Inaugural Tobago Run
August 18/19th, 2007

Its History now, and those that were unable to make the trip to Tobago have missed out on this piece of TTORC History. All is well that ends well. Thank you to all the members and their families that made this event successful. There were much to be done in a short time and many more was learnt for the next time. To those that made it possible on the event , PETER, PAUL, FRANKIE, TREVOR, CALVIN, GAUPH, TONY Q, Thank you all.

To Jay Young, special thank you for taking the time off and accompanying us on trail. Thank you very much Sir and hope to be of any assistance to you when next you visit us in Trinidad.

Special thanks also goes to Carolann Birchwood James - General Manager, (cell 678-5839) of Canoe Bay Resort. They can be contacted c/o LanBank & Canoe Bay Resorts, 18 Main Street, Scarborough, Tobago. Ph: 631-0367; 639-054O

Thank you and regards........Raff.

TRAIL REPORT

It took 10 years but the club finally made its inaugural trip to Tobago. Full praise must go to Events Manager Raffick for pulling this off where so many others have failed.

Members made their own way to Tobago on various ferry services and met up at the Lowlands Mall at 9am on Saturday 18th of August. Present were Calvin, Sheldon, Paul and “Local Guide”, Tony & Peter, Frankie and son Shawn, Trevor and Raffick making six vehicles in all. Shane was also there but for some reason didn’t hear the route briefing and as he had to go to the airport to collect Rawle, he “lost” our convoy for the entire day. Garfh and family joined us on Saturday evening as he was unable to get an earlier ferry booking.

The advance guard of Frankie, Trevor and Calvin who spent Friday scouting out trails reported little success. Fortunately for the club, Jay Young, who lives in Tobago and enjoys off roading, was able to join us for the morning and he took us on a lovely Grade 1/2 trail starting by Arnos Vale Hotel. There were some narrow parts but with General Tony providing guidance even Hercules made it through. The reward was some spectacular views of the Caribbean Sea. (not to mention a breadfruit tree that is now a lot lighter!)

This run was followed by a visit to a lovely river near Mason Hall which, while it was a short “in and out” trail, and was very pleasant with lots of liming spots….it had a COW. Now this cow was just minding it’s own business, tied nicely beside the trail….when a certain gentleman who just happens to own a “cow” horn, let go two bellows and there was mayhem. Clearly to our undiscerning ear…one cow bellow is just like another…but to this cow, who clearly hadn’t seen a bull for a long time, the bellow meant something very specific. And as she turned her head…whose red painted bonnet did she see…Sheldon’s! Needless to say there were plenty of “Bull” and “Horn” jokes as we each inched our way past her. Coming back was the same story and as Hercules was last, and Tony was on the cow’s side, with no side window, there was much frantic scrambling as “The General” squeezed himself into a 6” space behind the driver.

To my embarrassment, on the road to this trail Hercules decided to act up again, this time with fuel starvation. Thanks to Tony and Frankie for helping blow through fuel lines etc. Sadly Jay had to leave us at this point but he gave us good directions to some more trails which we promptly set out for. The first was Hillsborough Dam which somehow Paul’s “Local Guide” managed to miss so we ended up on the beach at “Hope” for lunch.

Undaunted we headed for the 2nd trail to Rainbow Falls near Goldsborough. Nicely signposted, the river was easy to find but after some 30 minutes of driving up the river, and with no “falls” in sight, the members voted to take a swim and head back to wives and families.

Of course once the Events Manager declared the trail over, various beverages appeared including a two gallon bottle of Vodka from Tony “I not running out of grog in Tobago” Quintyne. Frankie “Ice Man” Manickchan had managed to nurse a bag of ice through the heat of the day and if Sheldon “Vector Control” Mohammed had been brave enough to capture the Crayfish he saw instead of taking blurry pictures of it, we would have had a real feast. Calvin managed to temporarily loose his wallet until he mentioned it was full of “blue notes” where upon every member of the club was on hands and knees looking for it in anticipation of a big reward. Needless to say he quickly found it again!

Saturday evening was spent by members and their families at Crown Point enjoying local dishes and reviewing the many photos taken during the day. Sunday was a delightful family day run up to Scarborough

All in all a very successful first run to Tobago. Next year promises to be even more interesting as there are some Grade 3/4 Trails in the north of the island and Jay has promised to act as guide again.

So thanks to everyone who made this inaugural event such a success, especially Events Manager Raffick and Tobago Guide Jay Young.

Trail Report by PQT

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Thanks to everyone who gave me photos including Sheldon, Tony, Frankie and Paul.
They are sorted here by Day:

THE FERRY TRIP OVER

Waiting to board...and....Trevor wondering if the "Cat" is seaworthy.

Plenty ship waiting in the harbour...and the Twin Towers.

The most valuable building in the Caribbean ...and finally we drive on.

The old Panorama relegated to hauling cement trucks...and "Vector Control" in line.

In the bowls of the beast....and....relaxing in comfort in the lounge.

Now that is "rooster tail" papa.......and check the sunset.

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DAY 2: Friday: Exploring

The "camp" site.....and ...a quick tune up.

"There must be a trail here somewhere"....and....de madam in charge.

Is this Grade 0? at Hillsborough Dam......and....back to base camp