Tasman Revival Meeting

[275 GTB-4]

Sir John certainly surprised me.....in a borrowed car, consistently, fast and smooth....pretty to watch.

[Slippy Diff]

Still like to know why cars shipped from the UK spent the meeting sat in a container?

[johnh875]

I am guessing they had only just arrived and not cleared customs? Being from NZ you may not be familiar with the efficiency & cooperation found on the wharfs / associated red tape mechanisms...

[Slippy Diff]

Originally Posted by johnh875

the efficiency & cooperation

I don't think the guys who had shipped their cars and then flown 12,000 miles found any of that...

[johnny yuma]

Originally Posted by Slippy Diff

I don't think the guys who had shipped their cars and then flown 12,000 miles found any of that...

I think johnh875 being a tad ironic ? Perhaps they were quarantined to protect us from British Oil Leak Disease,Lucas Electrical Bug or whatever

[Paul Hamilton]

The ship carrying two containers from the UK was delayed firstly by mechanical problems and then by delays in obtaining a berth. It arrived off Sydney on the Tuesday preceding the meeting but had to wait offshore until finally docking at 9.00pm Saturday night. The smaller of the two containers was unloaded and delivered to Eastern Creek Sunday morning where it was cleared and both cars in it (John Elliot's Lotus 18 and Rodger Newman's Brabham) ran in the Tasman Revival race. Unfortunately the larger container with 6 cars in it was unable to be unloaded until later Sunday and the cars never got out to the circuit.

[Chatters]

Bugger.

[Slippy Diff]

Originally Posted by johnny yuma

I think johnh875 being a tad ironic ?

So was I....

[Slippy Diff]

Originally Posted by Paul Hamilton

The ship carrying two containers from the UK was delayed firstly by mechanical problems and then by delays in obtaining a berth. It arrived off Sydney on the Tuesday preceding the meeting but had to wait offshore until finally docking at 9.00pm Saturday night. The smaller of the two containers was unloaded and delivered to Eastern Creek Sunday morning where it was cleared and both cars in it (John Elliot's Lotus 18 and Rodger Newman's Brabham) ran in the Tasman Revival race. Unfortunately the larger container with 6 cars in it was unable to be unloaded until later Sunday and the cars never got out to the circuit.

More information in that post than the cars owners received all weekend, I reckon.

[Paul Hamilton]

I don't quite know where you are coming from Slippy Diff but the fact is that the car owners were at all times kept fully up to date by HSRCA. Unfortunately the club and its shipping agent were frequently given conflicting and confusing information from the various shipping services and the ship owners and the full story did not emerge until after the ship docked. Each day we arrived at the circuit having been led to believe that the containers might arrive and, having passed that misleading expectation on to the owners, much confusion and frustration resulted. On the Friday evening when most of our visitors were enjoying themselves at a cocktail party on the shores of Darling Harbour the HSRCA president was walking around Port Botany attempting to make some sense of the conflicting information we had received but unfortunately it proved to be a waste of his time. We did arrange alternate drives for most of the visitors over the weekend but for those of us involved the shipping problem placed a major dampener on what was otherwise a very successful meeting. Once the ship did arrive the assistance and cooperation we received from Gibson Freight and others involved in getting the smaller container unloaded, cleared and transported to Eastern Creek was great but unfortunately the larger one was not as accessible within the ship. We now need to look to the many positives and put those frustrations behind us.

[Slippy Diff]

Originally Posted by Paul Hamilton

I don't quite know where you are coming from Slippy Diff but the fact is that the car owners were at all times kept fully up to date by HSRCA. Unfortunately the club and its shipping agent were frequently given conflicting and confusing information from the various shipping services and the ship owners and the full story did not emerge until after the ship docked. Each day we arrived at the circuit having been led to believe that the containers might arrive and, having passed that misleading expectation on to the owners, much confusion and frustration resulted. On the Friday evening when most of our visitors were enjoying themselves at a cocktail party on the shores of Darling Harbour the HSRCA president was walking around Port Botany attempting to make some sense of the conflicting information we had received but unfortunately it proved to be a waste of his time. We did arrange alternate drives for most of the visitors over the weekend but for those of us involved the shipping problem placed a major dampener on what was otherwise a very successful meeting. Once the ship did arrive the assistance and cooperation we received from Gibson Freight and others involved in getting the smaller container unloaded, cleared and transported to Eastern Creek was great but unfortunately the larger one was not as accessible within the ship. We now need to look to the many positives and put those frustrations behind us.

I shall correct my previous post to 'more correct information'.

[275 GTB-4]

Originally Posted by Paul Hamilton

The ship carrying two containers from the UK was delayed firstly by mechanical problems and then by delays in obtaining a berth. It arrived off Sydney on the Tuesday preceding the meeting but had to wait offshore until finally docking at 9.00pm Saturday night. The smaller of the two containers was unloaded and delivered to Eastern Creek Sunday morning where it was cleared and both cars in it (John Elliot's Lotus 18 and Rodger Newman's Brabham) ran in the Tasman Revival race. Unfortunately the larger container with 6 cars in it was unable to be unloaded until later Sunday and the cars never got out to the circuit.

Thanks for the explanation Paul...just wondering what the price differential on airfreight might be...I am definately not suggesting that transport delays/problems could have been avoided in some way

[Andrew Fellowes]

Well an engine is about $700 one way by air and $120 by sea. Air of course has the added fuel/oil complications that need safety certificates.

Edit. the last car + spares that I shipped was $1,200 one way by sea.

[Paul Hamilton]

I don't recall the exact numbers but the cost of air freight for the 21 cars the club brought in would have been totally prohibitive and quite out of the question without the sort of substantial sponsorship one could only expect to see at a major meeting with an AGP size crowd and/or TV coverage. The sea freight arrangement worked very well in respect of the cars coming from NZ and the US and should have been OK from the UK as well. The cars left UK as soon as practical after their last commitment at home and were originally scheduled to have arrived in Sydney on 11 November which by any normal measure should have given us enough of a contingency provision. Unfortunately the original problem seems to have compounded as the ship fell behind schedule and lost its place in line to dock. It was quite heartbreaking for the HSRCA Tasman committee on the Tuesday after the meeting when we had to unload the 6 cars check them over and then simply reload 5 of them them for the trip home. The greatest downside we face in this is the possibility that the experience may turn off potential future visitors and we need to highlight the positive features of the meeting to minimise that risk. While those 6 missing cars would have added a great deal to the meeting the event seems to have really hit the spot even without them and it is that positive we need to focus attention on.

[275 GTB-4]

Originally Posted by Paul Hamilton

I don't recall the exact numbers but the cost of air freight for the 21 cars the club brought in would have been totally prohibitive and quite out of the question without the sort of substantial sponsorship one could only expect to see at a major meeting with an AGP size crowd and/or TV coverage. The sea freight arrangement worked very well in respect of the cars coming from NZ and the US and should have been OK from the UK as well. The cars left UK as soon as practical after their last commitment at home and were originally scheduled to have arrived in Sydney on 11 November which by any normal measure should have given us enough of a contingency provision. Unfortunately the original problem seems to have compounded as the ship fell behind schedule and lost its place in line to dock. It was quite heartbreaking for the HSRCA Tasman committee on the Tuesday after the meeting when we had to unload the 6 cars check them over and then simply reload 5 of them them for the trip home. The greatest downside we face in this is the possibility that the experience may turn off potential future visitors and we need to highlight the positive features of the meeting to minimise that risk. While those 6 missing cars would have added a great deal to the meeting the event seems to have really hit the spot even without them and it is that positive we need to focus attention on.

Thanks Paul...I figured as much...I suppose the thing to do (takes a deep breath) is to schedule the meeting so that anyone undertaking the voyage with a historically significant car (and Australia really is disadvantaged by the tyranny of distance) could go on to participate in other meetings....like the Phillip Island Classic....I know, dream on

[johnny yuma]

I spoke to Eddy who was driving Old Yeller the Buick special,asked if he was going on to run at the Phillip Island classic. He replied that he'd only found out about it after arriving in Australia and was attempting to have a late entry accepted.We really are a backwater in need of overall promotion--although you'd think someone coming here anyhow would do a little research!

[Andrew Fellowes]

The F5000s from the Uk had problems going to NZ last year so we are not alone.

The thing that is so sad is the lack of cooperation between organisers, especially if it is inter state. The level it has sunk to is childish in the extreme, club rage where all common sense and decent behaviour goes out the window. I saw it two months ago and I was utterly disgusted at such pathetic behaviour.

[Paul Hamilton]

All of the overseas entrants for the Tasman meeting were given details of the Phillip Island meeting well in advance of the shipment of their cars down to Australia and invited to express interest in leaving their cars here for that. Ernie Nagamatsu probably overlooked that as Old Yeller was a last minute addition to fill a vacancy created when Graham Adelman's Ferrari 246T encountered an engine problem and was withdrawn. HSRCA passed on the list of interested parties to the Phillip Island organisers (VHRR) and sought their support in sharing transportation costs for the cars which wanted to go to both meetings but only limited agreement could be reached. John Dimmer's Tyrrell is definitely staying on together with the Brabhams of Phil Harris and David Jacobs.

The problems faced in keeping the cars here for multiple meetings go well beyond the scheduling of the events. The harder issues relate to cost sharing arrangements between the owners and the various race promotors and the logistics of shipping container management, the storing and movement of the internal racking required to fit the cars in the containers and the transportation of the cars between events in Australia. One would hope that there should be solutions to all of those issues but its a lot harder than you might think and it will not always be possible. The Classic Team Lotus cars which did not make it to the meeting were never on the Phillip Island list as they needed to return for an event in Spain in February.

[275 GTB-4]

Originally Posted by Paul Hamilton

All of the overseas entrants for the Tasman meeting were given details of the Phillip Island meeting well in advance of the shipment of their cars down to Australia and invited to express interest in leaving their cars here for that. Ernie Nagamatsu probably overlooked that as Old Yeller was a last minute addition to fill a vacancy created when Graham Adelman's Ferrari 246T encountered an engine problem and was withdrawn. HSRCA passed on the list of interested parties to the Phillip Island organisers (VHRR) and sought their support in sharing transportation costs for the cars which wanted to go to both meetings but only limited agreement could be reached. John Dimmer's Tyrrell is definitely staying on together with the Brabhams of Phil Harris and David Jacobs.

The problems faced in keeping the cars here for multiple meetings go well beyond the scheduling of the events. The harder issues relate to cost sharing arrangements between the owners and the various race promotors and the logistics of shipping container management, the storing and movement of the internal racking required to fit the cars in the containers and the transportation of the cars between events in Australia. One would hope that there should be solutions to all of those issues but its a lot harder than you might think and it will not always be possible. The Classic Team Lotus cars which did not make it to the meeting were never on the Phillip Island list as they needed to return for an event in Spain in February.

Thanks for that Paul.....yes, what I was alluding to was, stringing together some high profile meets (cooperative) to make it worthwhile for both local and overseas entrants.

I suppose it is also too difficult to produce a transport "jig" for a particular car suitable for any 20 foot container/air freight set up.

[flightlessbird]

I whole heartedly agree, there must be more cooperation between the various promoting clubs to ensure that overseas cars get the maximum exposure when in the country

[edmcd]

Just a short message of thanks to all of you who were so helpful and friendly at the weekend at Eastern Creek, especially to Paul Hamilton and Ed Holley and Geoff Wheeler for letting me drive on Thursday. It was a great weekend, and fantastic to have the chance to meet up with those guys we never got or get to see in Europe.

All of us at Vintage Racecar were very impressed by the programme you put on, and most of all by the friendliness and helpfulness of everyone there.

Thanks again,

Ed McDonough
European Editor
Vintage Racecar

[275 GTB-4]

Originally Posted by edmcd

Just a short message of thanks to all of you who were so helpful and friendly at the weekend at Eastern Creek, especially to Paul Hamilton and Ed Holley and Geoff Wheeler for letting me drive on Thursday. It was a great weekend, and fantastic to have the chance to meet up with those guys we never got or get to see in Europe.

All of us at Vintage Racecar were very impressed by the programme you put on, and most of all by the friendliness and helpfulness of everyone there.

Thanks again,

Ed McDonough
European Editor
Vintage Racecar

Terrific to meet you Ed, hope you enjoyed the trip donwunder, actually, terrific to meet anyone who has sat their bum in the cars you have