The 2001 2 Bay Rod Run was a fantastic success. Both for the entrants and the club.

The 2 Bay Run has traditionally run two weeks after the Nationals to give those rodders who couldn't make it to the Nationals for what ever reason, one last chance to attend a Run before those cold winter months set in. This year was no exception with two Bay Rodders debuting their new rods at the run, Andrew Hall in his '48 Anglia and Ron Mills with his '56 F100 pickup. There was also a fair share of hard luck stories, with a custom doing a wheel bearing as he came off the ferry at Sorrento, another entrant breaking down and participating in the run with his rod on a flat top and yet another who trailered his rod home to Ballarat and returned to the run in a borrowed car. Ron Mills also did a Jag diff in his new F100 after having taken his daughter to her wedding on the Saturday night. Fellow members Dave Cox and Peter Arnold put in some late hours to replace it so that Ron could attend the show and shine on the Sunday. Just where do you find a 3.3 ratio LSD Jag diff at 11:30pm on a Saturday night?

Some quite heavy rain late Friday afternoon had the members a bit edgy, not to mention wet as they helped set up the Racecourse for the run. But by 6 o'clock we had 60 pre-entrants and 15 new entrants and their families gather at the Racecourse for a very solid bench session. The free sausages and drinks went down very well, everyone keen to catch up with the latest news. There was a TV and video set up, the kids winning out with cartoons the main feature, but that was OK as it left the Mum's and Dad's free to do their own thing. As usual it was those blokes with the red club jackets who were last to leave, having polished off the last of the supplies.

Saturday Morning dawned a beautiful autumn day, registration was open early and were kept busy with the rods arriving in convoys. The Vietnam Veterans were also busy cooking the entrants a pancake breakfast which proved to be very popular. Then there was time for a quick local cruise or check in. The "Car Thing" observation run kicked off at 11 o'clock, with several pages of instructions and questions the final destination was HMAS Cerberus at Crib Point on Western Port Bay. All the rods parked on the athletics track across the road from the hall the Function Rooms the club had hired. A great novelty was the Navy steam truck restored by apprentices over the years. Most took the opportunity for a ride around the base in the tray of this old truck. Lunch was a beautiful roast beef roll and salad.

The afternoon was free for entrants to explore the base, the museum was open along with some of the training facilities. Unfortunately there were no ships at the port or in the harbour. But there was still plenty to see and do and it was late afternoon before most of the rodders headed back.

Saturday Night - Many rodders took the opportunity to head back to their accommodation, change and head out for a meal before returning to the racecourse for the Dance. Driving down Main Street it was wall to wall Hot Rods and Customs crusin' and parked everywhere. By the time the Dance started were up to 165 entries,

Sunday and the cold morning meant only one thing, clear skies, plenty of sunshine and plenty of hot rods. For entrants there was an egg and bacon breakfast at the Racecourse. This time the Show and Shine was based at the Mornington Football Oval, Main Street, Mornington. We couldn't have asked for a better location. By 1 o'clock we had over 350 rods, customs and other collectable cars displayed on the oval and around the grounds. It really was a spectacular sight.

Presentation was held at 2:00pm on the Sunday Afternoon. All the entrants gathered at the clubhouse to see the trophy presentation. This year we dedicated several trophies to the "average rodder". Sure there were lots of exceptional rods there and most of these picked up trophies, but we wanted to recognise those guys who attend the runs and usually have a ball doing it. These guys and their families are the heart and soul of rodding and we felt due for some booty. Even after presentation many of the rods stayed on and it wasn't until about 5 o'clock that quiet again descended on the township of Mornington.

Thanks go to the Rod Run Committee of Bob and Sylvia and Alistair Armitage, Mark and Debbie Pullen, Dave and Chris Cox, Ian and Lyn Cornish, Ian and Jenni Maddicks for all their work over the last 12 months. The other members and their families for all their work over the whole weekend. All our sponsors, without whom we could not put on such a value for money event. And last but not least all those rodders who came and made it such a great weekend.

Greg Wapling
President and Rod Run Director

Winner of the "The Car Thing" (observation run) was entry #143 with 44 points. And there was a special comendation for entry #158, who sealed her answer sheet with a kiss.