Life and death on the Clyde.
Duncan takes a final curtsy on the Clyde.
MV Boisterous is a 59m x 9m
A tale of two Clyde Titans; one is still standing.
The shipyard at Govan was originally Fairfield's
Forward paddling, through the years, on the Clyde.
She was built in 1947 at the A & J Inglis yard on the Clyde. We crunched through the ice...
...to take a closer look at her. She is the last sea going paddle steamer in the World and was built for the run from Craigendorran Pier down to the Clyde ports. Her summer season now extends round the UK's
The Clyde, a river of change.
The Arc crosses the Clyde at an angle and is therefore, quite
Famous for not being able to walk in a straight line.
Staedtler Noris HB
It's about time I posted about pencils again so this latest post is about the Ford Mondeo of the pencil world: the Staedtler Noris HB school pencil. Looking around, I see the Noris being used frequently; it's probably the most common pencil in England. It helps that this pencil is cheap and widely available, often in supermarkets.
It is used a lot instead of carpenters' pencils. Back in September 2010 I went to a green woodworking demonstration near my home. One of the bodgers was using a Noris to mark the wood for turning into a bowl. In addition to marking materials of all kinds, the Noris is also commonly used for jotting shopping lists or making random notes; it is commonly seen in musicians' instrument cases, for writing on their printed music parts.
I suppose I should continue here with a series of sub-Proustian reminiscences about using this pencil, which has armed generations of schoolchildren here in England. The trouble is, I don't have any. I think I used Noris pencils when I was a boy growing up in west London in the 1970s and 1980s, but I have no clear memories of this. I do remember using the more up-market tradition pencils at school, but when it comes to the humble Noris there's a big blank at the centre of my schoolday memories. This could be a sign of the sheer ubiquity of this design of pencil that I have no memories of it at all: an object so common it literally faded into the woodwork.
The overall appearance is as would be expected: a yellow-and-black striped pencil, topped off with a painted endcap in a variety of colours in its non-eraser tipped variant, Art. Nr. 120. The eraser-tipped version, the 122, can be found in stationers' such as Rymans, but is much less common.
The Noris is manufactured in five grades: 2B, B, HB, H and 2H. In the wild, the most common sub-species sports a red endcap, this being the HB variety. I have two blister-packs of these common birds, in a multipack option offered by Staedtler in supermarkets, probably with the start of the school year in mind. Here, a pack of ten Noris HBs, bundled with a Mars eraser and a functional Staedtler sharpener, is sold in my local Tesco for the bargain price of GBP2.50. In my local stationers', the eraser alone is a quid. Tesco also offer a pack of five assorted Noris grades for GBP1.40, and a three-pack of 2Bs for a pound. All offer astoundingly good value for money.
The lead is fairly dark, though not as dark as the tradition's HB. It is slightly harder than the tradition as well, probably to enable less frequent sharpening. On the paper, it leaves a slate-grey line which allows the user to vary its width. I found that I could write for a long time between sharpenings. At one point I managed to sharpen a Noris successfully with my KUM Long Point sharpener. This was good news, but turned out to be a one-off only; when I tried to use the Long Point again, I found my old problem of broken leads had returned. After three or four attempts to sharpen with the Long Point, I abandoned the idea and went back to using my standard KUM sharpener, which left me with a three-inch long stub and a pile of yellow-and-black sharpenings.
The lead smears a bit on the paper, though less so than the tradition HB lead. I have not tried using any grade of Noris other than the HB, so I can't report how those perform, but the HB certainly does a fine job of writing, drawing or marking as you require.
All Greatness Stands Firm in The Storm.
It replaced an earlier bridge built by by Thomas Telford in 1833 and is of similar design but some 20 feet wider. The Telford bridge replaced an earlier bridge built in 1772.
There were unexpected arches through the
Sea kayaking the River Clyde: Glasgow Green to the Merchant City.
Just downstream of the Albert Bridge, the Glasgow College of Nautical Studies is appropriately situated right on the south
Airborne Speedway - East Coast Snocross
East Coast Snocross Headed to Plattsburgh |
Airborne Speedway is facilitating the two-day event, which is round two of the East |
Sea kayaking from a dear green place.
This morning we met at the Newark Castle car park in the upper Firth of Clyde. We then ran a shuttle on the M8 motorway into the heart of Glasgow, the "dear green place".
We were bound for Glasgow Green, the
Sea kayaking to Lochgoilhead from Arrochar, Loch Long
Entering Loch Goil from Loch Long.Hunched by the cold, a long, long way from the open sea.
Sea kayaking in the mountains with torpedoes and invisible ink.
Sea kayaking in search of the lost Ark.
HMS Ark Royal, final voyage to Scotland.
Two million barrels of crude in Loch Long.
The mark of
Seakayaking in the shade of mountains.
We paddled down the east coast of Arran below rocky ridges that rose high into the blue vault of the sky. A couple of
Sunglasses and pogies across a dazzling, cold sea.
We left Bute in very calm conditions and a little sprinting soon had us warm again.
It was a very companionable crossing and the mountainouus backdrop was its usual
TMR Completes First Test for 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tony Marks Racing Completes First Test for 2011 Dufault, Marks and Austin Turn Laps at New Smyrna Toledo, OH (Dec. 15, 2010) –Tony Marks Racing (TMR) got their pre-season testing off to a great start after a three-day test at New Smyrna Speedway with drivers Maryeve Dufault, Jared Marks and Chase Austin at the wheel of the both a late model and ARCA car. |
The test was intended to provide Dufault and Marks an opportunity to get familiar with the ARCA car and get some valuable seat time as TMR prepares their 2011 campaign. Under the watchful eye of veteran crew chief Larry Moore, Austin took the first laps in the ARCA car, shaking it down and making certain that it was dialed in prior to Dufault and Marks taking the wheel. "This was only the 2nd time in the ARCA car for me but it all came back pretty easy," said Austin. "I just shook down the car to get a good baseline so that Maryeve and Jared could run without worrying about anything but getting familiar with the ARCA car. They both did a good job. I was impressed with how well they did and despite the rain, it was a successful test." Crew chief Larry Moore planned the test so that Dufault and Marks could run quite a few laps in the CRA Late Model car and learn the ½ mile oval of New Smyrna before moving into the ARCA car. "We came into the weekend with the goal being to get Maryeve and Jared familiar and comfortable in the ARCA car," explained Moore. "I was impressed with how smooth and calm they both were when we moved to the ARCA car as that is really something you can't teach a driver. They both handled the ARCA car really well and I was impressed with how quickly they picked up on the weight and horsepower of the car. It's nice to leave a test and say there was no drama with the drivers or the cars." For Dufault, the test was a good opportunity to get seat time in the ARCA car and begin to learn the nuances of the stock car. "I am really very happy with the whole weekend," said Dufault at the close of the test. "The team did a great job and we communicated really well. I was really happy to adapt so quickly to the 800 HP ARCA car and the test has really boosted my confidence going into the Daytona test in January." Marks started the weekend running the CRA Late Model that TMR plans to enter for the 2011 season. "The test started off really well, we were fast in the late model right out of the trailer so that was nice," explained Marks. "I'm going to be running Speedweeks at New Smyrna in February so it was nice to get a chance to run this track and fine tune the car and start getting ready for the Crate Late Model and Super Late Model events." Marks also got his first opportunity to test the ARCA car on Sunday. "I wanted to get my feet wet in the ARCA car," said Marks. "It's very different than the late model with a lot more horsepower and a heavier car so it was nice to get a feel for the car and get a little seat time. I am looking forward to doing some more testing in the ARCA car as the season goes forward." The team has now returned to their shop in Toledo, Ohio where preparations for their next test at the Daytona International Speedway January 11-13, 2011 are underway. "Now we're going to spend the next few weeks going over the cars and making sure we're ready to go testing in January," said Moore. "Even though we have a lot of work on our plates, I think we are just thrilled to be here and get to work with Maryeve and Jared and watch their careers grow." The team is slated to run the full 19 race season in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards with Dufault. Additional team plans for 2011 include entries for additional drivers in select ARCA Racing Series events. TMR will also enter Jared Marks in a full schedule of late model racing in CRA and ASA and is exploring the possibility of limited Nationwide Series schedule. About Tony Marks Racing (TMR): Tony Marks Racing was founded in 2009 through the passion for racing of team owner and former driver Tony Marks. Marks is the successful owner of TMT, Inc., a logistics, warehousing and packaging company with over 400 employees whose customers are mainly comprised of Fortune 100 companies. Marks began his racing career in 1985 getting behind the wheel of everything from drag racers, Dirt Late Models, SCCA Formula Fords, USAC F2000 Open Wheel and ARCA cars. Tony personally raced until 2005 amassing numerous wins, championships and track records along the way until he then changed his focus from driver to owner and began building racing programs for his children Jared (16 years old) and Rachel (13 years old). Under the auspices of TMR, Jared began his racing career in 2002 in quarter midgets and now competes in late model, CRA and ARCA Series events while Rachel continues her development program racing quarter midgets and Bandoleros. TMR has been at the forefront of charitable giving through its' "Driving Against Hunger" and "Million Meal Challenge" race programs which have raised over $200,000 for Forgotten Harvest in 2010 at the Truck and Nationwide events at Michigan International Speedway. For the NASCAR events TMR along with TMT, Inc. partnered with Forgotten Harvest for the "Million Meal Challenge For Our Kids" which helps to bridge the hunger gap while schools are out of session and feeds 20,000 children per day in the Detroit metro area. Forgotten Harvest was significantly displayed on the entry of Chase Austin during both the Truck and Nationwide events at Michigan International Speedway along with logos of "Million Meal Challenge" sponsors Walgreen's, United Race Group, Holyfield's Choice Alka-Power Water and Vitamin Spice. Evander Holyfield was also instrumental in the challenge, acting as Grand Marshall for the August race and announcing his "Fight Against Hunger" on behalf of Forgotten Harvest. As the first race team to "Drive Against Hunger" through their partnership with Forgotten Harvest, TMR plans to continue their alliance with Forgotten Harvest and once again "Drive Against Hunger" during the 2011 season. For additional information on TMT, Inc. go to www.tmtcompanies.net. |
Série Sportsman Québec annonce son calendrier 2011
Le président de la Série Sportsman Québec, André Poulin, vient de publier le calendrier de 11 épreuves pour la saison 2011. En plus du calendrier, vous trouverez un communiqué détaillant les plus récents changements concernant la série, tel qu’annoncé los de la réunion tenue le 12 décembre dernier : | Série Sportsman Québec President André Poulin released an 11 race schedule for the 2011 season. In addition to the schedule, you will find below the release outlining the changes the series will undergo as announced at the driver/owner meeting held on December 12: |
15 décembre 2010 Québec Pour diffusion immédiate La Série SS Québec regarde vers le futur. C’est dimanche passé le 12 décembre que c’est tenu la réunion de la Série au Restaurant Normandin de St-Romuald. Plus de 20 pilotes étaient présents malgré la mauvaise température qui sévissait. Parmi les pilotes présents, on remarquait 2 nouveaux soit : David Gagnon #47 d’Alma qui a fait l’acquisition de la voiture #05 cette hiver et Denis Boutet #70 qui pilotera dans l’équipe de Gilles Hamel Racing l’ancienne voiture #21 en 2010. On notait aussi 2 retours soit : Daniel Roy qui avait le #77en 2009 et qui pilotera avec le #11 cette saison après une année de pause et le retour de Rock Poulin qui pilotera une toute nouvelle voiture de l’équipe Boulet Racing en 2011. Rappelons que Poulin est le pilote a avoir accumulé le plus de damier depuis les débuts de la Série en 2007 avec 13. Rock dévoilera son numéro plus tard cet hiver. Il faut aussi signaler le retour probable des 9 premiers au classement en Élite en 2010 et les 6 premiers en Intermédiaires, ce qui devrait donnée une saison fort intéressante. En 2011, plusieurs changements à prévoir. La Série a annoncé qu’elle changeait son image commerciale en 2011 avec un nouveau nom qui sera Série Sportsman Québec et un nouveau logo qui sera dévoilé d’ici janvier. Certains pilotes de la Série commenceront à utiliser les carrosseries MUSCLE CAR AR BODIES en 2011. Cette carrosserie est optionnelle en 2011 mais deviendra la carrosserie d’avenir de la Série. Rock Poulin, Steeve Lesage #95, Jimmy Nadeau #17, François Lessard #71 Marc Rod shop qui est à la conception d’une nouvelle voiture utiliseront dès cette saison soit un Ford Mustang ou encore un GM Camaro. Daniel Sylvain a aussi confirmé que si le Dodge Challenger était prêt pour le 1 mars comme supposé, il serait le 1e a l’utilisé en 2011. La Série a aussi annoncé qu’elle revenait à la formule d’une seule division pour 2011. Un championnat complet ou les 11 courses compteront à 100%. Un nouveau livre des règlements refait à neuf et beaucoup mieux structuré à aussi été remis aux pilotes qui ont même demandé pendant la réunion de resserrer encore plus au niveau des inspections et des pièces non-conformes. La Série sera présente au Salon de l’auto Sport de Québec en début d’avril avec 4 voitures et un kiosque. Karl Drouin #39 de l’équipe PROFAB sera une des voitures sur place. La Série aura un calendrier de 11 courses qui sera distribué entre 5 autodromes de la province, Les pistes de Riverside Speedway Ste-Croix, Autodrome Chaudière et l’Autodrome Montmagny recevront la Série Sportsman Québec à 3 reprises chacun. L’autodrome St-Félicien et l’ASE seront visité à une reprise. (Vous trouverez le calendrier plus bas). André Poulin Série Sportsman Québec
CALENDRIER 2011
Samedi 14 mai Autodrome Montmagny (100 tours)
Samedi 21 mai Autodrome Chaudière (100 tours)
Samedi 11 juin Riverside Speedway Ste-Croix (2 X 50 Inversé)
Vendredi 1 juillet Autodrome Chaudière (100 tours) (Concours Pit Stop Brossard Performance)
Samedi 9 Juillet Autodrome St-Félicien (2 x 75 tours avec pit stop,Points dans chaque manche)
Sam. 23 juillet Riverside Speedway Ste-Croix (100 tours avec PIT STOP)
Samedi 6 août Autodrome St-Eustache (Spécial 150)
Samedi 13 août Riverside Speedway Ste-Croix (100 tours à déterminer)
Samedi 20 août Autodrome Montmagny (100 tours)
Vend. 26 août Autodrome Chaudière (100 tours)
Samedi 3 sept. Autodrome Montmagny (100 tours)
Cédule non- officiel et sujet à changements ou ajouts |
Making light work of a huge volume of melt and a small volume of malt.
... was built by James Ewing in 1757. An open coal brazier was situated at its top and served as the source of light. It proved to be a profitable business as there was a tax on
ACT: CANADIAN THEETGE FILES FIRST ENTRY TO NEW SMYRNA ACT EVENT
CANADIAN THEETGE FILES FIRST ENTRY TO NEW SMYRNA ACT EVENTFor Immediate Release ACT – 121410-67 Waterbury, VT – Two-time ACT Série Castrol Champion, Donald Theetge from Quebec City, Canada is the first to file an entry for the inaugural Goodyear Speedweek Cup event to be held at the New Smyrna Speedway (NSS) in Florida on Sunday, February 13th and Monday, February 14th as part of the World Series of Asphalt Short Track Racing. |
The “World Series” will host the American Canadian Tour (ACT) for the first time in February of 2011. A field of between 26 and 30 teams are expected to make the migration to the warmer Florida climate from all over New England and the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. The recently announced purse of over $33,000.00 brought immediate reaction from veteran competitor Theetge, “I am very proud to be the first to enter this event. I have raced with ACT for over 20 years and try to support them in any way I can. This will be a great way to bring my team from the cold and snow of Quebec City to Florida for a mid-winter break. We are all looking forward to it.” Theetge is considered one of the best ACT stars on tracks of ½ mile or longer. The very fast, banked ½ mile at NSS is expected to suit his style. The format for the Goodyear Speedweek Cup will be unique to the World Series. The innovative ACT plus/minus heat system will set the starting field for the first 100-lap event on Sunday evening, February 13th. Drivers will be awarded 1 point for a win in the feature event, 3 points for third etc. An inversion of the Sunday feature will determine the starting field for the second 100-lap race on Monday evening. The purse will be broken down with $15,000 paid in the two features and $18,000 will be paid to the overall positions when combining the points from the two features, a similar format to the famous Milk Bowl held annually at ACT’s home track, Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre, Vermont. Low score wins the Goodyear Speedweek Cup and the lion’s share of the $18,000.00 bonus money. “We wanted to show fans something a little different at New Smyrna for our first ever appearance. This format should be very entertaining for the fans and it should spread the money around a little and give all our teams a chance to have some fun and hopefully help each with some of their expenses,” said Tom Curley, President of the American Canadian Tour. For additional information contact the ACT office at 802.244.6963, www.acttour.com, or media@acttour.com. |
A new dawn on a favourite paddle.
It was low water at Portencross, where we met the Castle Craig Kayaking Club who were planning a similar trip. At low tide this is one of the most awkward launches on the Ayrshire coast. An alternative
Sun goes down at Turnberry, after a three castle day!
Both Turnberry lighthouse...
...and Ailsa Craig...
...add a certain something to Firth of Clyde sunsets.
The sunset did not last long...
...and soon the flash of Turnberry lighthouse was the brightest object in the sky...
...and we paddled into Maidens in near darkness after a
Sundown at Culzean
We took a third luncheon (not liquid this time) at the north end of Culzean (pron. Cullane) Bay.
By the time we got going again the sun had begun to set.
The Culzean coast line was in deep shade...
...and as we paddled under sandstone cliffs, the great castle of Culzean appeared on the skyline.
This was to be our third and last
Ice cold in Dunure
We then came to Dunure, our second castle of the day, which like the first, was perched right on the edge of a cliff.
We landed within the little harbour below the castle.
In the summer it is full of recreational boats but these two swans had it pretty much to themselves. The
Swimming in it
I keep my ink collection in an old, wooden first aid box, the kind that would have been stationed on the wall of a warehouse or factory back in the 1980s. It's large enough to accommodate my bottles, some 20-odd strong. Looking through them, I see that I own three different brands of black ink. Why? After all, black is black, right? Well, not exactly. I bought one bottle of black ink (Diamine Onyx Black), then I bought a bottle of Noodler's Bulletproof Black, and some Pilot IC50 black cartridges for my black Capless. I am settled on the Noodler's now because of its water- etc resistance, and because it works quite well in the Capless. It is my ink of choice for those situations where I have to complete an official form. But then I bought a bottle of Sailor Jentle Grey ink. This fluid does not seem to like any of my pens, so there it sits, unused, and I haven't the gall to pour it down the sink.
Mostly the inks remain unused because I initially liked the colour, but then lost enthusiasm. Diamine Imperial Purple is a case in point, here. Purple is the colour of my old university and I had the bright idea that it would be nice to write in purple ink. Imperial Purple was suggested to me by my colleagues on the Fountain Pen Network so I bought a bottle. It is a nice ink, though I have since found that it fades to a dusty purple colour. This was not what I was looking for. I have since replaced it with another purple, well actually it's called violet on the bottle: Pelikan Violett. This is also the reason why I own several bottles of blue ink (Quink, Waterman, Pelikan, Diamine, Pilot).
Sometimes the inks remain unused because I love the colour but they take too long to dry because they are highly saturated. Private Reserve Plum is a good example. It is beautiful, but takes forever (seemingly) to dry on the page. As I detest smearing this is a big disadvantage.
Sometimes they are unused because they don't work in my pens or I simply haven't tried them in the right pen. Pelikan Turquoise springs to mind; it's a cool colour, behaves well, and yet it's yet to find a happy home in my pens. As a colour, it's a blue which reminds me of glaciers; it's the colour of icebergs. At the moment it lives in one of my Lamy Safaris.
Sometimes there are colours which I enjoy and then don't use for no particular reason. Diamine Orange is the one here. It is a genuine eye-popping orange colour, reminiscent of 1970s orange squash. I really ought to put this back into one of my pens, and soon.
Some inks I buy simply because I like the bottle. I bought Caran d'Ache's Sunset for this reason, but also because it filled a gap in my colour wheel and it is one of my favourite colours.
And then there are inks which I buy, try out, then forget about for a while before trying them again and wonder why I had forgotten about them. Here the winner is Diamine Woodland Green. After all the experimentation with colours I have found that green ink has the most calming effect on me of any of them. Here in England, people who write with green ink are seen as either eccentric or just barking mad, though there is also a century-old tradition of senior military and intelligence officers using it to sign documents and memos. Or are they just the same thing? When I first became enthused with fountain pens, in 2007, I bought a small bottle of Woodland Green. It was lovely, but it was probably too soon in my journey into inks to settle on it as a core colour. I soon put it away to try others.
I suppose I ought to be pleased to join the green-ink brigade because writing in green ink brings me back to one of the reasons for writing with a fountain pen in the first place - to enjoy the sensation of seeing a page fill up with a beautiful colour, even if the text is as quotidian as it gets (and believe me, at work, it is).
Looking again in the box I note that I own only two shades of green ink. How could this state of affairs have come to pass? My favourite colour and only two shades? Right, time to check out some J.Herbin shades. Vert Empire looks very nice though Lierre Sauvage and Vert Reseda are on the want-list too. Argh.
Jetting off for some winter sun on Costa Clyde
We bumped into Richard, from Ayr, who was trying out his shiny new Rockpool GT. I
Gently flows the Doon.
It was high tide so we were able to paddle right up to the tidal weir...
...and give the kayaks a quick rinse...
...before heading back downstream. Since the 1930's the Doon has lost a third of its flow, which is pumped through the hills of its watershed into the catchment of the River Dee. This river flows into the Solway through a series of dams
"Did you see those three madmen at Seafield?".
Phil, Jim and I had left shuttle cars at Maidens and then driven back to Seafield at Ayr for a trip past three of the four castles
Snowy Glasgow
It took over 4 hours to get home from work yesterday. My wife abandoned her car but I picked her up and was mighty glad to get the car home. A rear wheel drive automatic is not the best on snow but winter tyres made all the difference.
We were lucky some people had to spend the night in
Tony Marks Racing Announces New ARCA Racing Series Team for 2011 Season
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tony Marks Racing Announces New ARCA Racing Series Team for 2011 Season Canadian Maryeve Dufault to Pilot the Entry. Toledo, OH (Dec. 7, 2010) –Tony Marks Racing (TMR) announced today the intent to run a full season in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards with Canadian driver Maryeve Dufault piloting the No. 50 TMR entry. At the helm of the team will be owner Tony Marks, while day to day operations will be overseen by veteran crew chief Larry Moore, who will manage the car preparations out of the teams shop in Toledo, Ohio. |
Team Owner Tony Marks has been involved in a variety of racing endeavors over the past 25 years and after a late season ARCA Series test at Rockingham Speedway he was keen to expand his racing peration. "Last season tested at Rockingham Speedway and saw very promising results," said Marks. "Through our relationship with Dodge and our interest in expanding our racing program, we were presented with an opportunity and pursued conversations with Maryeve to join our team and put together a full season entry for 2011. Maryeve had displayed great ability in her outing at Montreal and we look forward to putting her in the position to be successful in 2011 with the Tony Marks Racing team."
Dufault was sponsored by the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and Ram Quebec Dealers Association for the 2010 Canadian events and despite a tough outing in the Montreal race where she finished her day with heavy contact and was unable to complete the race, her driving skill impressed a Dodge racing representative who then facilitated an introduction to Tony Marks Racing. The team will begin their 2011 preparations in earnest with a three day closed test scheduled for December 11-13, 2010 at the ½ mile oval at New Smyrna Speedway in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. During the three day test, the team plans to run Maryeve Dufault in the ARCA entry as well as test driver Jared Marks, son of team owner Tony Marks, in both an ARCA and late model car. The team will continue their testing program at the ARCA Series test at the Daytona International Speedway January 11-13, 2011 in preparation for the season opening ARCA event on February 12. About Tony Marks Racing (TMR): Tony Marks Racing was founded in 2009 through the passion for racing of team owner and former driver Tony Marks. Marks is the successful owner of TMT, Inc., a logistics, warehousing and packaging company with over 400 employees whose customers are mainly comprised of Fortune 100 companies. Marks began his racing career in 1985 getting behind the wheel of everything from drag racers, Dirt Late Models, SCCA Formula Fords, USAC F2000 Open Wheel and ARCA cars. Tony personally raced until 2005 amassing numerous wins, championships and track records along the way until he then changed his focus from driver to owner and began building racing programs for his children Jared (16 years old) and Rachel (13 years old). Under the auspices of TMR, Jared began his racing career in 2002 in quarter midgets and now competes in late model, CRA, ASA and ARCA Series events while Rachel continues her development program racing quarter midgets and Bandoleros. |
Winter has arrived on the Clyde.
We now started our crossing of the Hunterston shipping channel.
As we approached the Hunterston deep water ore terminal we could hear the noise of the grab cranes unloading the MV Red Gardenia.
She was built in 2005 and has a dead weight of 76,300tons. After unloading here for another 36 hours she left for she left for Port Skaw in
ACT - GOODYEAR TO PRESENT THE ACT SPEEDWEEKS CUP
For Immediate Release ACT – 120610-65 Waterbury, VT – The American Canadian Tour (ACT) has announced that Goodyear, the official tire of the 25 year-old short track sanctioning body, will be the presenting sponsor of the first ever “southern swing” for the ACT Late Models on Sunday, February 13 and Monday, February 14, 2011. Last month officials from ACT and New Smyrna Speedway in New Smyrna, Florida announced that the ACT Late Model teams would become part of the historic World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing (WSASCR) at the well known ½ mile speedplant. |
For over four decades northern race teams and fans from Maine to Minnesota have made the annual pilgrimage to the ‘World Series’ at New Smyrna during Speedweeks at Daytona. “In the old days, the late Richie Evans would run out of the NASCAR Wednesday night awards banquet and rush down to make sure he was in the feature at New Smyrna that night. Junior Hanley, Gary Balough and a whole host of modified and late model racers made New Smyrna their ‘off-season home’. It is going to be a lot of fun to bring our northern ACT Late Model teams to Florida,” said Tom Curley, President of the American Canadian Tour. “ACT race teams have supported Goodyear for the past seven seasons and we are really pleased to be the presenting sponsor of the first Goodyear ACT Speedweeks Cup,” said Scott Junod, Goodyear Sales Manager, Short Track Racing. “I have seen a lot of ACT events over the past few years, and I think the fans going down to Speedweeks and the World Series of Asphalt Racing at New Smyrna are going to be in for a terrific short track show. When ACT announces the format for the two 100-lap events it should be a whole lot of fun to be a spectator. Goodyear is happy to be a part of this inaugural ACT event in February during Speedweeks,” concluded Junod. Over thirty teams from throughout the Northeastern United States and Canada have indicated they have interest in attending the Goodyear ACT Speedweeks Cup event at New Smyrna Speedway. “We feel confident that we will get the 24-26 teams we are hoping to have for this event, and as soon as teams see what the interesting format and purse structure is going to be, we expect to be able to release a very competitive field of entrants by the first of the year,” said Nick Bigelow, spokesman for the American Canadian Tour. Entries for the New Smyrna event will be sent in mid-December, and more information will be forthcoming throughout January 2011. For additional information contact the ACT office at 802.244.6963, www.acttour.com, or media@acttour.com. -30- |
Autodrome St-Eustache - Abandon de la bannière NASCAR
Réunion Sportsman du samedi 4 décembre à l'ASE. Les dollars resteront 100% au Québec ! C'est sous le signe de la détente et de la convivialité qu'un peu plus d'une quarantaine de personnes faisant partie de plus d'une vingtaine d'équipes ont répondu à l'invitation de la direction de l'ASE et se sont présentés à la réunion de la division Sportsman tenu samedi après-midi au VIP de l'Autodrome St-Eustache. La majorité ce ceux-ci se sont même présentés en fin d'avant-midi, répondant à l'invitation de prendre le dîner sur place, servi par Madame Ladouceur et sa fille Annie. |
Beaucoup de bonnes nouvelles bien accueillies par les équipes de courses ont été annoncées. Parmi celles-ci celle de l'annonce de l'abandon de la bannière NASCAR qui fera économiser dès leur adhésion de 350 à 400$ par équipe au niveau de l'achat de licences et permis de puits et surtout un fond de points qui bondira de 10 000$ à 26 200$ pour les onze courses de la saison 2011. « Nous avons apprécié les années passées sous la bannière NASCAR, nous avons accumulé de l'expérience, mais nous sommes d'avis que le retour d'argent dépensé par les pilotes et l'organisation de l'ASE pour détenir cette bannière, un retour qui se situe aux environs du tiers de ce nous (et les équipes) envoyons aux USA, était devenu insuffisant et c'est pourquoi nous avons décidé de payer nous même le fond de points et de distribuer directement aux équipes de courses une grande partie des sommes qui étaient payées à NASCAR…. » de préciser le directeur des opérations courses de l'ASE, Yves Ladouceur, le tout sous l'œil approbateur du président-fondateur de l'ASE, Monsieur Claude Aubin, qui nous a honoré de sa présence, et du président actuel Alan Labrosse, ainsi que d'une partie de l'équipe des officiels qui seront en place en 2011. Étaient sur place, des recrues qui s'illustreront en 2011 telles que l'équipe 422 du jeune Marc-Antoine Demers, l'équipe 73 de Steve Lagacé, le 71 de Claude Charest et Stéphane Aubin qui a annoncé « publiquement » son arrivée en Sportsman avec l'ancienne voiture du champion Steve Côté. Parmi les autres. Martin Goulet et Mario Bergeron qui ont été les premiers à se procurer leur licence ANCA SPORTSMAN 2011, Dave Coursol, André Coursol, Cindy et Mathieu Francoeur, Jason Labrosse, Sébastien Joseph qui pilotera l'ancienne voiture de Jonathan Bouvrette, Sébastien Dussault, Jean-François Bouvrette, Isabelle Tremblay, Benoît Juteau, Jonathan Bouvrette qui devrait faire quelques apparitions en 2011, une présence remarquée et appréciée a également été celle de Mario Carrier qui nous a annoncé son retour en 2011. L'équipe de Maxime Pelletier, le nouveau papa, était également représenté par Mario Lajoie. D'autres pilotes qui pourraient bien revenir plus régulièrement assistaient également à cette rencontre, parmi eux Normand Lavigueur qui n'a pu participer autant qu'il l'aurait voulu en 2010, et un autre qui n'est pas passé inaperçu, Guy Jubinville qui travaille très fort pour conclure une entente et revenir en piste en 2011. Il faut préciser que l'implication de NASCAR dans le système se situait exclusivement au niveau de la gestion des points et du paiement du fond de points. Le reste de la gestion (procédures de courses et règlementation) a toujours demeuré sous sanction ANCA même sous la bannière NASCAR. D'autres mesures économiques ont également été annoncées dont un système de gestion restrictif et contrôlé d'achat de pneus en 2011, et l'acception d'une deuxième marque de carrosseries moins dispendieuses. Quelques procédures de courses ont également été améliorés, parmi celles-ci, le fait que les points iront aux équipes qui pourront se doter d'un pilote de réserve qui leur permettra d'accumuler quand même des points en l'absence du pilote attitré, le tout sujet à certaines conditions qui seront déterminées un peu plus tard cet hiver. Le système ANCA prévoit également un système de pointage pour les qualifications, ce qui n'était pas le cas en NASCAR et un retour aux positions de départ déterminées par les moyennes inversées des trois dernières finale, tel qu'appliqué à toutes les autres classes de l'ANCA. En ce qui concerne le nombre de tours des finales, ils seront de 75 tours par finale qui comportera une interruption de 6 minutes au 50e tour et dont les 25 derniers tours seront disputés sur le vert. La confrontation ASE 150 sera également de retour en 2011. Cette confrontation en sera une de « voitures » qui mettra aux prises les SPORTSMAN et les SUPER-SPORTSMAN de l'est du Québec dans une finale mixte de 150 tours. « Nous avons en main une entente avec Monsieur André Poulin, Président des SS qui nous assure sa collaboration et la présence de vingt pilotes et plus de cette populaire organisation » de renchérir Yves Ladouceur. Il a également été annoncé que la série LMS de M. Tom Curley sera de retour à 3 reprises en 2011 et que la course NCATS sera remplacée par le St-Eustache 200 ACT le 16 juillet avec possiblement un ou deux gros noms qui se joindraient à nos vedettes de l'ACT comme participants à cette épreuve. En résumé, les changements et dispositions qui ont été favorablement accueillis par les équipes présentes et une confirmation qui rassurera tout le monde : NOS SPORTSMAN SONT LÀ POUR RESTER, une citation qui était attendue et qui en a rassuré plus d'un.
|
Mad dogs and seakayakers smitten by the cold in the Tan.
We sought some shelter by taking the inside passage between Little Cumbrae and Castle Island.
I wonder if a committee chose the name of this little and if so how many times they met?
Tony said hello to the caretaker's friendly but barking mad little dogs...
...
Only 40km from the City, escape to a Clyde wilderness.
Back at sea level we had time for a second luncheon and enjoyed the silence of our isolation and escape, from the everyday World...
...before hitting the sea again. As we
Goodies
- a Marksman wooden ruler (which was made in England, but graduated only in metric units)
- a yellow-and-orange Fila Temograph H pencil (stamped "Florence Italy") which looks completely unused
- a few other pencils including a no-name primrose yellow round pencil and two Conté Evolution HBs
- a black plastic 3"x5" card index box full of blank cards and indexed dividers
- a genuine Anglepoise fully-articulated desklamp complete with low-energy bulb
- and last but not least, an Olympia SM-3 portable (if you have a team of porters) mechanical typewriter in grey, complete with carry case.
The Olympia looks well-used; it has a Swindon dealer's decal (complete with five-digit phone number), not to mention a correcting fluid stain, which has subsquently been lined with blue ball-point, presumably by a bored typist, or perhaps a novelist. This brings my typewriter "collection" to two: the other being a 1970s Olympiette, a present from my mother-in-law. My wife thinks I am mad to entertain such beasts when I already possess a PC, but sometimes it is nice to get the manual typewriter out and bash out a few lines of meaningless prose. I have an idea of typing notes onto 3"x5" cards - have another look at the picture which adorns this blog. This would be useful if and when I ever get around to persuing academic research again, perhaps for a master's degree. After all, if it's good enough for the historian David Starkey, it's probably good enough for me. I use index cards a lot to write down to-do lists or just notes in general, because I don't like Post-it notes much. (The paper is crap and it doesn't take fountain pen ink at all well.) The 3"x5" card is an ideal size, I think; big enough to write quick notes on, but small enough to fit inside a diary, Filofax or book. I keep a bunch of them held together with a large clip.
Obviously, a good day; and I'll be back again next year.