FORMER tunnel boat ace Cec Peterson’s most vivid memory of Wagga is a spectacular race crash on Lake Albert.
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Peterson was at the height of his racing career when he roared to victory in Twister in a one-hour marathon event on the lake in 1972.
Forty year later, Peterson remembers the race was marred by a “big pileup”.
“One of the boats flipped and landed on Bert Hines’s boat Super Strangler,” Peterson recalled yesterday
“Bert managed to drive back to shore, but he’d nearly lost an arm and had a broken leg.”
Now 70 and living in Cowra, Peterson says tunnel boat racing was a dangerous pursuit when he was racing.
“I had a few flips and got hurt,” he said yesterday.
“There was nothing too serious – a few concussions.
“Drivers did get killed.”
Tunnel boat racing, however, has come a long way since Cec Peterson’s heyday on the water.
With Lake Albert set to be the venue for the return to Wagga of tunnel boat racing on the weekend, Peterson intends to be there.
“I haven’t been over there (Wagga) for 30 years,” he said.
“I’m sure there’s been amazing changes to the lake and the surrounds.
“My sons Michael and Glen – they’re 34 and 32 – want to go across, so we’ll probably have a car load.”
The Cowra crew will be among thousands to line the Lake Albert foreshore for a round of the Australian Powerboat Grand Prix Series.
About 50 boats, including an armada of Formula One tunnel boats, will hit the water for practice on Saturday before a full day of racing on Sunday.
Cec Peterson admits he is thrilled to have the chance to watch the new generation of drivers and their supercharged craft.
“The changes in design are unbelievable,” he said.
“When I was racing you just sat in the boat, but you didn’t always stay in the boat.
“Now they (drivers) are in a capsule and there are so many other safety improvements.
“I’m really keen to have a look."
Peterson admits his top tunnel boats Twister and Thunderbolt were a far cry from the modern craft, but were not short on speed.
“Twister was designed by an aeronautical engineer and could do 80 miles per hour (128 km/h),” he said.
“It had a 125 horsepower BP Mercury motor, but pulled 150 horsepower with a stainless extractor system.
Peterson yesterday described the modern tunnel boat as a “beautiful” design.
“I’d like to be still racing,” he said.
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