This event took place on the Stafford and Telford map to bring the northern most round this year as far South as practical to enable more teams to take part. This seemed to work well as we had 12 teams partake and ran the event from a new start location just on the edge of the very picturesque canal town of Stone.
The weather for the day was dry and sunny as the teams assembled in the car park and remained dry for the event.
Station 'A' (G3TRY/P) was operated by Doreen Pechey with Bill nearby armed with camera and was 15km South of the start on Milton Common which is at the northern edge of Cannock Chase. Hidden at the base of a tree behind a very thick covering of bracken if approached from the most direct route though slightly easier from the circuitous route through low vegetation and via the wooded part of the hill.
Station 'B' (G3UJO/P) was operated by John Drakeley and was located about 15km South West of the start on a disused railway line. The antenna from this station ran under the rail embankment through a bridge and the majority of it run along the treetops on the opposite, wooded side of the embankment. Distance between the stations was about 15km but crossed Stafford on the way with all the inherent issues (delays) of driving through a city.
Both stations delivered good signals to the start with no approximates requested and all teams were away very quickly though the eventual winner was last out of the car park by a significant time. There was a good mixture of teams going for A or B first which kept the operators busy all afternoon and it was pleasing to report that all teams found both stations with the winner finishing at 15.10 and the last team finished at 16.18.
Tea was at Aston Village Hall where all enjoyed a good feed the usual prize giving. Located quite near to the start and on the A34 for easy access South to the M6.
My thanks go to Bill and Doreen for operating, John for operating and his time to help erect antennas. My thanks also to Anne and her helpers for an excellent spread.
Neil Woodley
| Position | Competitor | Finish | Time A | Time B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Mead | 15:10:57 | 15:10:57 | 14:22:02 |
| 2 | Andy Collett | 15:37:32 | 15:37:32 | 14:39:22 |
| 3 | John Mullins | 15:40:46 | 15:40:46 | 14:41:36 |
| 4 | Geoffrey Foster | 15:41:21 | 15:41:21 | 14:22:56 |
| 5 | Peter Lisle | 15:41:55 | 15:41:55 | 14:40:06 |
| 6 | Colin Merry | 15:42:42 | 15:42:42 | 14:22:44 |
| 7 | Roy Emeny | 15:43:11 | 15:43:11 | 14:45:28 |
| 8 | Chris Plummer | 15:52:25 | 15:11:09 | 15:52:25 |
| 9 | Paul Clark | 15:53:29 | 14:49:27 | 15:53:29 |
| 10 | George Whenham | 15:53:40 | 15:12:20 | 15:53:40 |
| 11 | Graham Nicholls | 15:54:34 | 15:54:34 | 14:50:15 |
| 12 | Graham Jones | 16:18:08 | 15:42:09 | 16:18:08 |