Birchip Comp. Easter weekend 2004 Hugh Alexander
Ah! Birchip, which I’m sure is Aboriginal for tailwind, no matter which end of the paddock the comp committee allocate to tow from. Although this year they managed a reasonable job, except the final day when there seemed to be no wind at all.
Day 1 was a quick jaunt East to Cannie, the task committee considered it too late for a long venture, although once in the air the lift was good for this time of year. Gary Hickson attempted to use the new untried dolly which the team only made the week previous. Gary attracted the attention of many as the dolly went for a brief fly also. Then after recovering and taking off again he flew not to goal, but past it. Ian Haig radioed to his team that he had landed on the road to Ultima, It turns out that he was actually on the road to Warne. A driver went passed and asked him where he was, he announced he was on the road to Culgoa. Rohan Holtkamp winning the day so he wore the superman outfit the next morning at briefing and Peter Davies 13th.
Day 2 didn’t look to bad although a cloud band was on its way and expected around 3 o’clock. As it happened more than half the field got away on course when the cloud moved in and shut the day down, causing no one to make goal. Ann Moss was attempting to take out the skypig award with seven tows in an effort to make it out of the paddock. This also earned her the second extracted batch of ‘Essence of Rohan’. A delicacy tasted by few, an elixir so rare, untouched by human hands and collected with the help of Sandra Holtkamp, jumper leads and a car battery. This potion aids the languishing pilot in their particular area of lacking. Tim Osborne the best distance with 38.1 km. Steve Whalley 13th with 17 km. Saturday night brought some unexpected talent to birchip RSL, with the running of the red faces comp. The Holtkamp children teased the crowd with the prospect of consuming a few Easter eggs. The Thunderdorks put on a puppetry of the penis show, ‘G’ rated for the kids, then came the ‘peace de résistance’, Team Clown with ‘The man from Royal Talbot’. A poem about Beavo who’s now firmly back in the saddle after a rather nasty stouch with the dirt, and Royal Talbot being a repatriation hospital in Melbourne. The poem is loosely borrowed from Henry Lawson. See appendix.
Day 3 NE to Lake Boga 63.2km. with 10 pilots making goal and another 6 within 10 km. A cover of stratus cloud came in late and closed the day down. One Question on the landing form was ‘You know your still and intermediate pilot when……..’ Vanessa Spark wrote ‘when you land only 8 km. from take off, you sit there eating blowflies with your Vegamite sandwich, and you don’t care’. Another pilot wrote ‘when leaving the paddock means closing the gate behind you. Ian Rees’ driver (wife) had a flat tyre while on the retrieve. Ian over the next hour, had to explain over the radio, how to change a tyre an a 4wd. 1st for the day was Steve Blinkinsop and Trevor Scott 13th.
Ann Moss, after one short flight, packed up, went back and re towed then flew 21.6 km.
Day 4 51.8 km to Nyarrin, which ended up a cross tail wind task. Stuey Coad from team Rock didn’t want to be left in the paddock on the last day. After a reasonable first tow which he chose not to use the height he had, he left the paddock with 400ft and amassed a massive 2.2km in scratchy lift. Rohan Holtkamp won the day with a time of 1.52 hrs. Tony Lowrey the only other pilot to make goal in 2.09 hrs. Andy Schmidt 13th.
C Grade
3rd Steve Whalley
2nd Trevor Scott
1st Andy Schmidt
B Grade
3rd Andy Phillips
2nd Peter Lissenburg
1st Hugh Alexander
Overall
3rd Steve Blenkinsop
2nd Tim Osborne
1st Rohan Holtkamp
13th Warrick Duncan
Skypig Award Trevor Scott