For the fourth time we were, once more helping with this year's Goldrush Rally of Coromandel.
After severely fluctuating numbers we ended up with
eight people (including two newbies,
both of whom proved to be worth their weight in gold!!)
Dale collected the gear on the Friday whilst I did my
Hamilton run, during which I collected
Dinny and Kaia (who had bussed from Turangi) and Denise (who had bussed
from Auckland).
We also collected Sarah (who was part of another team) from Cambridge.
Because we had been given the Spectacular, Special
Spectator Special Stage which is only
just over 1.0 km long (and with an average speed of 101 km/h) we didn't
actually have to be
on site until 2 p.m. - not the 4,30 am we had for the last event!!.- Oh
joy.
Dinny, Kaia and Denise stayed here on Friday night,
we collected Jack on the way and met
Dale, Kelvin and Poko in Whitianga.
Once more we had 'some' difficulty erecting the
tent!!
But at least it was in the middle of the day as opposed to the middle
of the night.
Then what did we find? The organisers had changed the
stage direction to be the opposite
of the last three years. Bugger!
This stage has a lengthy spectator vantage point for
the 1st 300m or so, and having Haydon
Paddon and Greg Murphy competing just added to the excitement.
The event was basically a Rallysafe one but with an
additional beam and RNZ equip for this
stage anyway this meant that we did not need a pink slip runner.
| the team performed exceptionally well, with duties allocated as follows: | |
|---|---|
| Warwick | Post Chief once again.Just call me Capt. Peacock |
| Dale | My right hand man and Flying Finish guru |
| Dinny | Dale's assistant |
| Poko | Flying Finish too |
| Denise | Card Calculations |
| Kaia | Log Writer |
| Jack | Road Cards |
| Kelvin ... |
Board and paddle. Once more the board proved
to be very welcome. I think (but can't be sure) that we were the only stage crew to go to this extra effort. |
As I said hats off to Jack and Kelvin (our newbies)
who looked like they had
both 'been doing it for years'
Once home Dinny, Dale and I had a 'few' Ngas
Well done team. Our next big event is Targa
NZ (what
we tend to call Big Targa)
starting Tues 24th October, finishing in Wellington 29th October. Hands
up those
who are prepared to help!