The time allocated for each section of the event between scheduled stops is based on an average of 30 km/h. A majority of crews are generally skiing at 45 – 50 km/h which allows you to comfortably meet time requirements. It is not a race so you can choose a speed that you are comfortable with.

The river does become increasingly narrower as we go, particularly between Cobdogla and Renmark, which does require some additional navigation through sand bars etc. As long as the driver and navigator pay attention, stick generally to the outside of bends and adhere to any river markers you should be fine. As we get closer to Renmark there are fewer opportunities for boats to drop skier’s and turn around mid-leg. The first two days provide plenty of opportunity to change skiers mid leg with minimal sand bars to negotiate.

The safe bet is to allow 1 litre of fuel per kilometre, it’s far easier to have fuel  left over than need to fill up while floating down the river !!!

There will be a fuel trailer that will carry each crew’s jerry cans, this trailer will be able to park close to the boats at each stop which will minimise the distance you need to carry fuel cans. Once refuelling has occurred the trailer then generally heads to a nominated service station so each crew can fill their respective fuel cans and return them to the trailer for the next leg.

The trailer will be at Murray Bridge on Thursday night so you can place your full fuel cans straight into it and be all ready to go for day 1.

We have an ‘Aerial Boat Herder’ (Bob the Pilot in his trusty Cessna) as part of the event. The plane provides important coverage for all boats, communicates to the various locks and event officials on boat position and provides a reliable communication channel if the unfortunate event arises (mechanical issues, sand bars, injured skiers etc).

Each boat will also be fitted with a GPS tracker which allows the plane to accurately locate all participants.

Phone coverage is patchy along the river so the most reliable form of communication is via UHF Radio. Permanently mounted radios in the boats provide the best coverage; alternatively, handheld 5 Watt radios are more than sufficient. Handheld radios of lower power ratings do still work in areas but do not provide communication coverage for the entire event.

It is highly recommended that each crew have a 5 Watt hand held as a minimum.

All boats will be launched from the boat ramps at the Murray Bridge Marina Caravan Park on the Friday morning before making their way upstream to Sturt Reserve for breakfast and the official start of the event.

Boats can remain in the water on the Friday and Saturday night stop overs. Security will be provided at these locations to ensure that all boats and equipment is safe. The facility to remove boats overnight is available for crews if they wish.

All boats are to be removed from the river on Sunday afternoon from Renmark, security will be provided overnight in the car park outside of the Paringa Resort.

All crews are encouraged to fundraise for the Ski for Life charity. We appreciate the costs of participating in the event so we don’t set a minimum amount, but we would like for crews to aim for a minimum of $2,000.

The links for you to set up your fundraising page will be provided closer to the event once entries have been received. In the mean time there is no reason that you can’t commence your fund raising ventures at any time and either add any donations to your page once established or alternatively directly via the link on the Ski for Life web page.

We hold a charity auction on the Saturday night at Cobdogla. The auction is carried out in two parts; there is the live auction that encourages some very spirited bidding as well as the silent auction for items that people can nominate their bid for throughout the night.

Each crew is encouraged to donate an item for the auction. There is no limit on what can be donated for auction, in the past we have had items such as; Sky Diving, House Boat Hire, Wine, Wet Suits, Knee Boards, Ski Ropes, Whipper Snippers, Eskies, Autographed Cricket Bats, Car Mats, the list is endless.

As we pass through 5 locks throughout the event there is the unfortunate amount of time that we spend in a confined environment. Rest assured there is no shortage of attempts from the crews to keep themselves entertained, so come armed with your favourite water pistols to add to the fun (no water balloons permitted).

Rest assured you will not go hungry, even after 3 days of skiing you will still manage to add to the waist line !!!

Meals are catered for fantastically throughout the event all the way from dinner on Thursday night through to breakfast on Monday morning.