Race for Hearing - Targa Newfoundland 2009

Back Home, Thank-You !!!

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:25:00 GMT

Thanks to everyone for your support, encouragement and donations. We raised over $7000 for the Hearing Loss Association of America and Finger Lakes Region Lions Hearing Foundation. Tom and I arrived home Monday evening after three long days of travel. Overall we had a great experience. The driving, people and scenery were outstanding. Tom is already planning on his engine rebuild and we hope to do some smaller rallies in the Ottawa region next year. Hope everyone has a great Fall and thanks again !!

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Great Finish !!!

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:40:00 GMT

Well Tom and I had a great day of racing!! The weather was dreadful, driving rain, windy and low overcast but our porsche ran like a top and we were scoring like the leading racers. We had zero penalty points on the last five stages (which only had a three second window). Everything came together today, we made some minor adjustments in our computer calculations which allowed us to be much more accurate and along with driving fast we did much better than expected. What a great way to finish. Unfortunately the heavy rain kept many of the spectators away but there were some hearty Newfoundland souls that were cheering us on. We had a hearty breakfast of fried bologna, eggs, baked beans, home fries and toast at a small fishing village called boat harbour. Lunch was served at the Brigus community center by the locals and what a spread they put out for us. Were were somewhat behind schedule so we had to eat quickly to meet our start times. We had one long stage cancelled today because (we think) there were not enough race officials to keep the course safe. With the weather conditions it was probably a good call. We switched drivers after the Brigus stage and the team of Megan and Hart zeroed the last three stages. After the last stage we drove to harbour drive in St Johns for the ceremonial finish line. We were given finishing metals, had pictures taken and we all got together and celebrated the week. Tonight we will go out for a little more celebration and then tomorrow our journey back home begins. This trip has been a great experience, the thrill of driving a car fast is great and that is the primary reason we came. What we didn't expect was how friendly the people of Newfoundland are and how excited the kids were to see the Targa cars and drivers. This is a big and beautiful island and I hope to return and visit it with Meg someday. And maybe our kids will do Targa in the future, if so Tom and I will volunteer to be their pit crew!! Thanks for following...

Rainy last day

At the finish

Ceremonial finish line

Shaking hands with the president of Targa

1965 Porsche finishing

Saying bye to our car

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Day four, beautiful day, people and scenery and car breakdowns

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:17:00 GMT

Well we were tied for first after the first day (dumb luck) now we are showing our true colors and are close to the bottom of the group. We have found that the good rally racers (and there are many here) have been doing it for some time and work together well as a team. Not that Tom and I don't try to work together and we are very good friends, however we really had no clue all the teamwork, preparation and skill that goes into it. We are having a ball driving fast over many of the courses and we are getting better as the week goes on. Right after we finished our first stage in Harbour Mills this morning our car overheated and we lost all the antifreeze. Tom diagnosed it as a hole in the top of the radiator on the exact opposite side from the hole that was patched on Sunday. We were in the village for a breakfast and we were lucky to break down in fromt of Larry and Liz's home. Larry immediately came over and asked how he could help. Well he provided the tools and parts so we could make a temorary patch to the radiator.The car started to overheat just before the second stage started and when we finally started the second stage the car totally died going up a small mountain. We had many offers of help and the tow truck ended towing us and another car back to Marystown. Tom and I sat in our car on the top bed of the truck the 50 kilometers back to Marystown. We made it back to Marystown where our mechanics were, and Ian and Bob immediately went to work on it. After a couple of hours the car was cleared to go back on the course and Tom and I headed out to the Frenchman's cove stage. We ran that stage no problem and drove back to Marystown for the last stage. Halfway through the last stage the car died again and Tom did a good job navigating it off the course. We attracted a crowd of adults and kids and we ended up watching the rest of the last stage with them. Got a tow back to the service area and we are hopeful the mechanics can figure out the problem and get the car ready for us to run the last day. Walked back to the hotel, had dinner and have settled in to do my blog entry. Larry, Liz and there daughter Ashley were very gracious and helpful to us today and our tow truck driver (did not get his name) was a very interesting and helpful person. We hope to have another good day tomorrow in Newfoundland tomorrow and we are also looking forward to our return journey back home on Saturday. More to come ...

Getting supplies at Wal Mart

Start of the first stage

Larry repairing our car

Larry and Liz

Back up and running

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Day three, great driving, and beautiful Island !

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:38:00 GMT

Just returned from a quick dinner after a 13 1/2 hour day driving and it was a great time.Tom and I left for the arena for our breathalyzer (we passed) and to pick up our can at 6:45 am. We departed for Davidsville and had a 50 km transit drive to our first racing stage. It was a 5.5 km drive at 90 Kph (fast), however because it was raining and the course was wet the race committee changed the course to condition 2 which lowered the speed by 5 kph. Right after the first stage there was a 7 km drive on a gravel road to stage two. We did not realize that the committee changed to condition one, therefore we were a little late. We then had a 40 km transit stage to Musgrave Harbour.That was a fun fast 90 Kph stage over 6 Km with a section in town that was designed to slow you down. It did but we were determined to get back to target speed and in doing so we slid around one corner in town with our tires squelling in front of a big group of spectators. We lost a few seconds in that stage but we had a blast. After some more transit stages and doing well on a racing stage we drove to Barbour Historical Site for a delicious lunch served by the locals in historic dress. After lunch Tom took over the driving and we had a short slow stage that we finished too fast. We only lost a few seconds but we had to slow considerably before the finish. We then had a long 200 km transit to the next racing stage. The next stages were great runs, however there were amendments to the racing book changing them because of road construction. A village that the stage was going through was disappointed because they would not see the cars running fast, so a decision was made that the competitors would run fast through the village even though it was not an official stage. It was a blast with no pressure, The locals in each of the villages has been great hosts and it has been great experience meeting them and learning about their way of life. They all seem to love their island. Finished the last stages and unofficially blasted through the town on our way back. Had a 160 Km transit back to Marystown where we parked all the cars in the hockey arena for the locals. Time for sleep !!

PS Too tired to check for errors, so hopefull there are not too many.

Start of day 3

Our drive back at 7pm

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Day two of racing, what a ride !!

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:47:00 GMT

I will start with the last ride of the day. I Started about 6:30 pm and it was a 7.34 Km run through the Gander Community Center. This is a fairly new (maybe 10-15 year old) residential development. There were 19 ninety degree right and left turns through this neighborhood and and the average speed for our division was 60 Kph. The time that we had to complete this section was 6 minutes and 53 seconds. Tom was driving and he took off like a bat. We needed to get up to average speed and maintain it throughout the course. my job was to always keep relaying the speed to Tom as he could only watch the road and concentrate on keeping the car in the road. He did a masterful job of getting to and maintaining our speed on a very challenging course. I could not imagine going any faster but there were cars in the targa division that had a average speed 25 kilometers higher. Tom finished the stage three seconds over our target time which was amazing. It was an incredibly fun and adrenalin filled stage and a great way to end the day. I drove the first four stages in the morning and we had a 20 second time window for all the stages. Tom did the four stages in the afternoon. We did well today except for one stage we were right on with our time. The one stage we had incorrectly put down the wrong average speed and time of stage on our reference book and realized we had made that mistake when the car behind us caught up. We quickly accelerated and might have still made our time window. We will find out tomorrow when we check the results.Tomorrow the time window is reduced from 20 to 10 seconds. Thursday it goes to 5 seconds and Friday to 3 seconds. That means that on a stage which could be as high as 15 minutes we have to arrive within 3 seconds or incur a time penalty. One of the coolest parts of the trip are the people who come out to spectate the race. We saw thousands of people who watched.The children ( from age 2-18 ) come out in droves to watch and to get autographs cards from the competitors. We didn't know but most of the drivers had autographed postcards with information about them, their navigator and their car. In one village, Point Leamington, all the village kids missed school so they could watch the Targa race. It's been a thrill meeting them and all the adults who organize our lunches and organize the race. We also ended a race by a mussel farm and they prepared fresh mussels for us to sample. The economy has hurt the mussel business this year so go out and buy a bag of delicious mussels. One of most beautiful areas that we saw (we had lunch there) was a place called leading tickles. The views of the sheer rock cliffs,pebble shoreline, and the bays were breathtaking. There is a beautiful small cemetary overlooking the ocean at leading tickles. Well I am very tired and we start driving at 7:30 am tomorrow. More tomorrow...

Future driver

Leading Tickles lunch where the moose stew was great!

Some local fans

Getting the car washed

Blanford stage

Lunch stage 6

Leading Tickles

Thankfully not our car

Mussel farm

Fan of our car

Some more fans

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First Day of Racing in the Bag

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 23:57:00 GMT

OK I need to say that I am watching the Bills game as I am writing this entry. I can't believe that the bills are up 7-0, hopefully they can keep it up. OK back to the race. We had a long day which included 7 race stages along with transit stages (traveling to racing stages) we covered about 350 miles today. Today was a rainy windy day in the mid fifties. We left St John's at 7:30am and drove to Argentia for the first stage. The race stages are on closed roads and we were flying through the stages. Tom figured out the computer and we were confident we could maintain the average speed which ranged from 50-90 kilometers. After the second stage The village of Placentia hosted a breakfast for the competitors at the "Placentia Star of the Sea Hall". All the local people have been extremely hospitable. The locals are all along the course watching the racing stages and cheering us on. As the day progressed the clouds lifted and the sun came out so the race committee raised the speed on the course as it dried out. We switched drivers in the afternoon and were ready to tackle the last three stages. The navigators job is to call out the course and to tell the driver what speed he needs to maintain. The drivers job is to maintain the speed the navigator calls out and to keep the car on the road and out the the ditches (which are all filled with rocks). After the the six stage the teams were to a delicious lunch at the Royal Canadian Legion. The menu include baked cod and a host of great deserts. All the locals of Eastport showed up at the legion and to watch the last two stages. We ended our last racing stage at 5:30 and had a 90 kilometer drive back to Gander. We made it back to the community center at 7:00 pm. At the hotel we had a light dinner and checked the results; we had a good day with no penalties and we are in a six way tie for first. Tomorrow the times get shorter and it will be difficult to stay penalty free. We are having a blast and all the other competitors have been helpful with advice and encouragment. Time to get some rest. GO BILLS!!!

One casualty of the race

Before day 1 start

Good first stage

Breakfast at Placentia

Lunch at Eastport Legion

Beautiful country

Nice Porsche racing by

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Practice Day Racing

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:36:00 GMT

Started the day with the drivers meeting which ended with a blessing with the official Targa Pastor (who is competing). After some coaching on how to use our rally computer, we drove down for the ceremonial start at the Keg which is on St. John's waterfront. After the start we all headed to the the Flatrock stage. Of course we got temporarily lost (along with many other drivers) and we made our way to the first stage. The Flatrock stage is 5 km and we took off with gusto when we got the green light. There were hundreds of spectators as the competitors flew around the course. There were straight-aways and hairpin turns and the objective was to maintain and average of 60 km around the course. We had some difficulty with our computer which we will correct before the start of the race. After the first stage we all drove to the Cape St. Francis school for a delicious lunch of Cod soup (it was great) and sandwiches. When we got to the schools there were many youngsters who were asking all the drivers for their autographs. After lunch we drove back to Flatrock for the second stage(same as the first). There was a delay due to one of the Targa cars having an accident and rolling over twice. We were told that it was a Subaru and they were a professional team. Unfortunately their Targa is over. We finished our second stage and then drove to Confederation Park where they set up a 2.5 km circuit course where the cars could unwind. And boy did they! On our initial run we went flying around the course and saw some coolant steaming when we pulled into the parking lot. Our service crew quickly got to work and eventually found a hole in the top of our radiator. The repair was to insert a plug with JB weld into the hole. We will find out tomorrow if the repair works. Tonight we have the opening dinner at the Keg! Oh yea Tom & I passed the breathalyzer with flying colors this morning. Tomorrow we will be driving 460 kilometers. I would like to congratulate Pat Coughlin for winning this years Trap Shoot.

Before the practice race

Before the ceremonial start at the Keg

Our Stallion

Lunch break after first stage

Old Mini

Radiator repair

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Arrived in Newfoundland, Let the race begin!

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 23:25:00 GMT

We arrived in Argentia Newfoundland at 2:30 pm and we had a beautiful smooth crossing. We are grateful that we did not run into any storms like that did two weeks ago (hurricane Bill) when everyone on board was sick. Tom caught a fleeting glimpse of a whale and otherwise there were blue skies and calm seas. There were about 200 people on board (capacity is 1200) and many of the people that we talked to were from Kingston, Ont. Rochester, Newark NY, Silver Lake, ect... We talked to two guys from Owego, NY who were going to Newfoundland to moose hunt. They cautioned us not to run into any moose as there are over 100,000 on the island. We assured them we would not. After arriving in Argentia we had a 125 Kilometer (about 80 miles) drive to St. John's. We arrived in St. Johns around 4:30pm and completed our registration and we met Scott and the service crew who showed us our car. We toured the car exhabit area and saw some amazing cars. Porsche's, BMW's Subaru's Mini Coopers, NSU's, Sunbeam, Audi's, ect.. Many of the cars in the open Targa division are very serious racing cars and they have large pit crews that travel with them. That division starts after ours so we will see them flying by as we are racing. While we were sitting in our car getting familiar with the equipment three young lads came up to us and asked for our autographs, little did they know. Tomorrow we start bright and early with a mandatory breathalyzer test and a safety meeting. Then Tom and I will take the car out for some practice before the two short practice races. Tom is reviewing the manual for our new rally computer and we are going over the race rules before we turn in for the night.

The Porsche 944

Car Exhibit Area

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Almost in Newfoundland

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:40:00 GMT

Tom and I just boarded the ferry and will be sailing at 11pm (10 pm eastern time) for our fourteen hour sail to Argentia Newfoundland. Had a great drive today leaving Fredericton NB early this morning and detoured north along the coast (Northumberland Strait) where we could see Prince Edward Island for about 50 miles. Then we continued along the main roads to New Glasgow where we had a good lunch. After lunch we headed northeast on Rt. 104 and crossed over the causeway to Cape Breton Island in the early afternoon. We were a little ahead of schedule so we decided to drive the eastern portion of the cabot trail and saw some breathtaking views of Cape Breton and the Atlantic Ocean.

We arrived at the Ferry terminal at around 6:00pm and put our car in line for the 9:00 pm loading. We then walked several hundred yards into North Sydney and had dinner at The Black Spoon Bistro, which was recommended to us. If you are ever in North Sydney Nova Scotia you must eat there. The food, atmosphere and service was tremendous. We wished Cathy and Meg were with us to enjoy it.

We arrive in Newfoundland tomorrow at 1:00pm and have a short 2 hour drive to St. Johns. When we arrive we have registration, rules and safety meetings and we will be checking out our car. Our first racing will be a two hour practice race on Sunday and the Targa will begin on Monday.

Waiting to Load the Ferry

Off to Newfoundland

Morning in the Atlantic

Arriving at Argentia, Newfoundland

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On our way without Tom's Porsche

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:25:00 GMT

Today we traveled 650 miles and just pulled into Frederickton New Brunswick. Beautiful day of driving a good part of it along the St Lawrence River. Drove through Montreal, by Quebec City and then headed east to New Brunswick.

Yesterday did not start well. As Tom was driving the Porsche to put it on the trailer he heard a loud crunch and then all was silent. It appears that the crankshaft let go (tom thinks there might have been a crack in it) which caused the camshaft to break into three pieces which resulted int the head frying. Needless to say Tom was devastated. After calls to Cathy and myself we decided to continue the trip and watch the race. I called the race registrar and told her our situation and she (Alexandra) said there were several cars that we could reasonably rent to compete in. So we are back in the race!!! We will be competing in a Porsche 944. We are sad that we cannot do it in Tom's Porsche, however we are very excited that we will be competing. Today Tom was talking about how he can modify the diesel engine to make it even better. We probably will not do the Targa in his car but we are committed to do some small rally's in it and to burn diodiesel.

Tomorrow we have only 400 miles to get to North Sydney Nova Scotia. We are planning to do some sightseeing along the way before we catch the ferry at 11 pm.
Look for our update tomorrow.

Tom in Pugwash, Nova Scotia

Steve on the Cabot Trail overlooking the Atlantic

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