Cromie to tackle river marathon

Whangarei's Mark Cromie is just one of  many former world champions who have entered the 2009 World Jet Boating Marathon, starting next weekend on Canterbury rivers.
But unlike the others, Cromie is out to claim a fifth world title on the 800-kilometre course and complete some unfinished business.
The Whangarei Holden dealer's last attempt at a world title attempt went sour on the final day of racing with the title well within his grasp.
"The last world title we had a go at was in Canada in 1997 but, although we led from the start, we didn't win it because of a mechanical glitch on the last day," he said.
Cromie has been looking forward to this year's world championships, held in New Zealand every four years, but he said winning the event  would be no pushover because it had attracted a  strong field.
The marathon has drawn entries from previous world champion titleholders including the father-and-son team of Spencer and Russell King from Hay River in Canada, who can lay claim to seven world titles and who have won events staged in each of the competing nations - Canada, the United States and New Zealand.
Dale Whiteside from Canada is another previous world champion and he has enlisted  navigator Brent Ward of Queenstown to assist him on the demanding  South Island rivers that have been the undoing of many overseas competitors in past campaigns.
Cromie is New Zealand's highest-profile entrant, with the backing qualification of owning the jet boat that holds the current national speed record. He has the hugely experienced Neville Kelly, of Queenstown, occupying the navigator's seat, to add to his credentials. Current national champions, Christchurch's James and Ross Murdoch, are  other top Kiwi hopes and will be hoping to clinch their first world title.
The Canadians are a real threat but the American team led by Ryan Ringer has entered what is arguably the fastest marathon-style racing jet boat in the world. Their Eagle boat is powered by a gas turbine engine and is reputably capable of achieving speeds  exceeding 209km/h.
"It's the only jet boat in the world that's powered by a 1118kW helicoptor engine but whether it is too light on the water or not remains to be seen," he said.
Ringer and Cromie are trying to organise a drag race next week to help publicise the marathon.
"We're trying to organise the race on Lake Hood and get TV3 to cover it and that'll be quite interesting because he reckons he's faster than me but I think I can beat him."
Cromie was to head away today to set up a base in Canterbury and begin to "pre-run" the rivers and take notes for when the racing starts.
His build-up for the race started with the Patea River Race in June, netting him an easy win and before that he won the Hamilton Bridge to Bridge race last year in a new record time.
With 34 entries in hand, organisers of the 2009 Helipro World Jet Boat Marathon are delighted with the response from jet boat teams  from overseas and New Zealand.
The event will begin  with a criterium stage on the Waimakariri River close to the motorway bridges next Sunday (September 20), and concludes with a similar stage the next Saturday.
 In between times, the successful champion will complete stages on the Waiau, Rakaia, Waitaki and Waimakariri rivers.
Conditions on the rivers will  affect the racing and perhaps the result.
"We don't see this as an easy feat because we built the boat for the bigger rivers of America and Canada but we're hoping that the spring melt from the snow will bring the levels of the rivers up to suit our boat," Cromie said.