Southern Traverse
Land Rover Happy to Finish
Rob / 22.11.2002
So good was the team spirit that there were no recriminations, not a word was spoken out of turn about the mistake made by team captain Steve ‘Ski’ Sharp, though Nicola Macleod did say there might have been a few private thoughts that were not uttered. It cost them half a day and perhaps a top 10 place, but their aim was to finish and for Ran Fiennes to complete a big multi-day race. For Ski Sharp and Nicola MacLeod getting round eased memories of finishing unranked with Fiennes last year, and for Norman Dunroy it was his second finish of a big race in 6 weeks, as he completed the Fiji Eco-Challenge. Only on the finish did Fiennes discover he was the oldest competitor at 56 years of age, and although there was one racer younger than Nicola MacLeod (23) her team didn’t finish.
The team paddled up to the line in bright sunshine after camping on the river bank overnight, with the luxury of 2 sleeping bags and 2 bottles of beer between the four of them. They were so comfortable they nearly overslept and when Dunroy said, “It’s late� they all jumped up thinking he said, “It’s eight.� They broke camp in 18 minutes and were on the water at 06.03 and on their way to the finish line.
Speaking of his team mates Fiennes said everyone got on perfectly. “The team dynamics were 100%. There was no arguing or niggling, we all got on well and got on with it.. For me the biking was the worst and I always like canoeing so I enjoyed that.� Then he added with a smile, “Apart from the bit where Ski suffered memory failure!�
Dunroy revealed that the team had even considered coming ashore and running, rather than turning into tide and wind to get back to CP20. “We did land and start to get changed�, he said, “ but then we realised it was a stupid idea! It was 14km and we were in kayaking gear with no proper footwear, so we got back in and paddled.� He thought the previous night’s camp was the highlight of the race!
The team found some of the trekking on the Richmond range particularly tough, as everyone did. At one point they took 90 minutes to cover one kilometre through dense bush, before sliding down through crags on their backsides. They have quite a few scratches and cuts, and Fiennes’ finger ends were blistered and sore from thorn wounds. He thanked Race Director Geoff Hunt for putting on such a great race and was particularly grateful to their ‘professional’ support crew of Scott and Emma, who were helped out a band of other helpers, and a couple of Land Rovers of course!
SleepMonsters
