Put together 247 boats with 247 outboard motors, 2000 people enjoying a bright sunny day on the river and what do you have? The Kenton Seagull Regatta of course. First staged in 2019, the annual charity fundraising event at Cob Bay has become a firm favourite with Christmas holiday visitors and locals alike.
The regatta celebrates the era of British Seagull outboard motors, manufactured from 1936 to 1996. On the Kariega River on Monday December 30, when it came to vessels, it was a case of just about anything goes.
Or not.
Crews kitted out as Mexicans, Scots, pirates, clowns and just themselves set off in dodgy boats with names like Pist n Broke, Floating Feedlot, River Rednecks and Jolly Wally. Kenton Seagull Regatta favourite, HMS Calamity as usual flaunted the Union Jack while catastrophic-looking bright pink smoke poured from halfway up its “mast” and emitted alarming “we’re sinking” noises. In the complete absence of any signs of actual disaster, the NSRI quite rightly ignored them.
The rules were: each boat must have a minimum of two people. Only series 102, Silvery Century, or 40 models are allowed. No engine modifications or newer models, like the QB series. No canoes, boards, or catamarans. No maximum crew, as long as it’s safe.
A popular new addition to the fleet was the pirate ship Black Pearl. Black sails billowing from the mizzen, the crew in colourful buccaneer fashion and “aahhrghhh… uably” the most eye-catching.
Right Said Fred, all the way from the Western Cape, had a bad start, in fact their engine didn’t start. They weren’t the only ones: there were plenty of others who couldn’t get their engines to start, or struggled to get going and set off a lot later.
And there were other kinds of Seagull mechanical incidents. One crew had the prop break off the driveshaft of their motor; another lost the whole outboard motor in the river.
“I dived after it and I could hear it down there, but the water’s about three metres deep and very murky so I gave up,” the crewman lamented.
That was the kind of problem that mechanic-on-standby Danny Burnett couldn’t solve.
It didn’t matter because there was a big gazebo where you could escape the sun and your disappointment – a bar one side and coffee and food stations on the other – with the Ford family and friends belting out the Beatles, the Beachboys and more.
NSRI volunteers in Spirit of Kenton, their JetRIB donated last year by Rotary Kenton-on-Sea, were on the river, alert and ready to respond, and so was the Ndlambe Municipality River Patrol crew of Willem Nel and Richard Mavikela. More than one craft had to be towed back to the start-finish. Gardmed paramedics were on standby.
Just the start of the Seagull Regatta is an event in itself.
First, piper Murray Roodt walked out from among the thorn trees in a tartan kilt and a pair of brown velskoens, playing Scotland the Brave. Then a flock of pigeons, released from the side of the river, parabolaed across the sky before flying back to their loft. Two yellow Tiger Moth biplanes piloted by Cliff Reynolds and Rich Inskip appeared from the direction of Horns Up on the opposite bank and did a flpast upriver over the boats. A helicopter added to the air action and the climax of the show was a skydiving team who drew circles in the sky (or maybe it was an S) with coloured smoke before drifting westwards to land on a nearby field.
Speaking to Talk of the Town on the river bank while supporters waited for the crews to return from upriver, Seagull Regatta organiser Dale Cunningham was positive and enthusiastic.
“What a wonderful day. It’s such a treat seeing all the iconic old Seagull engines that a lot of people of our vintage have such fond memories of. Bringing them back to life on a beautiful day like this with a lot of friends is just really special and it’s great for the Kenton community.”
With 247 boats with Seagull outboard motors in the water at one time, Cunningham said he believed the 2024 Kenton Seagull Regatta had set a new world record.
The non-profit event aims to raise funds for local schools, charities and community needs in the Kenton-on-Sea area. Sponsors included Sunshine Coast SPAR, BUCO Kenton. SAB, Fitch & Leedes, Gordon’s Gin, Fieldbar, Meyers Motors, Hi Q EL, Jamieson Boats, Supreme Leisure/Suzuki. Various items including a beautifully restored brown wooden boat were auctioned after the event. Jack Currie was the thrilled winner of the big giveaway: a Jamieson Bandit 380 boat on a galvanised trailer, with a Suzuki 15hp 4-stroke outboard engine, both donated by Jamieson Boats and Supreme Leisure.
PICTURE GALLERY HERE:
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: https://fb.watch/wPpwGXiQAm/
