Hebridean Challenge

Into the Hills of Harris

Felicity Martin/Rob / 09.05.2002

For day 3 the activity took place in the rugged hills of Harris, but first everyone had to get there. And even as it got light the first of day’s challenges occurred for team Parrot Lythgoe. It was 4.30 am and only half-light when they hit a red deer while driving from the overnight stop on Berneray to Lochmaddy on North Uist to catch the ferry to Harris. The deer ran off, which was a relief to the team, but the radiator on their minibus burst, leaving them immobile … with a ferry to catch. If they didn’t make it they were out of the race.

They were grateful for a tow from Kona Xtreme, using four strands of climbing rope that withstood the strain of 6 miles of bumpy single-track road. Within a couple of hours of arrival at Tarbert on Harris an obliging garage in Stornoway had driven a new radiator over 35 miles of hill roads and installed it. Meanwhile the team managed to scrounge lifts and make imaginative use of kit to complete the course during the day. By the time they passed back through Tarbert (which luckily the course did at the end of the day) their vehicle was ready for collection. They were on the road again!

They weren’t the only ones having an interesting time getting to Harris either. The kayakers had to paddle across the Sound of Harris from Berneray – an exposed sea crossing of 8 miles in Force 5 winds. It was the toughest paddle yet, against the tide and with a significant swell. Fortunately, the weather wasn’t so bad the stage had to be cancelled, which is always a risk in this race.

In fact, the course and stopping points are often determined by ferry times, as is life and business on the islands. A decision on this morning’s paddler had to be made early, so if the stage was called off everyone could pack up and bundle onto the ferry for Tarbert. But there was to be no cosy breakfast on the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry for the paddlers – just for the rest of the team. Race Director Martin Stone uses the ‘time out’ on the ferry for extra briefings and to work on the scores/results – which he does himself.