Croeso 2016 website Results Routegadget
This last week has seen a number of WIM members taking part in the Welsh 5 days event in the Bridgend area.
Not everyone was taking part all week (and some were doing colour coded courses which did not score for the 5 days) but for those who did the overall results for the 5 days were
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Harry Bratcher-Howard 3rd M10A
Monty Howard-Bratcher 9th M10B
Andy Howard 4th M40S
Philip Harvey 18th M40
Kevin Pickering 51st M60
Brian Johnson 10th M65
Keith Henderson 15th M70
Martin Cross 18th M70
Richard Brightman 14th M75
John Warren 22nd M75
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Jo Pickering 4th W21
Annabel Crookshank 7th W21
Becca Ellis 12th W21
Michelle Spillar 2nd W35
Nicola Harvey 10th W40S
Kath Pike 16th W50S
Hilary Pickering 3rd W60S
Sue Hands 5th W65
Gillian Cross 4th W70S
Nikki Crawford 3rd W75S
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Well done everyone!
Chris Branford
How WIM met the challenge of the Welsh Dragon!
An intrepid 27 WIM members gave a week of their summer holidays to join almost 1700 other Orienteers to do battle with the varied terrain of South Wales.The week could be truly described as challenging, both in terms of terrain (Sand Dunes, hilly wooded forests and high moorland) and the weather (lots of rain and mist). Thank goodness WIM have a good sized club tent and most important an efficient, willing team to erect it every day! The tent and banner are a real focus for the club which is vital in multi-day events when there is so much to talk about.(thank you Kevin,Hilary Jo and Annie plus anyone else that I have forgotten!).
Days 1 and 2 had the same Assembly area on the grass covered dunes at Kenfig on the north coast of the Bristol Channel near the steel works at Margam. In addition to the humps and bumps there were patches of ill defined scrub woodland which didn’t warrant a distinct Veg. Boundary but still proved to be a challenge on the ground. WIM had late starts in torrential rain which didn’t help those members who wear glasses. The order of the day was slow, setting precise compass bearings and counting the bumps. This worked for some WIM’s but not others, so results varied. Andrew Howard, Simon Branford and Brian Johnson all had great runs and the WIM stars of the week, our W21 ladies Jo. Annie and Becca excelled. Annie led the group on day 1 but the whole week was a ding-dong battle between them with the order frequently changing.
Back to the same place next morning and it wasn’t raining! A second chance to get to grips with the dunes. On terrain like this a second day on the same terrain has little advantage because of the complexity of the shapes. However many WIMs got it right with Harry and Monty Bracher-Howard having real success in M10A/and B. Simon and Chris Branford had excellent runs as did Brian Johnson but the outstanding result of the day was Michelle Spillar who won the W35L course. Our more senior ladies all had a good day with Hilary Pickering and Sue Hands gaining 2nd place in 60S and W65L. Gillian Cross achieved a 3rd place in W70S.
Kenfig Burrows, part of Day 1 Course 5 (left) & Day 2 Course 4 (right) - click for Routegadget
In complete contrast to the pressures of competition, most of the WIM group enjoyed the now traditional multi-day ‘tea party’ hosted this year by the Pickerings at their holiday house tucked back in a wooded valley. It is always a great chance to chat about experiences in comfortable surroundings away from the pressure of competition.
After the open skies and flat car park at Kenfig, day 3 was a complete contrast. Needless to say it rained but the main contrast was the location and terrain. High wooded hills up in the mining valleys near Maesteg. Car parking and Assembly had challenged the organisers and many of us had long hikes from cars parked up hilly forest roads surrounded by impenetrable woodland. It was a great relief to get to assembly which was adjacent to the finish to find that our tent team had done a great job with a prime position within metres of the finish line. The terrain described as ‘varied with steep wooded slopes’ was accurate! However add to this some appalling areas of brambly rough open and low trees meant that it was an assault course for some people. Those who found the area to their liking and were well placed were Andrew Howard, Richard Brightman and of course our W21 team. Today Jo narrowly beat Becca. Hilary Pickering had another great run placed 5th in W60S whilst Gillian Cross achieved an impressive 2nd place in W70s.
Margam Forest North, Day 3 Course 10 - click for Routegadget
A day off!! Wednesday is always a so called ‘Rest Day’ at multi-day events, but I can recall meeting steady stream of orienteers as we climbed Ben Lawers and Lochnager at previous Scottish 6 days! The weather was utterly perfect and many people went to enjoy the scenery on the Gower Peninsular as well as a dose of fun fairs and retail therapy for others. I met Orienteers whilst walking a section the Pembroke Coast Path.
Back to ‘serious’ competition on Thursday with a vengeance as we headed for the moors on the edge of the Brecon Beacons and were efficiently bussed to and from the Assembly area. Unfortunately the weather was notable for all the wrong reasons! Strong winds, driving rain and dense mist greeted us at the evocatively named Myndd Llangynidr,a high treeless moorland with a scatter of huge limestone depressions and in places deep grass. Many of us had been to the area for the JK 2 years ago but we hadn’t visited the part of the area used this year, the only common feature was the weather, last time we had a thunderstorm!
Once again the tent was a godsend with a good view of incoming runners(when you could see them!) heading for the, thankfully, downhill finish.
The walk to the start was a 1.5k ‘slosh’ through a partial bog and eventually the clustered group of people round the start, appeared like ghosts through the thick mist. To cope with conditions on a trackless moorland demanded rigorous compass work and accurate pacing to try to pick up map features in the mist. When this technique works its a great feeling as you come across the expected feature because you know that if you miss it ‘Plan B’ will most likely involve ‘headless chickens’! My first leg was 1.25k, so there were plenty of chances to go astray but I really enjoyed the challenge and was disappointed when 2 controls from the finish the mist lifted somewhat!. There’s no catering for taste!
Who got it right today? Harry Bracher-Howard came 2nd in M10a with Dad (Andrew) coming 2nd in M40S. Brian Johnson was 8/67 in M65L(he is a near professional Mountaineer!), Martin Cross achieved a 17/40 placing in M70L whilst the W21 team had a good day with Jo 4th and Annie 5th. Michelle was 3rd in W35,Sue Hands 4th in W65L but the outstanding result of the day was Nikki Crawford. As most of you know Nikki has not enjoyed good health for some time yet she has clearly not lost her skills, because today she won the W75S course. Congratulations Nikki When it comes to technical navigation you can show us the way! The whole day was really challenging and if you got it right whatever your time, you had a real sense of achievement.
Mynydd Llangynidr, part of Day 4 Course 3 (left) & Day 4 Course 10 (right) - click for Routegadget
Friday saw us back in the shadow and pollution plume of Margam Steel works in a country park which was part of the grounds of a 19thC baronial mansion and part some very steep wooded slopes where the Welsh Uplands meet the coastal plain. Of course it rained but by now we were used to it and it did clear up later! This was the location where for those who had to hike 2k to the far start, the ground really did move! Visually the wood was an attractive beech wood but steep and underfoot it was unstable, with lots of loose rock making forward progress at times near impossible. This was particularly noticeable near crags where the drop from the control seemed precipitate. Once out of this area the courses were fairly straight forward except for some hidden deep ditches near to the finish which with the rain falling were very wet. Outstanding results were Andrew Howard 3rd M40S, Martin Cross 16/46 M70L, Richard Brightman 5/23 M75L. In the W 21 battle it was Annies day to beat Jo. Hilary was 5/25 in W 60S, Sue achieved 8/38 in W65L.
Part of Day 5 Course 8 - click for Routegadget
How did WIM do overall? The scoring system at Multi-day events allows you to drop your lowest scoring day (great personal relief!) Harry Bratcher Howard 3/15,Andrew Howard 3/9, Brian Johnson 10/89,Martin Cross 18/57, Richard Brightman 14/30. The ladies- W21 Jo 4th, Annie 7th, Becca 12/21 a really amazing performance! Michelle 2 /9 on W35, Hilary 3/26,Sue 5 /44 and Gillian 4/9. However I think that we should again make mention of the astonishing achievement of Nikki to come 1st on day 4. The club is proud of you!!
John Warren
Photos from Hilary Pickering
Day 3 Finish
WIMs at Day 3
Here comes the rain again...
