The PV Rothbury once again took the prize when a number of boats lined up for the challenge in 1992. Captain Pointon had skippered the Rothbury to victory in two previous races as well in 1988 and 1990 and this event saw around 8,000 people line the banks to witness the event and help raise money for 3MA’s Easter Hospital appeal. Skipper of the PV Impulse which competed in the race gives us a few details on this WIN News footage.
The following information was posted on Facebook by Ashton McKenzie and gives us some background to this event.
The “instigator” was the race held at Signal Point (Goolwa) in 1988 commemorating the opening of the Signal Point Experience Centre. Many vessels attended, including Alby Pointon taking the Paddle Vessel Rothbury all the way down to the mouth of the Murray for that race.
The opening of the centre and the race starts were officiated my Prince Charles and Lady Diana from the Paddle Boat Mundoo. It was stated that this would become an annual event and the Signal Point Cup would have ten races (1 per year) and would always be held at the winners home port.
The Paddle Vessel Rothbury won the first ever race at Signal Point, so the races were then held in Mildura. The Rothbury subsequently kept winning, which was why it was always held here. We never got to the 10 races though, as river conditions affected travel of other boats over the years and then it was stopped due to insurance reasons and Maritime restrictions.
