16 QOs braved the chilling winds and heavy rain / hail showers to get out orienteering on Dartmoor.
Five Tors is a wonderful area covering Cox Tor, the Staple Tors and Roos Tor on the western edge of Dartmoor.
Adam lead the QO contingent on Brown, coming 10th, with Ollie @Mr_Rant a few minutes behind. Phil @daylightgambler was 6 minutes behind with @Pete just a minute behind. @andyr had a difficult start and came 25th.
On Blue @RosieW came 18th and Matthew K in 29th. Tony was 26th on Green with @johnf in 27th. Hamish retired after suffering from the cold (the hail was a step too far).
Robin, with limited time, blitzed the Short Green, Roger @craddocktaunton was 9th and @KarenLewis finished 15th (write up below). Bill retired.
Ollie L came 6th on Light Green. Bee retired on Yellow after struggling to find control 3 and having enough of the rain and cold wind.
Brown
10th Adam Fieldhouse QO M21 67:38 +16:07 Brown standard
13th Oliver Rant QO M21 69:58 +18:27 Brown standard
16th Philip Sorrell QO M45 76:06 +24:35 Brown standard
17th Peter Shirvington QO M45 77:22 +25:51
25th Andy Rimes QO M55 95:09 +43:38
26th Tony Hext QO M70 83:49 +36:23
27th John Fisher QO M75 124:43 +77:17
Hamish Braine-Clarke QO M16 m5-12
Short Green
1st Robin Fieldhouse QO M21 31:13 Short Green standard
9th Roger Craddock QO M80 70:00 +38:47 Short Green standard
15th Karen Lewis QO W55 83:00 +51:47
Bill Vigar QO M85 rtd
Five Tors 20th November - what a great area for orienteering. It started so well with the sun shining as I set off. However, the squall came in by the time I was on my way to control 5.
Control 1 - no problems just the wrong side of the stream, control 2 had to come back at having aimed for the one that I could see. Settled down and control 3 in the re-entrant, I went straight too. C4 again I went straight up to it.
C5, I had decided to go above the boulder field and then drop down to the pond with the control being close by in a depression. I found a cattle track and followed this into the control.
Straight line to C6 over some very interesting earth features. What are those bumps in the ground and what causes them - covered a vast area. Anybody able to enlighten me?
Now C7 - the one I went wrong at. I overshot it and I was too high. Managed to go back to it but it slowed me down.
C8 - again I took the straight line over the best route through another boulder field. The rest of the course was dropping down to the finish and was plain sailing.
Thoroughly enjoyed the day and the debrief with Roger on the way home.
this is one of my favourite parts of Dartmoor and I loved my run (which breaks the run of disappointing events I have had thankfully).
For control 1, I used the river to get pulled in (clocking 18 on the way) and found (from that direction at least) the control was very easy to spot. Control 2 just involved following the contour detail.
I love this type of terrain (it was the same on Bodmin) where you have fantastic visibility and I found I could read the terrain really well seeing the contour detail, the rocks, the vegetation changes and rocky ground.
What I did struggle with was fitness - my legs felt tired on leg 1 let alone when I started climbing to control 3, but navigationally I had no issues with controls 3 - 7. I had @andyr much further up the hill heading to 5, but I saw him go off to the wrong outcrop - and we met at the control. Andy took a lower route on the longer leg to 8 - although with hindsight I liked @Pete 's route, I was happy with the execution of my route.
Control 10 was my first (minor error) - I was slightly off-bearing and overshot but quickly identified and corrected the issue, likewise control 11 where I was heading to the wrong boulder but corrected just in time.
I went a bit high to 13, skirting around the confusing rock detail. When I got to where the control should be I had a few minutes trying to work out where I had gone wrong before spotting the control a few meters in front of me (it was definitely not obvious!)
Control 14 was a run of faith on a bearing with few features once you got past the outcrop, and it seemed obvious to come back via 13 and 16 to 15 rather than try to navigate across new terrain.
I am very happy with my near-line perfect leg from 17 to 18. Heading to 19 I got pulled up by the very obvious visible control but once I hit the wet area I realised my error and ran down the river to the correct control.
Just a few minor errors but, fitness issues notwithstanding, one of my best runs to date despite the hail! As ever in awe at how @Pete and I can spend 77 minutes on a course and end up just a minute or so apart time and time again!
oh dear, oh dear…
I had resolved last year that my speed and endurance (my whole body) can no longer cope with a long brown course so it was going to be blue all the way for me… so why did I choose to do the brown course yesterday? who knows but suffer I did. We stayed overnight in Plymouth and left after breakfast in glorious sunshine and perfectly still- different story at Pork Hill, the skies quickly darkened and the winds increased with heavy squally showers intermixed with windy wintry sunshine.
First 3 controls no problem, then far too high to the wall end (#4) losing time and allowing @daylightgambler to catch up when I searched the wrong outcrop at #5- we were together for the next couple of controls then parted on the long leg, me taking a lower line but arriving too low as he was leaving. I fortunately found a very lost Oli at the control (very much not his) and spent a minute or so putting him right and only saw @daylightgambler again on the course where it doubled back (poor planning!) on itself after a long open leg. I helped another lost soul on that desolate featureless area (no names no pack drill) and yet another hapless QO further along the course. My legs were shot by now and although I made no more nav errors, hitting all controls accurately, I was shuffling along at a pathetic pace and glad to get back to the car cold wet and pretty p###d off.
And so to the next event then…
Glad I went and pleased to get round. By the end one of the controls had almost run out of battery charge- but then I have to expect nowadays to be very slow.
I found the controls a real mixture, from ones I could see from 200m down to ones hidden in featureless bracken with no nearby aiming-in landmarks.
But the rapid changes of weather led to fantastic rainbows!
Attached image makes clear which Green controls I had problems with- starting with #1! Mind you I did stop for a long chat late with a couple walking their dog, who wondered what we were up to…
this is one of my favourite parts of Dartmoor and I loved my run (which breaks the run of disappointing events I have had thankfully).
