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Today was the first 'early start' and the team felt it. Getting up at about 6AM for the last week or so had proved a difficult enough task, let alone getting *there* at 6AM... We staggered in before most teams, but not actually being able to see due to the darkness slowed proceedings more than usual. The morning ran smoothly considering the time limitations, with the first car rolling out just after 8:30AM. When the rear support car went to leave the field it seems that we had managed to lose the spare wheel for the trailer in the 50 metres it took to roll it over there. After spending half an hour looking we finally gave up, but couldn't imagine what the rest of the day was going to have in store.
We had arranged to leave the first driver behind at the first control stop (Bendigo) so that he could navigate us into Melbourne. However the fatal flaw proved to be navigating ourselves through Bendigo... It took us close to an hour to find him, and we both had radios... After getting stuck in a car park, and some friendly directions from locals over the CB, we still didn't seem any closer. Finally by blind luck he caught sight of the trailer, and we then proceeded to have trouble actually getting out and towards Melbourne. One worn clutch plate, a quarter of a tank of fuel, a lot of frustration and a drag at the lights with someone towing a caravan and we were out of there and on to Melbourne.
Further ahead UNSW Sunswift II was having its own problems, it seems as through we are on some sort of record for punctures. This time we had to change the rear tyre again, and set a record time of 11 minutes 40 seconds. The day had started fairly slowly, with cloud and the trees lining the road limiting the amount of sun reaching the array. This was the first time that conditions had significantly limited race speeds. After a while we reached the outskirts of Bendigo, where a large section of the route had been excluded from timing. Most teams slowed to a crawl, charging batteries as much as possible. At last we arrived at the control stop.
The next section continued in much the same way until our driver complained of poor handling, and the rear flat was discovered. The tyre change was costly, even with the record time, and Tuggers overtook. Over the rest of the stage we picked up a little speed and caught Tuggers, but just as we were on their tail they sped up and the two cars entered the next control stop together. The conditions here were blustery, and we could see storm clouds gathering. It was a quick sprint at 110 km/h until the end of timing for the day, then we slowed to cruise to join up with a convoy into the centre of Melbourne.
After waiting for half an hour we set off behind a police escort, just as the first few drops of rain started to fall. As we approached Melbourne the rain became heavier, reducing vision inside the solar car to a minimum. Driving through the centre of the city, nothing could be seen through the visor aside from the tail lights of the lead car. Finally the car rolled onto the forecourt of the Melbourne Museum, through the finish arch and into the Royal Melbourne Exhibition Building.
Meanwhile the Trailer was still finding the way hard, or more to the point we simply couldn't find it at all! We managed to miss the second control stop, and so continued on to Melbourne in the vain hope that the second biggest city in Australia wouldn't be to hard to find our way around in. Yeah well that's what we thought... the reality was that the instructions from those already there were somewhat useless. Things just got better when we went over the same bridge twice - and not having organised a day pass we will be expecting a letter in the mail sometime soon.
Eventually we made it to within line of site of our destination, but the misery didn't stop there. A few U turns later the rest of the group asked, "What took you so long?" Well... however the surprise of the day was how quickly Aurora came into Melbourne, times were unofficial but it was believed to be something in the vicinity of an hour ahead of us. For that lead, they had used almost all of their battery pack and with showers forecast for tonight and tomorrow morning, we wonder how the race will unfold. The team was split on where to go for dinner; 4 headed off to meet a friend, while the other 5 decided to try their luck in Melbourne.
Willy The Whale
Willy!
Mail Bag
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