2006: The Year of the Missing Trophy
For the second 4x4 Challenge for Charity, organisers Jonathan and Robert were determined to match the success of the first event. But this year, they aimed for more teams, more money raised for Temple Street Children’s Hospital, more trickery – and even more craic.
The 2005 event had kicked off with nine teams. This time, 28 drivers of assorted 4x4 breeds arrived with their navigators at the Aillwee Cave in Co Clare, backed up by nine support vehicles and 15 marshalls. From there, they set out to negotiate 800kms of challenges, amidst stunning scenery through seven counties. Over 48 hours, they would pit their wits and skills against the all the deviousness that Robert and Jonathan could throw at them.
The basic format of a grand scale treasure hunt remains – and the tools, Discovery Series maps, a road book and a 4x4. Teams navigate the route as laid out by the organisers, recording marker boards and spotting clues to answer set questions.
On Friday night some pitched up at the Pier Head Bar and Restaurant in Kinvara for a drink, chat and to ponder one question: “What will they throw at us this year?” Jonathan and Robert remained tight-lipped, smirking. The first stage had been laid out that afternoon, ready for Saturday morning, to take in the magnificent sights around the Burren.
Nervous navigators, demented drivers
Following registration and a briefing on Saturday morning, teams were handed their road book and given 15 minutes to get an idea of where they were going. Nervous navigators and demented drivers tried to figure out grid references and clues, before being sent off at one-minute intervals. Curiously, one team reappeared in the car park fifteen minutes after they had started… They figured out that the first couple of clues had been ‘inside’ the grounds of the Aillwee Cave and had returned to check them out. They still didn’t win!
Robert headed for Mayo to mark out the second stage for the afternoon. With all teams dispatched, it was time for Jonathan to review how they were getting on. He took up position on a high vantage point and spent the morning marvelling at the display of navigation skill – or more often, in hysterics at the sheer lack of it. Discos, Pajeros, Jeeps, Defenders and Series 3s – you name it, even a G-Wagen – they careered around the Burren in all directions. Finally, they figured out where they should be and managed to pass his checkpoint, sometimes twice!
Teams were then routed via Kinvara and on up to Newport in Co Mayo. Devious route-setting was compounded by part of the route being printed in mirror image, which bemused several of them – it was cruel – but fair. Some used the mirror to read it, while others simplified matters by holding it up to the light and reading from behind. Some actually thought it was nonsense and disregarded it altogether! They were getting a feel for the depth of the deviousness they were up against.
Team Pirate see in the Dark
Shane Foran and Denise Hannigan had difficulties, with Denise suffering from a sudden eye infection. They got to a doctor in Kinvara and armed with a prescription and an eye-patch were back in the event, re-branded as Team Pirate!
David and Siobhán, the words-and-pictures crew, went ahead of the posse to grab several shots in the Burren, before heading north to be in position near Newport for another round of pointing, shooting and scribbling but mostly, just waving.
Robert had reported back from Mayo with warnings of large-scale sheep movements on some sections and messages of caution for the teams.
The teams were now spread out with some quite far behind. With the event heading up into Donegal, some adjustment was needed and a 5pm curfew was set for entry to the Newport stage. Some teams had to divert towards Ballyshannon and the night stop, without completing the Mayo section. A sizeable number made it – and proved that the route wasn’t impossible in the timescale.
Elvis’s Floorshow and the Men of Cork
The night stop was in a Donegal campsite. In keeping with last year’s event, there was a bar with food, to keep the motor running, complete with an Elvis floorshow – but first, the night navigation!
North of Donegal town lie the Bluestack Mountains, the territory for this year’s night section. The route plotting was fairly straightforward but the marker boards were positioned so that those who travelled at a gentle pace would benefit. Team Pirate took the honours, so who said women can’t read a map? Denise did it with one eye shut – how would she fare blindfolded, we wonder? Team Pirate’s extraordinary exploits were later covered in LRO.
Most made it into a sleeping bag by 2:30am, although it’s rumoured that some may have been a touch later, unable to resist the delights of the Elvis show!! Thankfully, those Cork men are hardy boys with scant need for sleep.
The Navman’s Full Irish
The plan for Sunday morning was to get the teams fed and underway by 9am but ten was nearer the mark. One driver spent some time outside their makeshift tent, calling on his navigator to get up. The navman, meanwhile, was tucking into a full Irish breakfast. Teamwork? Nah!
A single grid reference was their only instruction: just get there and find out what’s next! This proved a popular section at a quarry, set up with number plates placed as marker boards. One team later admitted that they hadn’t seen any of the 29 number plates, hadn’t a clue what they were looking for and drove out of the quarry without a single board marked. Others found all 29, plus the plates on any vehicle parked or moving on the site!
The quarry had been expertly laid out by Raymond and Ivan Black to give teams a good off-road section that would include mud, slopes and tricky sections to keep them on their toes. It did – and they loved it. They were unsure about the water hazard though, so they kept going back, just to make sure that they were doing it right. They were photographed repeatedly but one Series 3 plunged in and out and splashed so artfully, it also ended up in LRO.
Once finished in the quarry the road book took the event back south and east towards Leitrim and some of the ground covered in last year’s event. Again the route was incomplete, as a final grid reference left teams wondering what was next: 27 miles of tulip diagrams – that’s what!
On arrival at the next checkpoint a new set of instructions were issued and teams briefed on the tulips. The look on some faces was priceless, never having witnessed such trickery. But oddly enough, they were the ones who took their time and did quite well over the final stage. A mixture of gravel and grassy tracks made for some interesting terrain to travel and had the drivers on their toes concentrating on instructions from the left hand seat. Many found this a really interesting section to finish the day, before heading for the hotel and a well earned shower before dinner.
Muddy 4x4s and Filthy People at the Posh Hotel
The Slieve Russell Hotel in Co Cavan hosted the presentation dinner for the second year and we thank them for their help. The staff of this luxury hotel were unfazed by the arrival of a crowd of noisy, muddy 4x4s and equally scruffy people . They gave us a room to ourselves for dinner and the prize-giving, with its own bar to keep the revellers lubricated.
It was demanding but the spirit of the event, the camaraderie that developed – not to mention the skills of the navigators and drivers – was superb. Just when individuals felt they could be overwhelmed by the challenge, they found the determination and the doggedness to keep them pressing on, bantering and tormenting their rivals as they went. The word has spread and its place is now firmly established in Ireland’s 4x4 calendar.
Year of the Missing Trophy
Why did we call it ‘The Year of The Missing Trophy’? Well, triumphant Andy and Glen (the Slag Brothers) managed to ‘lose’ the trophy on their way to bed at 4:30am. It was later found by a conscientious staff member and placed in safe keeping until morning. But that wasn’t the end. The trophy was then returned to Cavan crystal for engraving where it ‘got lost’ again. Happily, it is now back in its rightful place in Northern Ireland.