SARDINIA RAID ADVENTURE
Drama Right to the End
Rob Howard / 17.04.2011
It transpired the Polish pair had spent an incredible 10 hours searching for the CP at the ancient village on Mount Tiscali. They’d been up and down the mountain and searched it almost stone by stone through the night, such was their determination. They did discuss giving up on it and moving on, and as they had already gained more CP’s than any other team could, it would likely make little difference to the rankings ... but it did make a difference to them, and they could not leave it unfound. Once it was finally located in the dawn light they moved on to the Silana hotel, eat, changed and carried straight on. In the words of the marshal, “they looked pretty beat up.� And the race was not done with playing tricks on them yet ...
The remaining teams, including all those who had pulled out on day one, set off together riding down through a series of valleys and canyons on dirt roads which gradually changed to a track of broken limestone pebbles. This happened just as the sea came into sight far below and the final steep canyon descent began, with the road narrowing to difficult single track and passing a CP at a spectacular stone arch. Ali Riza Bilal of Touareg Turk 1 said it was “an amazing ride. Perfect!�, then added, “I fell 4 times as my wheels slipped on the pebbles.�
The coastal canyons here all lead to beaches and the next Transition was on a beach called Cala Luna, where the kayaks were waiting. It was very windy and the sea was choppy but a shortened stage was going ahead, with teams paddling up the coast to the finish via the Bue Marino cave. It was not going to be easy, and just getting out through the surf was tricky. Once throught the teams were then among the short waves below the cliffs, which were riddled with caves, though their destination was obvious enough.
The Bue Marino Cave had two large openings with ferry pontoons visible inside, used by a tourist ferry taking visitors to the show cave, which is normally lit to some depth ... but not today. It was far too rough for the ferry and the lights were off! Big waves were crashing through the opening and the boom as they hit the rock was a daunting marker for the narrow entrance the kayakers were aiming for. Not everyone made it. Anne Marie Charest of Pedini-Iret hit the rock alongside the opening and Loreto Garcia Fuentes came close, both managing to stay upright and try again successfully.
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