Seeds and Storms!

Lots of grass seeds, lots of rain and lots of fun! That about sums up the "Just Bluffing" rogaine event.
In true rogaining style, everyone who ventured out enjoyed the course and the experience, and made the best of a damp situation.

On the down side, a lot of people didn't hang around. They wanted to get  out before the hash site turned into a swamp and Ivory Creek covered the little bridge that everyone had to cross to get out.As it turns out, it never did, which was good for fellow organiser, Bruce Jones, who was camped right next to it!
If we were able to get a camp fire going, it would have cheered the place up.But it was just toooo wet!

Mind you, Peter McCallum, our logistics Guru, helped with team morale by bogging the truck in the middle of the hash swamp. It was a good laugh watching the remaining rogainers push it out Sunday morning .

Still, you know the old saying... Rogainers march on their stomachs. As long as you provide them with a good feed, they'll endure just about anything. I'm sure all present would have agreed that we did just that. A big thank you to our caterers, Chris, Megan and Linda and kids, who served up a treat, despite the slightly damp working conditions!

Congratulations to our winners,in particular the three teams that stayed out all night:- Overall winners, and rogainers extraordinaire- Richard Robinson and Tamsin Barnes, the intrepid duo,Gregor Wilson and Paul Guard, who won the mens open, and the evergreen Walter Kelemen and Sue Clarke, our super vet champions.. all pictured below.

A big thank you to my team over the weekend- Peter McCallum,Mat McGuire, and,of course, my partner in crime, Bruce Jones, here seen imparting his pearls of wisdom on an unsuspecting novice.

By the way,it was Mat who hung the punch up out of reach at Water point 1, as proved by the following photo.He'll say I told him to do it, but don't believe him!

But seriously, Mat was a great help running the navlight system on the computer for us.
Thank you also to Ben Hiley and Kevin McDougall who helped us set up the hash site on the Friday afternoon.
By the way,have a look at the hash site a few days after the event!

                                                    The 100 knot winds had the final say!
All that now remains is to collect all the flags and punches, and say a few farewells to the landowners and property managers. Without their cooperation and assistance, we just wouldn't have these events. In particular, I'd like to thank Mark Gelhaar, the Eskdale manager, who slashed the hash, dug the bog holes, and provided the water free of charge. Nothing was too much trouble.
So.. after 21 day visits to the site, and numerous hours of work at home..would I organise a 24 hour event again?? Probably...but with more help in the early stages.I think we  were able to  manage it because I work for myself and Bruce is retired. It helped living close to the map site, as well.
In the end, Bruce and I feel privileged. We got to venture around some great countryside,  visited every control site, met some great people, improved our rogaining skills to no end, and brought enjoyment to you lot.
You've all got to do it once! No Bluffing!

Rob