhile reading the clock, I think I heard the phone hit the floor when I informed them it was the only bird home in the WPF sale section and they had won $1,602.25. The jackpot of $862.75 carries over onto the WPF sale section in 2011.
Jackpotting Sales
The following sale will have there entire section pool jackpotting to the corresponding pool in 2011: Ballarat East $1084.00, Kyabram $908.50, Bendigo Fed Gold Ribbon $2,000, Bendigo RSL $270.15 and Gippsland $2,110.50.
Online Sale Sections
A new initiative that was greatly received was the online breeders plate auctions held at www.onlinepigeonauctions.com.au which attracted bids from around Australia and even many from non-fanciers. There were 4 online sales, each with their own section prize pool. Sale 1 failed to home a bird meaning the entire pool Jackpots. Sale 2 winner was bred & flown be Greg Henderson (18th Open) and purchased by Innisfail QLD gun Mark Horridge ($1,543.10), with $830.90 jackpotting. Sale 3 was won by Arthur Martin (5th Open) and was bred and purchased by Warren March SA ($1,789.13) with $963.38 jackpotting. Sale 4 was won by Nigel Jarvis (44th Open), bred by warren March and purchased by non-flyer Luke Kavanagh from Sydney ($1,541.48), with $830.03 jackpotting. The total online jackpot was $5,761.58 which will move to the online sale section for the Kangaroo Island event in 2011. This has allowed us to guarantee a first prize of $10,000 for the first bird home from Kangaroo Island sold online, regardless of where it finishes in the open result. All online sales will now form one prize pool for each race and pay 10 prizes for 2011. Breeders from interstate can bid and purchase their own birds and have them place in fanciers lofts and be in the running to win 70% of any money that bird wins.
Black Rings
530km and under
With the one and only ring entered failing to return, we have another jackpot this time for $140.
531km to 650km
Dave Walsh from Colac took out 1st ($3,516.00) and 2nd ($1,758.00) with his 2nd & 7th Open birds. Fellow Colac member Larry Johnson (17th Open) was 3rd section ($586.00).
651km plus
Pete & Joe Phillips (13th Open) were the winners of this section ($2,400.00) with Robbie Saggers (14th Open) taking out 2nd ($1,200.00) with a ring purchased and filled by Horsham fancier Mark Eldridge. 3rd ($400.00) was won by Traralgon fancier Ian Young flying 814km. Commiseration to the black ring owner who clocked a day after the leading birds who asked me to change the rules after he clocked to include his bird in a different section. Once he realised he missed out on the $2,400 first prize he was eligible for he could not understand why he did not win the sale section prize. Sale sections can only be won by birds sold in the sales, the rings were in there own pool. The committee apoligises that it cannot alter rules after the fact; however we always appreciate any feedback that may be considered for the following year’s event to continue to improve this great event. Consequently there is no longer a ring section, and all rings purchased will be eligible for the sale prize pool the buyer nominates. To be able to nominate the pool, the buyer must attend that sale. If the buyer fails to attend or nominate a sale the ring/s will be automatically included into the closest sale section. Hopefully this will clarify the pools and also lesson the load on admin with the implementation of the second race from Tasmania.
Pink Rings
Pink rings were sold and raffled at the sales and were eligible for the overall prize money as well as the sale section prize money. They also held their own pool, which was won by Steve McKenzie (3rd Open) of Colac ($1,000). Arthur Martin (4th Open) of Ballarat was 2nd ($500) with a ring won at the Horsham sale raffle, and because it was flown out of their section area won 5 rings for next year by finishing in the top 20. 3rd ($300) was gained by Aaron McKay (9th open) and bred by Len Colegate of Angaston with a ring Len won at the basketing raffle in 2009. Wayne Williams & Son (10th Open) took out 4th (5 x rings) which was bred by Dave Hunter and rung with a ring also won at the 2009 basketing.
Whats install for 2011?
Tasmania: The biggest news is a second Hop the Water race from Tasmania. It will be contested from Launceston and is open to the mainland. A holding loft has been secured and the date of the race will be mid to late September depending on the holding lofts bookings to be advised. Rings have already been purchased by fanciers flying in excess of 1000km into South Australia and New South Wales. These guys will race for their own pool as well as being eligible for the overall prizes.
Kangaroo Island: To accommodate the Tasmania race, the Kangaroo Island feature will take place mid August. Once again basketing centers will be made available to ensure competitors have the best opportunity to be in the race with minimal effort.
How to enter: Rings can be purchased for direct entry from Nigel Jarvis 0402 415 611. Pink rings are $40 each and are eligible for the Tasmanian event only. Blue rings are also $40 each and are for the Kangaroo Island race only. Black rings are now $60 each and are eligible for both races is your game. Entry can also be via the various sales held at many venues. There are so many happening this year that it is best to check with the website at www.htwc.com.au to stay up to speed with the venues. www.onlinepigeonauctions.com.au will again be hosting its very on breeders plate section for the classic. A list of flyers willing to race birds on behalf of purchasers can be sent by request should any entrants require it, or you can leave it to the committee to place the birds in competing lofts on your behalf. Each sale will be for one event only, Kangaroo Island or Tasmania. Should the buyer wish for the bird to be eligible for the other event, they make take up the option to pay an extra $20 for the bird and it will be eligible for both events. Each race is carrying a first prize of $20,000.
Who will be the champion in 2011?
