Urgent Help Needed By All Members - Please Read
 

As some of you will know I am also very much involved with Jetsprinting here downunder. Well yesterday we lost one of our jetsprint fraternity in the Australian bushfires, killed when he was trying to escape from the fires and saving his beloved boat, leaving behind a wife and family. Steve is just one of over 100 people killed so far in the fires and they are not finished yet, not by a long shot. Phil Dixon, my partner in the True Blue jetsprint team lost all his property but his house and family were spared, which we are thankful for.

We are starting a fund raising venture to help all those who werent so lucky. Every subscription that comes in for any of my magazines including H2O Full Throttle is going to the bush fire appeal so I would like to ask you all to consider subscribing to the magazine, either for yourself or your friends, or both. Our goal is to raise $100,000 so anything you can do is appreciated. Please also pass this around to everyone else you know and I thank you for your help, the bushfires are not finished on their path of destruction by a long way. Here are the links to the three mags.

H2O Full Throttle - https://www.h2ofullthrottle.com/subscribe.php

HeliOps - https://www.heliopsmag.com/subscribe.html

HeliTac - https://www.helitacmag.com/subscribe.html

Thanks again everyone and here is the news item about Steve. His boat was called Scream and was a work of art.

------------------------------------------------------

Article from: Herald Sun


February 08, 2009 12:00am

A SPEEDBOAT champion who died trying to save his boat is among at least five killed in fires that raged through Wandong and Clombinane.

Steve Lackas, a veteran of the V8 Superboat Championships, was attempting to tow his boat to safety when his property became engulfed in flames on Saturday afternoon.

His home was one of scores of properties destroyed around Kilmore, 60km north of Melbourne.

Michael Hendy had the heart-wrenching task of retrieving Mr Lackas' body with other local residents after the fire passed through.

"It was terrible," he said.

"He had made a phone call to a friend of mine to say that he needed help, and by the time he got there, the house was engulfed in flames. We arrived after that."

It is believed Mr Lackas was married with one child.

Mr Hendy said Mr Lackas had been preparing to leave in a bus, towing his boat, before running back into his house at the last minute to get another belonging.

"The bus was still running (when Mr Lackas was found) but he hasn't managed to get outside again," he said.

"The tragedy is that the bus and the shed were untouched, but the house that he ran into was burnt out."