Now we have got things going let's not forget satnav was preceeded by map readers (often the other half !) and things got stuck then as well.
Especially in the days of Moggie Minors towing things - I never did get a tow bar on my 1955 one I bought for £3 in 1970 (funny thing - it had twin exhaust pipes out under the drivers door, two rather large carburettors and did half empty on the speedo (need to be tending into the peak of life to know the significance of that on Smiths instruments) and that is when I bought it from a guy in his 50s I worked for when it failed its MOT. Remember 5 star petrol - you needed it for 11:1 compression ratio in those days.
Now there are good and bad map readers and maps that do not show everything. One night, several years later, we were rallying in the Yorkshire Dales in a fleet of Mini Coopers and Cooper Ss which were wending there way round a course set by Leeds Uni (my base) with other Unis in pursuit.
Pace notes for one section said dead straight one mile then sharp 90deg left - no problem. The canny reading the actual map saw the river shown 50 yards before the end of the straight.
The unwary navigators read out the notes to the drivers and counted down the 1/10s on the trip meter. Then, just as they gave the turn instruction the car leaps into the air over the hump back bridge.
That night I lost both driveshaft couplings on my sump guard on landing over another humpback bridge which was not on my marked maps and missed this one, having had to retire to be towed home.
What we heard afterwards was that a team of three cars (nominally one minute apart) really scored. The first landed but had no braking time left and careered straight on at the bend and fully into a wide ditch.
The second failed the bend as well and careered across the roof of the first car and into the dry stone wall beyond.
The third ended up on the roof of the first and in the back of the second - thus wiping out the competition from that Uni !!! Unfortunateky there were no photographers at that bend so I never got hold of a picture and all the cars were recovered and driven away - good roll cages needed in the Dales.
That was the year we first had a go in a Mark 1 Escort with a 3 litre engine - those were the days.
I wonder how the youngsters get on rallying with satnavs - bet there are no humpback bridges or cattle gates/grids shown (as you can guess I have not caught up with that technology - but I still have a marked up set of 1" OS maps for most of Yorkshire !)
Still must work out how to liven things up for sailing next week as we have missed the first six sailing days due to wind and temperature.
Hum how about swopping the red and green tapes on the wife's rudders? Sorry guys despite all my best efforts to get her to gain weight over the winter she had the dreaded lurgy last week and is now lighter than ever so we have to come up with something else to get the SSC Sprint 15 handicap cup off her this year. How much am I bid to keep Kevin sailing at home to beat her?
Steve
