Island Cooler became the first boat to record back-to-back Southern 80 victories since Suicide when it recorded record-breaking victories in 1989 and 1990 , both times towing local waterskier Jamie Oliver . The record time set in 1990 was 34 minutes and 18 seconds , for an average speed of 140 km/h . That year , the race attracted a then-record 336 entries . God 's Gift and Got ta Be Crazy were the two dominant boats of the 1990s , with the North Queensland team of Got ta Be Crazy victorious in 1993 and 1996 , while the iconic God 's Gift recorded two record-breaking victories in 1995 and 1998 . God 's Gift towed Oliver to both victories , giving him a record four outright wins for a skier at the time Top Shot became the first boat to break the 32-minute barrier when it recorded an outright win in 2000 . , while Blown Budget was a popular winner in 2003 , as 11 years earlier Blown Budget 's skiers Steve Morley and Brett Dominguez had won the Southern 80 outright with Thundernuts . Both boats were driven by Brett 's father , Michael Dominguez . The Hellbent team of driver Mark Cranny and observer Damien Matthews were dominant at the end of the decade , recording Southern 80 wins in 2005 , 2006 and 2008 . There was no outright winners in the 2009 Southern 80 , as the race had to be abandoned on the Sunday as emergency services crews were called away to assist with the Black Saturday bushfires Cranny and Matthews have dominated the Southern 80 in recent years , recording wins in 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 and 2015 with Hellrazor . All five victories involved skier Peter Procter , while his teammate in four of the wins was Jason Walmsley . Walmsley also claimed outright Southern 80 victories with Stinga in 2007 and Hellbent in 2008 , giving him a record six outright wins for a skier ( as of 2015 ) . Cranny holds the record for most wins by a driver with nine , while Matthews has recorded eight outright victories as an observer and one as a skier , back in 1990 with Island Cooler
Black Saturday bushfires
Black Saturday bushfires
Southern 80