THE SCOTTISH BLIND GOLF SOCIETY
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Press & Media 2004 |
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Click on the image to view the pic in its full size
courtesy of Fraser Ballantyne |
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This year Ian Moncrieff once again entered a team in The Great Loch Earn Boat Race. The race took place on Sunday 18th April. The team "Three Blind Mice plus Pussycat" consisted of three ex-captains and SBGS incumbent John Miller who regaled us with his nautical expertise on Glasgows Rouken Glen Pond Paddle Boats and his inability to swim ! But this was to be mens work so he beat the rowing drum, cracked his whip and expertly used his body weight as ballast !
The task was to row a fifteen foot wooden rowing boat complete with outboard motor [out of the water unfortunately] from Lochearnhead to St Fillans. The total distance was seven miles. The reason for doing this, apart from the fun, to raise as much money as possible for SBGS. Torrential rain through the night and morning of the race looked like putting a bit of a dampener on proceedings but it turned fair for the start of the race. Hardly a ripple showed on the surface of the water and the temperature was perfect. It was just the crew that let down the ultimate racing conditions.
The two old sea dogs Moncrieff and Maguire took the first shift on the oars against eleven other teams in identical boats and were impeded on a couple of occasions just after the start by a reckless team of rugby players and some women who were apparently trying to park ! This put the SBGS boat back in the pack and they never really got back in touch with the leaders. Ian and Owen, who were in their fourth race ploughed on regardless and our target of getting below two hours looked good. The previous best time by a "Moncrieff" boat was two hours and nine minutes. That had to be beaten ! After an hour the team knew they had a lot to do to beat two hours The encouragement within the boat was fantastic and on they ploughed into a slightly strengthening easterly breeze. Sore hands were forgotten about but ex-captain Prime who had put in a prolonged shift on the oar had earned himself promotion to "Rear" Admiral following the discovery of a huge blister on his passage ass-cent. As the finish line came into sight and the hooter sounded, we were told that we had a time of two hours and five minutes. We were pleased to beat the best "Moncrieff" time but disappointed that we did not manage to break the two hour barrier. Next year maybe ?
Several beers were consumed very quickly after the team got ashore ( a couple were consumed before that if truth be told !) Well, they were medically required to rehydrate the system. After sufficient time in the bar to assess their short comings [well it was quite cold by then] the "Rear" Admiral left and had to stand up all the way home in a two seater car, missing his turn in the crew barrel. What a day ! Although the money isnt all collected in yet it looks as if the team has raised approximately �1000 for SBGS and we would like to thank all the sponsors. The team would also like to thank the people who went well out of their ways to come and support us. It was a great day, full of atmosphere and fun.
Thanks - Ian, Iain, John and Owen
pics and story to come.
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Article by Iain Prime, winner of the B3 Group