Dad's shock turns to thundercat joy | Bay of Plenty News | Local News in Bay of Plenty

THE first time Brian Elmsly saw his son compete in a high-powered thundercat race, his stomach flip-flopped and he  was "petrified".

"They [the boats] seemed to spend more time out of the water than in," the 54-year-old said.

By the time he hopped in a thundercat for a whirl himself, though, that had all changed.

"I'm now hooked on them ... It's a lot of fun. I've only got to start talking about it and I get excited," he said.

The Tauranga man,  with son Hayden Elmsly, 23, form one of two teams from the Bay who competed in the Thundercat National Surfcross competition at Mount Maunganui yesterday.

A second boat, teamed by a Western Bay two-man crew, and sponsored by Carson Construction Engineers, also competed.

Yesterday was the second round of the national competition, which will also see the crews head to Waihi Beach, Waipu Cove, Lyall Bay and Piha to battle it out for the national title  in the coming two months.

Sponsored by Robert Page Engineering, the Elmsly team compete in a thundercat owned by Hayden, who paid  about $15,000 for it, after becoming hooked when he discovered the sport  on the internet.

Hayden, who is competing in his third racing season and is the driver, coaxed his dad, who is in his first season, into being co-driver.

Mr Elmsly said as well as needing "a few strong body parts" and a good performing boat and motor,  a high level of skill was involved in thundercat racing.

"It's a learning process and ongoing," he said.

The boats are crewed by a driver at the back and the co-pilot at the front stabilising the craft and bearing the full brunt of the surf, while speeds reach  more than 70km/h in as little as 300mm of water.

Yesterday's race saw the Elmsly crew, who both work as engineers, competing fresh from Whangamata on January 3, where they were allocated four races in 12 heats, placing first, second, third and fourth. They made the "A" finals, taking sixth place overall.

Yesterday's racing conditions were "exceptionally great"  Mr Elmsly said, with a good surf build-up and chop on the water. However, high winds did present some challenges.

The Elmsly crew raced in four races out of 12 heats yesterday, gaining two third placings and one fourth. They again made the "A" finals but hit a major hurdle when  a pile-up of boats occurred during the race, as several attempted to turn a corner at the same time. Mr Elmsly was catapulted out of his thundercat but was uninjured. The pair finished 10th overall.

Boats race several laps around a course through the surf, which guarantees plenty of spectacular jumps, thrills and spills.

Thundercat racing provided spectacular entertainment, Mr Elmsly said.