RTG Southern Cross Daily Dispatch low-res - Flipbook - Page 4
15 February to 5 March 2020
Day 1
Watamu to Watamu (157.54 km)
16 February 2020
Day one of any rally can be a tense affair and today the Southern Cross Safari took the plunge. We’ve
been holed up at Hemingway‘s now for around three days and, whilst it’s very nice and extremely
agreeable, everyone is keen to get on the road. This is, after all, why we came.
Photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
Willy Van Loon & Christiane Torfs,
Bentley Derby 3 ½
But, and you can choose your own metaphor here, for
everyone the first day is a step into the unknown, a leap of
faith, a stab in the dark.
As such there was a frisson of nervous energy around
the car park this morning. The drivers had their bonnets up
and the navigators had their route books open. Fluids were
checked, tricky junctions were highlighted and the time
schedule to which every car had to stick was noted.
Although this is a competitive event it’s also a friendly one
and, in the spirit of car-based camaraderie, Dawn Smith took
the time to give Jenny Verrall, the rally rookie, some helpful
hints and tips.
Charles Stuart-Menteth, who was due out first, exuded a
cool calmness as he first refilled his pipe and then turned his
attention to his Vauxhall’s radiator - there’s no such thing as
too much water in this climate. Yesterday saw him lose two
headlights to a glancing blow from a tuk tuk, but today is
another day and, thanks to the assistance of the sweep crews
last night, he made his due time and got through the day
without further incident.
Meanwhile, under a shady thatch, Andy Inskip sat at
Fred Gallagher flags away the first car Charles StuartMenteth and Michael Timmis in the Vauxhall 30/98
the Main Time Control (MTC) with a sheaf of 48 hour car
amendments and a stopwatch at the ready. As 10.01am came
around it fell to Fred Gallagher and Loren Price to take turns
to send every car away from the arch with a wave of the
Bendera ya Kenya as a small crowd of excited locals, expats
and rally fans looked on.
Our destination was Vipingo Ridge, a plantation and
Country Club where two tests and two Regularities were
slated. There was also an excellent lunch provided here and,
once again, the Indian Ocean came up trumps by providing
us with lobster and shrimp for the barbecue as well as seared
tuna steaks for the buffet table.
Unfortunately, Thomas Hansen, another rally rookie,
thought the whole route was a Regularity and arrived at the
lunch halt along with Rob Collinge a little behind schedule.
Palms and sisal bushes were the backdrop for the four
dusty sections today and, by the end of the afternoon, no one
came out of the jungle feeling anything less than a real safari
hero. Fun and games finished, from Vipingo we then had a
simple return journey of around 75 km back up the coast to
Hemingway’s and another beachfront banquet.
www.rallytheglobe.com
