Shortly before this year’s June event at Minstead, Jeff received word that the site owner has put a site operator in place to run the 4x4 events.  The downside of this is that the fees to use the site have increased meaning that the price of events have increased to £25 per vehicle.  However due to the short notice of this change, the committee made an executive decision to only charge the previous rate of £20 per vehicle for the June event and make up any shortfall from club funds. 

The great benefit to us of this change is that the site operator has put a lot of time and effort into expanding the site and adding new routes.  The site is much bigger and sections that used to be impassable can now be travelled which opens up the site a lot and provides a host of new places to test yourself and your truck.  The routes are classified so you can get an idea of the difficulty of the route before you start them and it is too late.  There are still nightmare (N) sections in the site which will bite if you are unprepared or don’t commit to getting through them and there is (as ever) a risk of breaking something but the site is now far more balanced.  This improvement work is set to continue and the site operator has big plans to expand the site further and re-open or create even more routes.

There were some concerns as to the turnout we would get to this event as it was late in the year and would take place before the June monthly club meeting.  This meant there was no chance to discuss it as a club before the event.  To get the word out to everyone the committee put together and e-mailed out an e-RAG (if you did not get one then please ensure Rich (Membership) has an up to date e-mail address for you).  We also tried out a new way of notifying members of the event which was via a text message on your mobile’s.  Both of these media seem to be quite effective but please let someone on the committee have your thoughts on whether these are good ideas or if you can think of a better way for the club to let you know about events.

The morning of the event dawned very bright and warm.  Jez, Jeff and Rich all met at my house at 08:00 and then we headed out.  I had to stop for fuel (as usual!) as did Rich so Jeff and Jez went on ahead.  When we got to the site I could not believe its transformation.  There is a shed at the entrance to provide some cover from the elements while signing in (and for the gate Marshal!).  When you get to the car park this has been opened up and a new fenced off picnic area and a built in catering van have been added.  Leaving the car park the routes are marked quite clearly with 4” square markers to indicate their difficulty.  These range from n for the easiest (non-damaging) routes, n for more difficult tracks to follow with possible vehicle damage, n for very difficult tracks with a good chance of vehicle damage, and finally N routes which you have to be a nutter to try!!!!!

Jeff jumped in with me and we headed out to the marshalling point we usually cover.  As we got there and before we’d had a chance to look at the changes Howard arrived in his Range Rover and Jeff waved him through which proved to be a mistake!  The hole which Howard attempted had been changed to a N route.  Howard had a really good go at this and made it over half way through.  The problem then came it helping Howard get all of the way through.  He had a good go using his winch but when his engine cut out there was simply not enough power to pull the Rangie out.

This meant I had to get around into a position to be able to pull Howard out, easier said than done!  After navigating a black route and fighting around into a position where I could anchor the back of my truck to a tree and get a pull onto Howard we gave the winch a whirl.  This started to move the Rangie a couple of feet but for the first time since I upgraded the motor on the winch it ground to a halt.  After pulling more kit out of the back of the truck Jeff rigged up a double line pull anchored from a handy tree.  When I tried the winch again the extra pulling power made all the difference and we finally managed to help Howard out.

The rest of the morning was spent in the same place pointing out the obstacles, encouraging those members brave enough to give them a go and helping recover those who didn’t quite make it though.

Our area quietened down at lunchtime so Jeff and I took advantage of this and headed back to the car park to grab something to stop out stomach’s rumbling.

 When I we got back JT had turned up with his two boy’s, Harvey and Alfie.  Unfortunately his Rangie did not make it as it did not get through the MOT.  After a quick chat they all piled into my truck and I took them for a quick tour of the site.  At one point Kirk grabbed me to pull out a chap in his very standard looking Discovery which the boys thought was great.  This was also my first chance to take a look at the new green routes.  The boys loved this and so did JT and I.  There was a number of taxing obstacles on this route but every one has an easier route around them.  I had a bit of a play on these to the boy’s delight and then headed back to the car park for a brew.

Jeff and I then headed back out onto the site as roaming Marshals before heading back to where we had been in the morning just as the ‘Rikstaboogie’ boys turned up with their really well sorted trucks.  They made short work of all of these sections.

As ever these guy’s were a pleasure to watch, they tend to get further than most before the winches come out.  When the winches do come out you can tell they know exactly what they are doing, gloves, tree strops, straight pulls and winch sails are always present which does not give us Marshals much to do except watch the show!

Once these guy’s had cleared the section we received a radio call to say that the day was being wrapped up.  We headed back to the car park making sure that there was no-one left in the site.  When we returned to the car park we washed the worst of the mud off, made sure everyone had left and then Jeff, Jez and myself headed home collecting the remaining club signs as we did so.

Halfway back to Ringwood I spotted Nigel and Kirk in a lay-by.  We pulled in and it appeared that Nigel’s engine was hot enough to make tea!  Nigel was putting some water back in it as we stopped.  Once Nigel was ready to roll we headed the rest of the way back to Ringwood in convoy.

I had a great day.  The remodelled site was really good.  There is now much more space so it is possible to get more vehicles along to events without getting crowded.  Also most of the difficult sections now have a simpler route around them so there is less waiting for a stuck vehicle to clear before you can progress, which can waste your day.  If the site continues to develop as planned its going to be an absolutely brilliant venue!  I can’t wait to see want it is going to be like when we return in October.

For more pictures of this event click HERE.

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