After a lunchtime spent cooling down in the hut, we turned up to 800m to work hard and dropped three points. Unfortunately the US only dropped one point and so we had to do our best to go clean at 900m to give us a chance. We didn’t quite make it and dropped a further two points for a total of 2386.318. Unfortunately for us this wasn’t good enough as two of the other teams shot superbly. The Canadians, in one of their best ever shoots, finished with 2391.292 and the US were on 2392.339, a record score beating GB’s 2006 total by 19 V bulls. A special mention must go to Jon Underwood, Angus McLeod and Alastair Haley, who all put in 300′s in this match, and have all gone clean in all four DCRA team matches (675ex675). Pat Vamplew noted that, in performance terms, only one point had separated three of the teams over 480 shots – an extraordinary match. The standard of team competition over the past four days had been remarkable and the Americans and Canadians had pushed us so hard in the other matches that they richly deserved their results in this last one. It was a good feeling to be able to congratulate them after having carried the other matches with the highest ever aggregate score.

After a brief prize giving, we all returned to the hotel for a quick turnaround before taxis came to take us to the Murray Street Kitchen for our final team dinner. Excellent food and drink were consumed, various team members were congratulated and thanked and almost all fell foul of the Kangaroo Court before, at last, a little exploration of the nocturnal offerings Ottawa and Hull had to offer.

There was no lie-in the next morning as kit needed to be packed, the hut cleared up and fridges and other items returned to storage. The Captain also added some footwear to the Shoe Tree (as is traditional) before the team drove back to Toronto. We arrived at the airport with four hours to go before the flight took off, only to be faced with an initially efficient but eventually frustratingly slow check in, punctuated by a few gift presentations by the Captain. Three and a half hours later we were able to start the run through security’s fast track to get to the boarding gate just in time. All the team made it safely to the gate just in time and so ended a fun, demanding and successful 2014 GBRT tour to Canada and the USA!

Or so we thought…

British Airways managed to rub salt in to the wound of the Toronto experience by not delivering the Adjutants bag at Heathrow, with Paul W suffering a similar fate. Not only did this delay the team further, but BA even managed to mess up the claim reports too, swapping the names on the claims round and (really special this one) managing to quote the same bag tag for BOTH claims… resulting in the Adj getting Pauls luggage, and once he had sorted out the mess, then receiving his own two days later!

At 800m, the team put in a superb performance and lay down a marker by scoring 599 out of 600, with the US dropping 2 points and the Canadians 5 points. The wind conditions at 900m proved to be a bit more tricky, along with an unscheduled break for the early shooters when a tractor used for mowing the range appeared near the butts. A halt was called whilst it slowly drove the kilometre up to the firing point, the driver was told off and then drove all the way back!

Once shooting had resumed, the shooters and coaches had to work quite hard to maintain the momentum and once more the match came down to the last shooter. The US finished off on a match record of 1190.129, with the Canadians only three points behind on 1187.141. Angus McLeod was again the last shooter down for us and he duly slotted them all in for a 50, which meant that GB won the match by 2 points with a record score of 1192.132. This was another superb performance by the team in another very tightly fought match, with Jon Ford and Emma Nuttall top scoring on 100.14. The tension was palpable.

The celebrations were then quickly followed by another tie shoot, this time involving Emma Nuttall for the 900m aggregate (the MFC Walker Aggregate). Once more GBRT won the day as Emma first put in a 25.2 and then followed that up with a bull and a v-bull to win the shoot-out (in the best Perry tradition!). More silver earned and then it was time for a quick turnaround before most of the team had to assemble at the DCRA for the photo of the Governor General’s finalists. For those few that hadn’t made the final, there was a quick trip to Kanata for food and drugs shopping, followed by lunch at the Lone Star Tex-Mex Restaurant, in honour of our ammo of similar name.

Then it was time for the Final, which was 15 to count at 800m and 900m. Conditions proved to be testing at times but, as the dust settled, we had seven in the top 20: Emma Nuttall (6th), Dom de Vere (7th), Nigel Ball (8th), Jon Underwood (9th), David Armstrong (12th), Angus McLeod (17th), Stu Young (20th), with all except Stu (296) on a final score of 297. After the winner (Kent Reeve with a superb 299.41) had been chaired off and a photo of the team had been taken with the Commonwealth Match scoreboard, a very quick turnaround was required to get dressed in number ones for the prize giving. There, the team made many appearances, including Jane Messer picking up the largest trophy of all (for the Norman Beckett)! The haul included 14 individual trophies (Jon Underwood (4), Jane Messer (3), Emma Nuttall (3), Will Broad (2), Alastair Haley, Angus McLeod,) and 3 team matches (the Outlander, the Canada and the Commonwealth), with Lindsey McKerrell also picking up a trophy for the Under 25 short range match. Not a bad haul. Photos to come soon…

Tomorrow: the America Match!

This afternoon brought the start of the annual skirmish between Canada and Great Britain: the Canada Match at 300, 500 and 600 yards. This year, four international teams took part: Canada, Great Britain, Japan and the USA. Great Britain featured, in Bruce Winney, Angus McLeod, Jon Ford and Will Broad, four new caps with the youngest just 21 years old. A fine start at 300 yards put Great Britain all in on 400 ex 400, one point ahead of Canada and three points ahead of the USA, with Japan also losing points at this distance. 500 yards once again demonstrated GB’s resolve to retain the Canada Match, with them putting in a strong performance and only dropping a single point (as did the USA and Canada – still just one point behind). At 600 yards, with a few shots remaining from Angus McLeod, GB were leading the Canada match by two points. At close of play, Great Britain finished on a score of 1197.163, beating the USA into second on 1195.166 and Canada into third on 1195.144. This was apparently the third highest Canada match score and the fact that there were three teams with 1195 points or more, in 2-3 minutes of wind, made it a particularly special match. Top score of the team was Will Broad with 150.23, whose coach Bruce Winney had a memorably good match. Two down in the DCRA meeting, two to go…

Once everything had settled down after the match, everyone returned to the hotel for management to finalise the next team (the Commonwealth Match) for the following morning. This is a team of 12 at long range and will be a good warm up for those shooting in the Governor General’s final in the afternoon, and an even better trial for the America Match the next day.

Afterwards, four of the team went to the Macdonald Stewart Dinner at the Chateau Laurier, where the Captain presented to the DCRA on behalf of the team (initially in French, which confused some of the anglophone Canadians) a silver cigar box that had originally been given to Col. Street by the 1925 Canadian Bisley team of which he was Commandant. For the rest, several different dining options were investigated for another quite pre-match night, while ammo wallahs clacked away into the night…

This leaves one shoot left in the grand, the Gatineau, which is squadded in an effort to level the playing field, according to the position of shooters in the Grand Aggregate. Most of the team are in the ‘hot’ detail, with a smattering shooting in other details.

Notable events this morning were mercifully thin on the ground, possibly because some people appeared to be more tired than they should have been. David Armstrong managed to lose Nigel Ball for a while when taking him to the 300m range but thankfully he was found safe (if not sound) shortly afterwards.

The Grand Aggregate at the end of the Gibson shows Kent Reeve from the USA in the lead with Fazal Mohideen two points behind. Jon Underwood is one point further behind making him 5th but with a ‘shed load’ more V-bulls than the leaders. Other top ten Grand Agg GB names are Emma Nuttall 6th, Jane Messer 8th, and Ian Shaw at 10th, all with five points off in total. In the Coulter Aggregate (for U25′s, based on the Grand up to today), Will Broad came 1st and Lindsey McKerrell 2nd. More silver for the team!

Certain team members chose to supplement lunch with cold pizza from the night before, much to the disgust of John H. who wanted to throw them away, only for him to be observed about five minutes later happily tucking in!

And so the first team match of the DCRA Meeting, the Outlander. The DCRA had cunningly changed this shoot to 600 and 900 metres instead of 600 yards and 900m. This resulted in a lot of old hands telling the Adj he was wrong to demand attendance at 600m only to be proved wrong and we all had the opportunity to shoot at a novel distance (660 yards). The bull is proportional but the aiming mark and inner are a bit smaller. Two broadly even teams were entered for the match so that everyone could be given a trialling opportunity for the subsequent matches. However, at the last minute, the incapacitated Nigel Ball and Emma Nuttall had to drop out of the GB ‘Red’ team, which meant that the two coaches (Matt Charlton and Bruce Winney) had to step in to replace them. Surely this would tip the balance in favour of the GB ‘Blue’ team and, for that matter, the USA who looked to be fielding their strongest line-up.

The match itself was interrupted by a thunderstorm (just as Will Broad had fired 13 v’s to count and had two shots to go). Here if there is lightning within 10km of the range, the Canadian military close the range until 30 minutes after the most recent lightning strike. This they did, but not in time for Jon Ford, who had to have several team members remove the biting ants that had decided to crawl up his legs as he shot…

After a long enforced break, punctuated by multiple captains’ meetings to discuss conditions, shooting was allowed to continue in order to complete the 600m distance in conditions that were steadily getting wetter. 900m, which would have been the more useful distance to shoot for America Match preparation, was abandoned. The Red team ended up with a superb 597.84 out of 600. All three points were dropped by the two coaches (as you might expect, the full-time firers having done themselves proud) but the Captain did put in a captain’s innings as last man down, knowing very well that he had to get a 74 or a high-vee 73 to have a chance of beating the Americans. He duly did his duty with 10 vees and we won by 5 V-bulls, with the range staff desperate to close the range in advance of the approaching storm as they waited for him. The GB Blue Team came third.

Once we had made it back to the hotel and unloaded the vans, the management team settled down to look at scorebooks and pick the team for the Canada match on Friday afternoon. Other team members decided to opt for different dinner options and a quiet night (much needed for some) before the final shoot in the grand (the Gatineau – 15 shots to count at 900m) and the first of the full blown international matches against the Canadians as well as the Americans and Japanese.

Following the morning’s shooting came a tie shoot between Jane Messer and Jon Underwood at 800m to determine who would win the trophy for Monday’s aggregate. Both took the risky option to cut ordinary 5s in their sighters and proceeded to get all five shots in the bull. However, Jane managed a superb 25.5 and duly beat Jon into second place with his 25.3. Another trophy for the team.

The afternoon’s conditions were even more benign and 18 out of the 20 shooters managed to get a 50 at 800m: unfortunately, not quite a clean sweep. 600 yards didn’t go without a few hiccups either: David Armstrong, despite describing the shoot as a “turkey shoot” prior to getting onto the point, had his first miss in years, after he forgot to change his sights but at least it was a sighter! As the results came through at the end of the day, it looked like fifteen of the team had made it into the Governor General’s final on Saturday (with Will Broad leading the way with 255.33). Unfortunately Jane has slipped to second in the Grand but Emma Nuttall has now moved up into third and we still have nine in the top 20. Seven went clean on the day, with Nigel Ball leading the way on v-bulls, having now completely banished his tendency to throw his last shot out to the left.

A quick turnaround was then required so that everyone could be back at the hut by 6.30 dressed in full Number Ones. This was so that the final preparations could be sorted out for the traditional cocktail party the GB team holds every year. This year, like every year, the theme was Pimm’s and the party involved a lot of chopping and making up of canapés. Transporting them from the hut to the DCRA tent in the rain proved to be quite interesting, but it was gratifying to see a substantial majority of the competitors at the event.

Most of the team then returned for a relatively quiet night before the last day of the Grand. Everyone will be involved in the two evenly matched Outlander teams in the afternoon, in which we hope to learn lots ahead of the big matches. Let’s hope that the promised rain tomorrow doesn’t turn into thunderstorms to interrupt shooting tomorrow…

To summarise today: we woke up, we ate, we shot, we shot, we ate, we shot, we shot, we shot, we returned home, we ate, we slept and we were happy.

In more detail: this morning we shot 300m and 500 yards, both of which were part of the Letson (the Canadian equivalent of Queen’s I), which was 2 sighters and 7 to count. The early details at both ranges were relatively easy shoots, with still conditions and a small amount of mirage to show minor wind changes – a perfect opportunity to test wind zeros! As the morning progressed, conditions became slightly trickier, although nothing outside of half-minute changes was necessary. A highlight of the morning was when Angus McLeod took on John Deane (also from the UK) at 500 yards in a tie shoot and put in a strong score of 25.4 to win the McDougall – more silverware that we can declare to our avid readers. Talking about tie shoots, the Adj announced at breakfast the time of the ‘cross shoot for Monday’s aggregate’, which is to be held between Jane Messer and Jon Underwood on Wednesday. If it’s really a cross-shoot-off, we know who will win…

After lunch (but at lunchtime – 12:30), the team took part in the Coaches’ Match, a two and 10 to count coached pairs match at 900m. The GB team that took third place, with 100.11, was called “Big Boys Don’t Cross Shoot” (Martin Townsend coaching Stuart Young and Angus McLeod) – aptly named, not just for Stu’s expolits but also because, immediately after the name was chosen, Martin walked into the hut to say that there had been a “huge gust of wind” (honest!) at 600 yards that had blown him onto the next-door target. Sadly, the Americans took the top two places by one v-bull. GB pairs were third (100.11, above) and fourth (the “Cheeky Kawasaki Nutter” team of Charlton, Drysdale and Nuttall, who scored 100.10 after cutting 4 bull-five sighters, gaining 2 Vs in the process) with several of them beating the recently minted Commonwealth Games Silver Medal pair despite the latter only dropping one point. GB did well but the Americans do look very strong.

After the Coaches’ Match, the Alexander of Tunis and the 600 yards leg of the Letson were the entertainment for the afternoon. Conditions for the Tunis were not as bad as the previous day’s long range and four of the team managed to get 50s, with Alastair Haley leading the way with 50.7 which was only enough to secure 3rd place. 600 yards proved to be tricky enough, though, that 35s were not very common. In the end, five managed to go clean with 105s and Will Broad led the way with 105.15. On the day as a whole, Alastair was the only team member to go clean (including the Coaches’ Match as well) to come second in the Jack Gorrie Aggregate (the aggregate for the day). Five others only dropped one point and this meant that Jane Messer is still leading the Grand with one point dropped, one point ahead of second and two ahead of third. Emma Nuttall is currently chasing her in 5th place and we have eight placed in the top 20 (and 14 in the top 50).

After a quick turnaround at the hotel, we all went to the traditional NCRRA corn boil and sausage BBQ. The corn was exceptional, but obviously not enough for a few members of the team who snuck off early to go and find some lobster to eat! The rest of the team enjoyed the friendly company of the locals before returning to have another early evening before the Presidents, which is the equivalent of Queens II, except that everyone gets to shoot it. The score will be combined with the Letson to determine the 50 who will go through to the Governor General’s Final on Saturday…

On a lighter note, one suggestion that was made yesterday, was that a loader should be supplied for Nigel Ball to make sure that he (a) used the correct rifle; and (b) used the correct ammunition in the right rifle. It seemed to work as Nigel seems to have banished his run of 49s and didn’t drop a point in the two 900m matches!

After lunch the wind started to wake up and it became a bit more changeable. This created a few problems within the 800m leg of the Norman Beckett, with winds switching from 5 left to 2 right, which caught a lot of the team members out. (Much to their annoyance, as the preceding detail was a much easier 1 to 3 left). However, Jane Messer, Emma Nuttall and Jon Underwood excelled to come off with 50s, Jane heading the pack with 50.8. The 600 yard leg of the Norman Beckett also proved to be a bit tougher than previous 600 yard shoots, with the wind flipping quickly between 0 and 2.5 minutes and catching many people. As the team returned to the hut there were plenty of unfortunate tales of lost battles during the afternoon. Despite this, Jane Messer, Jon Underwood and Emma Nuttall managed to go all in, much to their credit.

At the final counting for the day, Jane Messer had won the Norman Beckett and was in the lead of the Grand as the only person not to have dropped a point yet. Jon Underwood had won the Col. John Brick and lay second in the Grand. Both of them have tied for first equal for the daily aggregate (the Dick Hampton Aggregate) and will have to tie shoot for it. As there’s no one else in the running, that will be another trophy for GBRT14!

Off the range, however, was where there was the most disappointment for some of the team. The shopping list, which is usually actioned in full, was missing a few requirements. Lindsey was very sad that the pony she requested on the shopping list was not procured. Even more distressing for others in the team was the lack of a PS4 with the Goldeneye package and 50” plasma screen. Instead of the return of the team shoppers being a joyous occasion, a subdued lunch at the hut munching on ginger snaps ensued when it became apparent that the team hadn’t managed to acquire any of these touring essentials.

A relatively early finish meant that people could get back to the hotel and freshen up/unwind in the pool and Jacuzzi. This was followed with a BBQ skilfully cooked by Tom and Stu who, on two distinctly undersized barbecues, managed to successfully cook two whole cows and half a pig. Credit should also go to the designers of the picnic benches outside in the hotel gardens as, as a few members of the team discovered, they are not balanced well enough to have three people on one side without anyone on the other… a rather large puddle of steaks, gin, crisps and cutlery appeared on Matt, Phil and Will’s laps as a result!

Despite some team members trying to encourage us to head over the road for a few drinks and a game of pool, everyone ended up in bed early, in order to be well rested for tomorrows shooting. The Letson is the Canadian equivalent of our Queens I, necessitating a very early start for the unfortunates on the 8 a.m. detail.

The course of fire for the day was two sighters and 10 to count over four shoots: 600 yards and 300m in the Tilton and 300m and 500 yards in the MacDougall. After a bit of breakfast, the proceedings started at 600 yards, where a slight wind and overcast weather made the possibility of losing points more of a reality, though many of the team finished with all points intact. The second half of the Tilton, at 300m, saw Paul Wheeler put in a perfect 50.10 to tie for first place at this distance though, unfortunately, there is no individual prize for the single range… he finished with a 50.3 for 100.13 overall. Overall in the Tilton, Angus McLeod (100.15, 5th), Jon Ford and Paul Wheeler all finished in the top 10, while David Armstrong also finished on 100/100, though with a slightly lower V count.

Lunch was taken in the range hut, as is customary for the team while at Connaught. Particular thanks should go to Jane Messer who has done a sterling job in organizing the lunchtime menu with help from the victualling team.

The Grand Aggregate kicked off this afternoon with the MacDougall, where a large number of the team performed strongly. Angus McLeod performed particularly well, tying for first place on a 100.16. Also putting in perfect scores were Jane Messer, Dominic de Vere, William Broad, Emma Nuttall, Phil Chapman-Sheath, Ian Shaw and John Halahan. As a result, Great Britain dominates the top of the Grand Aggregate leaderboard although, unfortunately, we are only one shoot (but two distances) through!

Today’s diary wouldn’t be complete, however, without a tale of woe and it falls on me to tell our readership that Nigel Ball has been suffering from a serious case of last-shot-itis, for which not even Phil Chapman-Sheath, the team doctor, has a cure. We are told that the only remedy for this condition is a bit of time and maybe a beer every now and again… fortunately, it appears that by the end of this afternoon an improvement has already been evident as Nigel, in a return to normal form, nailed a highest possible score, leaving only one team member without one (sorry Martin).

This afternoon, the team greeted the ACF cadets at the hut, each of whom was invited to choose an uncle or aunt to help with their shooting. In the evening, the team hosted the Athelings for pizza and some swimming at the hotel. Though a little bit colder outside than we had anticipated, the evening went smoothly and was a good opportunity to get to know those who represent the future of British shooting, while entertaining them and giving their management team a rare evening off. The Athelings having left, everyone retired early as most are on the 08:30 or 08:40 details in the morning.

The drive to Ottawa was largely uneventful and all the vans managed to meet up at the hotel, unload all the kit into the rooms and then most piled into Vera’s, which does great burgers, for lunch. There was one shoot planned for the day (the Ottawa Regiment at 800m, equivalent to our Admiral Hutton) last thing in the evening and so the whole team assembled at the hut for a briefing and introduction to Connaught before that, with tour badges given out now that we are all finally together. Conditions for the Ottawa Regiment were dark, overcast and slightly rainy. Despite that, Jon Underwood came off with a 75.13 to tie for first place and seven others managed to get a 75. A good start to the shooting here, with plenty more to come. There were few a cobwebs that needed to be blown out, including leaving ammunition behind, missing shots and some confusion between left and right wind on one person’s sights!

Friday evening was spent in search of food, with the team splitting up into different groups, with dining options varying from Subway, via Thai to excellent seafood at Lapointe – an old favourite of Martin and Jane that had previously required a drive of a couple of miles to reach. Knowing they would be here again, the restaurant owners had decided to move it closer to them and it is now virtually opposite the hotel. In general most had a quiet night in ready for an early start for the next day’s shooting.

Saturday morning saw a gathering of everybody outside the back of the hotel getting themselves ready for the trip to the range. Everyone was on the 9am detail of the Gooderham at 500 yards. This was the first time we had shot a 2ss and 10 to count shoot for a while and things seemed to go well, with a total of nine 50s from the team. The Gooderham is a two range shoot, equivalent to our Century, and the second range of 600 yards was also shot in the morning, seeing a further ten possibles. That meant that six of the team were clean in the Gooderham, with Alastair Haley leading the way with 100.18 – This ended up being a match winning score by two clear V-bulls. There would have been a further 50 at 600 yards if Stu Young hadn’t put a v-bull on the wrong target for his last to count!

Rain then set in for the afternoon and most of the team retired to the hotel for the afternoon, to return for the Army and Navy Veterans (fifteen to count at 900m) at 4pm. The rain did dampen things somewhat but despite that, Stu Young managed a 75.5 and Jon Underwood a 75.4, with higher V 74s plentiful.

The team woke yesterday at 8.30 and split into vans for the day’s activities. Some of the active types decided to go mountain biking. Phil Chapman-Sheath, Bruce Winney, Angus McLeod, Dominic de Vere, Stu Young and Paul Wheeler covered about 25 kilometres of trails throughout the day, although not without a few falls along the way! Everyone is in one piece, we should add, which is more than can be said for the bikes. The guys were, amusingly, rather put to shame by the German national off road unicycle team.

For those looking for a more relaxed day or who intended to play golf, breakfast was consumed in Huntsville. Some of the team chose to eat at a smart little café on the high street, while others were willing to venture further out into the surrounding area for a fix of pancakes and maple syrup, something of a hit with most of those involved! A short walk around the shops and a bit more rain later, the team returned to the cottages to spend the afternoon at Blue Water Acres. Many decided to relax in their cabins, whilst (deprived of some of the intended opponents when they left for Ottawa), Jon Ford graciously allowed the Captain a rare win at golf, a few others went swimming and some of the team even decided to attempt acrobatics in the pool, balancing on each others’ shoulders. Three high was the best attempt…

Yesterday we also said goodbye temporarily to an advanced party to Ottawa, to set up our accommodation and range equipment before the main body of the team arrived, as well as to do some ammo testing and to allow for more recovery time for some of the more senior team members. Thanks to the Adj for giving up his precious R&R time in order to do so. Amusing reports have filtered back of a particular conversation between them, indicating a mix up between the speed limit and the road number by Martin Townsend, who was convinced they shouldn’t be “on the 60” anymore. No, but they were meant to be “doing” 60… Five team-mates down, the stay at the Lake of Bays has been relatively quiet!

Last night the team went for dinner at Steamer’s Steak House, attached to Deerhurst resort and golf course , which had hosted the G8 summit a wee while back. Excited by finding a restaurant with tablecloths and an excellent menu, and with many having done some form of exercise during the day, the team made the most of the evening and took the opportunity to eat a three-course meal.

This morning some of the team decided to take a canoe trip around the lake, organized by Phil Chapman-Sheath. Five kayaks and two three-man canoes explored the lake and its houses, boathouses, decks, islands, trampolines(!) and seaplanes, despite driving rain, which did not dampen spirits. Many returned and swam in the pool, while others stayed in their cottages and watched films. The team returned into Huntsville today to eat lunch, choosing either a local sushi restaurant or the same pancake-serving restaurant as yesterday. On Dominique de Vree’s recommendation (as Mr. de Vere has now become known as a result of mis-pronunciation of his surname by the announcer at the Perry prize giving), some of us took a detour on the way home to buy some coffee from a highly rated local barista. On returning, most relaxed by watching films or socializing in different huts before deciding what to do for dinner, and John H took on the Captain at shuffleboard, table football and table tennis, winning 21-20, 0-10, 16-14. Much film watching has been done over the last two days! Tomorrow is an early start to get to Ottawa and start shooting again…