Veni Vidi Vici

Well...events overtook post CP2. It took forever for the last post to get back to Race HQ and, with logistics ever more complicated after then, i.e. no backloading from CP3, no opprtunity until now, blighty side, to say anything.

So...Check point 2 to CP3 showed some drama as we got off to our usual rubbish start, leaving equipment behind, for once, not Iain's exploding bungees, but something else...cost us 30 mins and we only covered 7 miles after poor rubble again. Still we forged on and made CP3 three hours ahead of the others. 3/3!
We were aware that time to the end of the race was pressing, so expected, and were rewarded with a quick turnaround. We were all off within 24 hours.

A long time was spent on the map for the final leg. We felt confident to take on the Noice Peninsular via the Eastern 'neck'. We double checked with the senior men on the ground and had the route approved. We thought sticking to the East of Thor Island, and closer to the coat we would gain advanage as the ice conditions would be better, and so it proved, delivering a fanatstic 21 nm stretch on day two. We were then surprised bearing in mind previous approval, to be told that we had to enter the peninsular via a westerly way point. It cost us half a day, and though confident that we had enough lead, made the difference between a night's stopover, or not and thus the record....and being first to the pole. Still, we won! And at that point..who cares!?

We did the nearest the pole contest...IW managed to duff his ball closer to the pole than John's slice and Dave's hook....and earned his own room in the Lord Elgin in Ottawa.

Huge, huge thanks to all the support which we know was out there. It made the difference.

Big thanks to Bottletop for the website - so many compliments.
Massive thanks, again, to Pacerpole for their poles and mitts.......they made a huge difference.

From all of us: Iain 'one pair of socks' Whiteley, David 'kitch bitch' Stanton, and John 'those feet' MacPherson, thank you.