Melton Gold Cup 2021

I recently blogged about the Melbourne Runabout and Speedboat Club and the annual Melton Gold Cup Event. The event is an important economic stimulus for the local community and provides a much needed boost to employment and income for locals.

I've put together a quick video of a few of the scenes from the event and in my opinion one of the best races of the day.

The race commences towards the end of the film as I scan the horizon for a few of the prior preliminary races. I also captured one of the main race boats on the dock reving it's beautiful engine. The sound echo's ever so beautifully. A post can not capture the ambience of the event and I find to truly appreciate the event you need to also hear the sounds, the roars of the engine.

The race included is filled with thrills, the boat recorded on the dock later goes onto become water logged as a drifting speedster floods it's engine with water causing the boat to be knocked out of the race.

Uncertainty clouds the racers as they are unable to locate a red flag pausing the race which leads to the boat in the lead falling behind as his opponent uses the clouded moment to take the lead. But not before the leading boat makes a come back performing a dangerous move cutting on the inside of the stalled boat narrowly missing it while the trickster takes the outside lane.

A quick burn around the marker closer to us and the boat is back in the lead. It recovers only to lose its lead on the final turn leading to a full throttle race to the finish line and it narrowly just takes the lead winning the race.

An event that you needed to be there to see but the stuff legends are made of.

I hope you enjoy the race and a few highlights as much as I did.

Events like this are vital for community survival as they provide local jobs which are fed through local investment. The national league also provides the added benefit of drawing in further investment from businesses and corporate sponsors. This leads to the lifting of disadvantage as a key determinate to economic and educational disadvantage is surrounded by one's economic ability.

A small group met in 1957 to establish this club and through their commitment, own money investment have grown an event to now be worth millions in local revenue.

This is the way of the future, locally led solutions that retain wealth in communities but also share it amongst others.

Corporate sponsorship will follow once crowds build as Corporates want their name in the general public to increase their company's visibility which in turn lifts Corporate profits.

I had a wonderful day and so did the hundreds of people that attended.

I understand to many of you this event may look small but please keep in mind Australia's population is only 25 million and it is dispersed across a land mass larger than the whole of Europe.

There are single cities in Europe and the US whose population exceeds our national population figures.

I dream of a world where boarders between communities are some what less restrictive and attending an event like the Melton Gold Cup from Europe or the US is as simple as jumping on a plane as if you were going to another city or town in your own country.

If we could achieve this, global economies and local wealth would be alot stronger. Perhaps one day it will be.

In the mean time, please enjoy the clip.