Robin Hoods Bay 2009

Couldn’t make most of the event due to family (Millstone!!, Neck!!) commitments. I turned up about 9.15 on the last day (Monday) to find several devastated tents due to the onset of extremely strong wind (no, not Mark!) and a few distinctly sick motors being hastily repaired through the red mists of hangover.

Martin had bust both engine mountings and had the wings off waiting for me to bring replacements and Tony was battling with a seized alternator and a battery flatter than a stingray, in between bites of bacon butty, having already replaced the back diff, which he blew up setting out the sections before even turning a wheel in anger, AGAIN!!. (Still, at least he didn’t snap the chassis in half this time). Time to invest in those Ashcroft’s Tony my boy!.

Wind was blowing a gale but sun was out and was shaping up to be a glorious day provided you didn’t get blown clean off the edge into the bay!. I did, in fact, manage to get hideously sunburnt during the course of the day due to my accursed pale, pasty skin (Cheers Dad!!) and am thinking of changing my surname to Burns just to make it more appropriate. (The wife settled for panda eyes from wearing her sunglasses all day and for some reason took violent exception to being called Chi-Chi for the next few days!)

First off, I was (gleefully I might add) informed that I’d missed getting footage of Dave Hemming pulling a full roll that had wiped out twelve feet of fencing at the bottom of the site, bent the back of his motor all kinds of wonderful freeform shapes and which had taken an in-line three horse pull on full throttle to get him back out again. (There’s also a sizeable area of bracken and small bushes that won’t be recovering any time soon as well).

Met “Moose” for the first time (to be fair he’s a big, tall lad and a bit hard to miss. If they’d made him sit up all night and pitched their tents behind him and they’d all have been sorted!!). Saw the famous teepee, which he swears blind is a Finnish army tent and not something he nicked when Pocahontas wasn’t looking. Also saw his Unimog! A serious piece of kit and the first I’ve seen for some time. (Once saw the spec for them and under towing capacity it just said “Don’t worry, it’ll pull it”).

Day started out very promisingly with a very nice semi-vertical hill slide down to the eleven stick and through a nice long bog-run, although most of those that that were caught out were at the eight gate which was sneakily just below the level of the lip of another drop, where you couldn’t see it, so you had to go from memory.

It pretty much set the standard for the day really. Loads of steep climbs and drops. More than enough deep water to keep Tony happy!. Got lots of good video footage when the wind wasn’t trying to blow the camera out of my hand, but no one had the courtesy to fall over unfortunately, so nothing for the site this time

The wind had dropped by lunchtime and the sun really got going. Tony’s motor developed a fairly serious electrical fault that kept draining the battery so we were following it round with the Discovery and jump leads boosting it back up between every section and then bump starting it. (Roll on the new toy!!). Not that this was a massive problem for Tony as he was double entered in Martin’s Auto and was making full use of the viscous handbrake. Paul, by contrast, had a right fight on his hands to finish the day. (He did it though, and came fifth with a 3.7 average!. Not bad for someone who’s been at it less than a year).

Of course, Mark felt compelled to point out to Tony that, despite being in the same motor, Martin had score 95 points less and had taken the weekend, but then you just would, wouldn’t you!!

Went up to Whitby afterwards, for tea, and had fish and chips from the Magpie as I didn’t have anything to tow behind and didn’t fancy doing battle on the A64. Came back much, much later when most of the traffic misery had crawled away and died.

Bring on the next event!! I’m in for the weekend next time we go to "The Bay". Everyone else’s needs and wants can go Bo!$&*cks for once. (If anyone's got a winning lottery ticket they want to share so I can afford my own toy again, then that wouldn't go amiss either)

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