Fall Sandblast 2003

21 November saw me and Kristian headed back to Cheraw SC for the 2nd time in 2003. This time we would have a longer trip, with much less interstate highway travel than in the spring. Left out about 6am and even though we took every shortcut and backroad we could find thru South Georgia and across South Carolina, it was still 5pm when we pulled into the motel.

The ride up was mainly uneventful, Kristian manning the maps and me driving. Traveled over some roads I hadn't been on in probably 20 years, and a lot that I'd never been on. Stopped in some small Georgia town and had lunch at the "Soul and Seafood Cafe". Some of the best Perch I've ever eaten.

Once in Cheraw, we checked into the motel, then found the Worker registration room and signed in. Was good to see Charles, Bryan and Ashley again. Good folks to work for and always very friendly. Then we nosed around the motel parking lot, watching the teams arrive and unload. Hung out a bit in the Tech Inspection area, checking out how the different cars were put together and getting inside information on what the Inspectors where checking the closest for this Rally.

Made a quick trip down to Oskar's where we had Schnitzel Sandwiches, they were terrific. Later the Irish Bunch from up around New York came in and we stopped by to speak with them before we left. One told me that they had driven between 13-15 hours so they could make this Rally. Maybe we can return the 'favor' when it comes time for Rally New York.

Got back to the motel just in time for the 8pm Workers Meeting. Got our assignments (Course Marshals for Stages 2, 5 and 7) and listened to the safety briefing and other announcements. Was informed we were to meet up the next morning at 8am at the Sharecroppers Restaurant to convoy out to the site. This meant that me and Kristian still had time to check out the other Rally Cars/Crews that had come in or that we had missed earlier.

Talked to Kendall, John and Wilson (from Chattanooga, TN) when we came across them while wandering about. Then we hit the room and fell to sleep to the sounds of clanging wrenches and revving Rally Cars.

(p.s. if you're wondering about us being on the road all day on a Friday and Kristian missing school, well, I asked him that morning and he said he was already kinda sick of school, so what kind of Dad would I be if I sent the boy to school sick and all ????)

Next morning we were up early and headed to Hardees for breakfast. Then to the Sharecroppers where we met up with the other folks working this event. We were given our maps and worker vests and we reviewed our positions and responsibilities again. The we all loaded up in our vehicles and out to the woods. It was a bit chilly, but not nearly as cold as it had been at the 'Spring' SandBlast back in February.

Once at our positions, we parked the truck up the road and then secured off the turn with stakes and tape. For Stage 2, the cars would come down the road, then have to make a 90 degree left turn onto a side road. We were to block of the road going straight.

This would end up being a very strange but interesting Rally for us, one we both enjoyed a good deal. First, we immediately noticed we were not alone out in the woods this time. There were a host of fellows (maybe 4) up in the woods just past our position, raking up pine straw to be baled and sold for garden mulch/ground cover. These guys were working when we got there and working when we left. I never saw them goofing off and they only stopped once for about 1/2 hour for lunch. Besides that, they stayed hard at their work for a good 12 hours.

Another strange and interesting thing was that we saw the Rally winner Seamus Burke and Charlie Bradley (#25) mess up. Coming into our corner their Open Class Evo IV was too hot. The car slid almost to the barricade and they ended up just at the break of the corner, way off on the right side (outside) of the curve. For a brief moment they came to a standstill, almost stuck on a sand berm. A quick reverse and the car was unstuck and then they were flying back down the road. While a couple other cars went a little too wide on the corner too, no one else  came to a complete halt or had to reverse out. Since they are one of Kristian's favorite teams, he wanted me to get his picture with them coming around the corner in the background. So, that's how we got this picture of "Seamus' Slide". Evidently this momentary stoppage didn't effect him in the least bit as he went on to win the Rally by a full minute and a half margin. You can see from the picture that Kristian was a bit shocked when it  looked like Seamus was about to go off.

The next strange and interesting thing to happen came about 20 cars later as we watch the team of  John Keaney and Bob Kelly (#953) come around the small curve and start toward our corner. But their Open Class Evo IV was sputtering and stuttering. They pulled to the left side of the road as the car died. Several attempts to restart it failed and I was just about to send Kristian to check it out when the engine caught. They sputtered ahead a couple slow agonizing feet and it died again. Again they restarted it and again the car coughed slowly until they were right in the middle of the square left corner.

Oh no, I could just picture them coming to a stop there. With the car barely moving for the last 100 or so yards, I knew the next car would be barreling up on us pretty soon. But they kept the engine lit and managed to nose underneath the orange barricade tape. Sure enough, just as they were out of harms way, the next car came charging up and slid around the corner as it rushed out of sight. We watch from across the road as the driver and co- got out. We heard, but couldn't quite make out what must have been a really good round of Irish cussing. The team had run out of gas, just 9.2 miles into Stage 2. With no way to get more fuel, the Rally would end for these guys right here at our little woodsy corner. We asked if they were okay and if they needed anything, then later we went over and talked a bit with them.

Was a bit of a treat for Kristian as we learned that Bob Kelly had just flown in from Ireland for this Rally and would be flying home shortly afterward. Kristian talked to him about his homeland as Bob wondered over the guys raking up the pine straw. Later they caught a ride back to service with the Sweep Team when it came thru. They entrusted their car to our watchful care as we took a break to wait for Stage 5 to start.

Well, since we were tasked with the additional responsibility of watching over the Rally Car, Kristian and I used this opportunity to take advantage of the situation and we got some good pictures of Kristian pretending to be a NASA Pro-Rally driver. If the guys ever see these photos, I hope they realize that all we did was take a couple harmless photos. (now if there had been some gas in it.....)

So, as we ate our lunch, we decided to name our Marshal position as "The Stage 2 Home for the Petroleum-ly Challenged".

As we ate our lunch, we began to hear the baying and barking of hounds in the distance. It wasn't too long before we started seeing 3 wagging tails coming over the hill, thru the woods in the distance. As time for the Stage 5 start drew nearer, so did the hounds. (Stage 5 would be Stage 2 in reverse. So this time, the cars would come back up the road, to a "T", and have to make a 90 degree turn to the right to continue on. Our barricade tape did not have to be moved at all).

Wouldn't you know it, the next strange and interesting thing happened  just minutes before the leaders blasted off on Stage 5. We look up and here comes one of the hound dogs trotting down the road (by the way, the Course Opening car had already come by, so we knew we'd be seeing Rally Cars soon. We managed to coax the hound dog off the 'hot' courseway and over to where we were. After some sniffing from the dog and some patting from us, she laid down at our feet and went to sleep.

Now we had to be only minutes away from the first car coming barreling up, when we see hound dog # 2 come trotting down the same road. Took a little more coaxing and calling, but we finally managed to get him out of the road too. He also sniffed about a bit and then accepted some patting and laid down for a nap. The 3rd dog would not come, no matter what we did, and he ended going off down the road. I never heard any one mention a dog pancake, or being wrecked because of a hound, so I guess he finally got to where he was going.

Those other 2 hound stayed right there with us the entire stage as Rally Cars roared and popped just a couple feet from them. Only once or twice did they ever wake up and look to see what was making all the racket. We decided to rename our Marshal position as "The Stage 5 Home for Wandering and Weary Beagle Hounds". What made it even more interesting was that Kristian was due to pick up his very own Beagle puppy on the day after we got home from the Rally. So it was kind of a weird omen that he was able to call them up and calm them down enough so that they just hung out with us for a couple hours.

After the Sweep team came thru, we bade the hounds farewell, loaded up our gear, took down the barricade, fired up the truck, and hustled over to our new position on Stage 7. It was only about a mile or so away, so we got there and set up without a rush. This time, our job was to block off a horse trail that intersected the Rally route. Kristian took one side of the road and I took the other, but we never did have any horse and riders to halt. What made this Stage strange and interesting was the fact that the Rally had become delayed (due to a big wreck). 

Instead of ending around 5:30, we were now well into the dark. This was the first Rally in which we'd get to see the cars running their Rally Lights. Kind of interesting the first time, I guess. You learned pretty quick not to look straight at the car as it was approaching you.

Another interesting thing about Stage 7 was that our position was pretty close to the Start control point. We could hear the engines rev up as the Starter counted down (occasionally we could even hear the count). Then, just about 20 seconds later, they'd come flying by us. Our position this time was pretty much on a straightaway. Actually it was a slight left going up hill, but straight enough that they were moving as they blew past us.

After the sweep truck passed, we loaded up and headed to the Service Area for the Rally Party. We walked thru the Service Area and checked out the cars and occasionally the damage. Talked with some of the crews and some of the drivers as they came in. Got a look at the car that had rolled.

After the pizza ran out, Kristian was ready to go back to the motel, so we headed in. Another successful and fun Rally. Can't wait till 2004 when NASA has 7 Rallies scheduled. Most are within decent driving range, so we'll hit all that we can. Below are some random pictures I took during the day.

On the way home, we went south to Charleston SC where we purchased a 'Outlaw' wing for Kristian's racing Kart. Later we stopped for lunch and toured the Okeefenokee Swamp Park. (This was the educational part of the trip and I'm sure will count as a school field trip). Here is a picture of Kristian with one of his new buddies just beside the boat, all 14 foot of him.