R&R

After the prize giving on Sunday, many of the team were able to let their hair down a bit with the prospect of a break of four days from shooting. We also bade farewell and bon voyage to the BCRC group, who let their hair down rather more as they were due to fly home the next morning. They had also performed well, and the combined British contingent had shown encouraging signs ahead of next year’s Palma Match, as well as learning some useful lessons (albeit precious few wind related ones on this occasion).

The programme for the next few days was a day off in Ohio, followed by a day driving up to the Algonquin Provincial Park for a couple of days’ serious R&R before going to Connaught on Friday. Monday morning saw a few bleary eyed early risers go to Cedar Point to sample the world class roller coaster rides there. Unfortunately it was the first day we have had when it has rained, on and off, meaning that the wait for the Top Thrill Dragster was over three hours, as it didn’t run when there was even a single drop of precipitation (nor for half an hour after one, it seemed…). Some of the party spent two hours right at the front of the queue without ever getting on the ride; the others classed it as the best ride they’d ever had (eventually)! Other team members spent the day in a more relaxed manner, hanging out at the houses, visiting the nearby aviation museum or having a long, lazy seafood lunch by the lake shore.

The plan for the evening was to go to Put-in-Bay for a team dinner (originally intended for the previous night, before prize giving intervened). Put-in-Bay is on South Bass Island and is home to Perry’s Victory and the International Peace Memorial. The former commemorates Commodore Perry’s victory over the British navy on Lake Erie during the War of 1812 (earning, according to some local banners, the right to spell his motto “Dont give up the Ship” without an apostrophe!) – quite a big thing round here (cf GBRT brochure article). The latter celebrates peace between Britain, the USA and Canada, which has now endured for 200 years, in honour of which the Captain, Adjutant and others went to pay their respects at the memorial. Put-in-Bay itself is a village on the island that has a 1950s retro Americana look to it and is also a popular nightspot, whose main mode of transport is golf buggies. The island is reached only by ferry and the team managed to travel out on three ferries from two different ports to make it in time for a 7pm dinner at the Boardwalk’s Upper Deck, as well as to travel back on three ferries to two ports on two different days to make it in time to load the vans for a theoretical 8am departure.

Dinner proved to be a success, with some of the team beginning to get to grips with the generous proportions that appear to be the norm in American restaurants. Fine food and wine fines were followed by brief briefings from Luggage Master, House Mistress, Social Secretaries and Adjutant before some words of praise from the Captain for the positive performances, attitudes, friendliness, diligence and team work demonstrated by everyone so far on tour.

After dinner, one contingent took the early (9.30pm) ferry back so that they could pack and get ready to leave bright and early the next day. The rest of the team stayed on the island for some more socializing, most then catching the 11pm (last) ferry back, as instructed. Four bold souls, however, wished to sample further the lavish hospitality offered by the locals and staff before catching up on sleep during the next day’s long drive. They are to be commended for running over a mile across the island at dawn and persuading a lady in a golf buggy to give them a lift to the jetty in order not to keep the team waiting as it prepared to depart. Likewise Angus McLeod, who somehow managed to drive the whole team home, no matter which ferry they arrived on!

Despite best intentions, van loading took a while as we had to fit a lot of ammunition and food into the vans, which were packed to the rafters, and also to make sure that there would be room for Nigel Ball and Jane Messer once they had returned their car to Toronto Airport and for Emma Nuttall, who would rejoin the team there.

All the vans set off at about 9am for the journey up to Port Huron (north of Detroit) to meet up before going through the border together into Canada at Sarnia. After overcoming some convoy sabotage tactics (or was it just dodgy counting?) by Van 2, the team arrived at the border to find no queue but a very helpful Canadian Border Policeman, who waved the team and all the rifles through in the space of three or four minutes. There followed a long drive past London(!), where some enjoyed a sunny barbecue, pool and hot tub, then past Toronto and Barrie, where forgotten blazers and a late-delivered shooting jacket were picked up, to our accommodation just outside Algonquin Provincial Park in the middle of a thunder storm. Time to commune with nature for a couple of days!