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BCN Challenge 2014 - 24 & 25th May


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Chalice 330 - Puking ODIN, Alan, Cath & David Fincher

 

 

For those who don't know, when we met Richard Parry with Tawny Owl half way up to Titford in the final hours of the Challenge, Richard said something like "I'm glad your dog is a lot better" just before Odin threw up in front of him, (though not actually over him!).

 

I'm please to report Odin has not thrown up since, but we will never know if he was just overcome by the excitement of it all!

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Congratulations to Clover and Tawny Owl, very well done. 0.14 point commiserations to Diesel & Dust!

 

bu@@er we got one question wrong.

 

Edit: Congratulations to the BCN Society for not only keeping the BCN alive but for staging this event. If you are reading this and you have never been on the BCN the this event is a wonderful way to experience half of it in 24 hours! We have stopped at Hawne Basin once before and thought what great people, they lived up to that reputation again this year, many thanks to them.

Edited by RichardN
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Right, as chief pundit, I have the following on the CWDF Handicap Challenge 2014

 

Twenty five forum boats ran in 2014, against ten last year. The total field of runners in the whole challenge this year was thirty nine

 

Of last years ten forum boats, only seven competed this year, so that's eighteen new BCN Challenge boats from the forum - well sort of, Dove has competed before. Congratulations to all new competitors, you managed to cover nearly all parts of the result sheet

 

Best new entry is, of course Clover - although her crew are far from being BCN virgins (guess where SarahAVFC lives). Indigo Dream managed to rack up a very respectable score, moving the boat between walkies for the greyhounds, I hope their appeal went well and raise lots of money

 

In the Battle of the Boat Builders, Steve Hudson (represented by Telemachus) narrowly beats Barry Hawkins (Red Wharf) whilst the Dave Harris entry (Cobbett) was severely hampered by tea and mutiny

 

In the rusty bucket Historic boat category, working boats took first (Clover), fifth (Hampstead), sixth (Dove), nineteenth (Crane) and twenty third (Reginald). I have no idea whether that makes them an advantage or not - I love seeing them around the BCN. Once people see reason, Tawny Owl will be firmly near the top of that group

 

Most Improved boat was tricky to judge this year. Tawny Owl dropped one place, Diesel and Dust and Red Wharf two, Firefly three, The Cat who walks by Himself twelve, Clarrie seventeen and Cobbett a spectacular twenty eight. This award is being held over until next year, Standards Must Improved!

 

I am discounting The Moorhen from the Wooden Spoon category, not starting certainly ensures a low score, but I feel doesn't really adhere to the spirit of the competition. Veteran competitor The Cat came fifth, not being able to follow his usual strategy of overnighting at The Manor Arms because we nicked his mooring. New entry Carpe Vinum came fourth - a good effort by new entrants. Incidentally, Carpe Vinum win the Coolest Boat on the Cut category for the inflatable chair on the foredeck. Watching the crew gazing lovingly into each others eyes as they cruised out of Hawne Basin was one of my memorable moments of 2014. I feel I may have hampered Reginald leaving him in third place, by attempting to fill in their entry form for them. Throwing themselves on the mercy of the judges by submitting a blank set of forms with a note of apology is a strategy to watch for the future, although I fear that the scrutineers may outlaw it. Team Cobbett comes a creditable second with a strategy based on sleeping, tea, lunch, cheese and throwing caution to the wind. This is another strong strategy with winning potential in this class. And in first place, taking not only the CWDF Wooden Spoon again, but also the BCN Challenge last place with a magnificent 45 points is Clarrie. Congratulations to Laurie B on his effort, including a route with an improbable two locks - only one of which scores. This is world class stuff

 

There were several entries in the Pets on Boats category. Puking Odin on Chalice managed a magnificent performance on the Titford flight. Bella Basset on Denry had a very nice time with several walks, dodgy knees not withstanding. Golden Boyz golden boys stopped the boat at Windmill End as the running after sticks opportunities were much better than at Hawne Basin. Forum favourite Millie ably guided the crew of Iona through to Hawne Basin as she had heard that Unkle Richard would be there and there might be chips. However, the winner in this category has to be Amy on Peckham Poppy because she is a cat - I like cats!

 

So congratulations to everyone from the forum, including Albion (a creditable CWDF seventh place for this competitive crew), Beau hampered by 'pound-drainer' Louise - I believe there will be an investigation into any possible connection between Louise and the Walsall flight incident, Stronghold who made a graceful entry into Hawne Basin, Ryeland (one of the Wolverhampton ascent starters that decide us on relocating on Friday night) and MVCL, unfortunately washed onto the towpath on the Tame Valley by a passing Tawny Owl

 

It's been an epic year - let's do it again!

 

Richard

Edited by RLWP
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Congratulations to Clover. Well done and thanks to the (two?) main volunteers who run this event and do there best to get the results out as quickly as possible, I believe the main one doing the scoring does it all without a computer.

 

Is it too early to start planning for next year?

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Congratulations to Clover. Well done and thanks to the (two?) main volunteers who run this event and do there best to get the results out as quickly as possible, I believe the main one doing the scoring does it all without a computer.

 

Is it too early to start planning for next year?

 

Certainly not!

 

Richard

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In the Battle of the Boat Builders, Steve Hudson (represented by Telemachus) narrowly beats Barry Hawkins (Red Wharf) whilst the Dave Harris entry (Cobbett) was severely hampered by tea and mutiny

 

I'm not a gloater, no honestly I'm not (:lol:)

 

But can we just acknowledge that not only did Puking Odin and his motley crew manage to beat Mr Hudson's finest, despite their ancient, shorter boat from an inferior builder, but also had to tow Mr Hudson's finest off the rocks near Anglesey.

 

I'm not a gloater, no honestly I'm not - but some things are just worth mentioning as many times as I can get away with!

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Well done Richard, strong work. :D

But:

 

Team Cobbett comes a creditable second with a strategy based on sleeping, tea, lunch, cheese and throwing caution to the wind. This is another strong strategy with winning potential in this class.

 

 

You forgot ALCOHOL, which ultimately resulted in our near-success in the Wooden Spoon challenge section.

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There were several entries in the Pets on Boats category. Puking Odin on Chalice managed a magnificent performance on the Titford flight. Bella Basset on Denry had a very nice time with several walks, dodgy knees not withstanding. Golden Boyz golden boys stopped the boat at Windmill End as the running after sticks opportunities were much better than at Hawne Basin. Forum favourite Millie ably guided the crew of Iona through to Hawne Basin as she had heard that Unkle Richard would be there and there might be chips. However, the winner in this category has to be Amy on Peckham Poppy because she is a cat - I like cats!

 

 

Richard

You didn't mention our cats Mars and Snoop who were doing their best to escape every time we came in to dry off after a flight of locks. Particular mention should go to Mars who was determined to prevent us leaving Hawne Basin by disappearing and only coming back on bribery of food!

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Well done to Clover for taking the win and commiserations to Tawny Owl who I knew put in a sterling performance in the poor weather to only come 2nd. We are pleased with our 18th, meaning we're just above halfway on the table, this being our first time, 'just' 45ft long (feels longer when you're scraping the blacking off it!) and also (partly due to the poor weather) calling it a day at 10:30pm then having a lie in until setting off at 6:55am; and also electing not to do the little detour to the dudley tunnel entrance thus doing well short of the 24h.

 

Maybe next year, and with a bigger boat (if all goes to plan) we'll aim for top 10!!!

 

I must mention Albion and their crew - they moored next to us so can't be much more than 48-50ft??? They must have done a hell of a lot of boating to earn their points and get so high up in the leader board - well done lads.

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The delay in obtaining the results is not good.

It is time to change the system so that the results are available quickly. Each boat should know its nominal placing to date within 30 mins of finishing, and the running placings should be available throughout the afternoon/ evening as the final boats come in.

That means each boat must do its own scoring and that means that they need to be given the answers to questions on arrival & be trusted not to phone them to not-yet-finishers. It also means the log needs to be redrafted to be much more user friendly.

A big increase in trust will be required.

 

It is a bit early to require all competitors to be online for the finish but that day will come and make it much easier to administrate.

 

Perhaps early finishers should be called upon to help? The present system may have served well in the past but it now needs improving.

Why the rush, in the early days of the BCN challenge the results weren't published until the end if the year!

 

Tim

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There were several entries in the Pets on Boats category. Puking Odin on Chalice managed a magnificent performance on the Titford flight. Bella Basset on Denry had a very nice time with several walks, dodgy knees not withstanding. Golden Boyz golden boys stopped the boat at Windmill End as the running after sticks opportunities were much better than at Hawne Basin. Forum favourite Millie ably guided the crew of Iona through to Hawne Basin as she had heard that Unkle Richard would be there and there might be chips. However, the winner in this category has to be Amy on Peckham Poppy because she is a cat - I like cats

 

 

I would just like to put forward my two Tigers, Cheetah and a Panda. Who decided to do a runner at Chasewater reservoir and set us back 10 mins

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There were several entries in the Pets on Boats category. Puking Odin on Chalice managed a magnificent performance on the Titford flight. Bella Basset on Denry had a very nice time with several walks, dodgy knees not withstanding. Golden Boyz golden boys stopped the boat at Windmill End as the running after sticks opportunities were much better than at Hawne Basin. Forum favourite Millie ably guided the crew of Iona through to Hawne Basin as she had heard that Unkle Richard would be there and there might be chips. However, the winner in this category has to be Amy on Peckham Poppy because she is a cat - I like cats

 

 

 

I would just like to put forward my two Tigers, Cheetah and a Panda. Who decided to do a runner at Chasewater reservoir and set us back 10 mins

 

Yeah, right. Thanks Superman

 

Richard

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RLWP, on 08 Jun 2014 - 5:53 PM, said:

 

 

I am discounting The Moorhen from the Wooden Spoon category, not starting certainly ensures a low score, but I feel doesn't really adhere to the spirit of the competition. Veteran competitor The Cat came fifth, not being able to follow his usual strategy of overnighting at The Manor Arms because we nicked his mooring. New entry Carpe Vinum came fourth - a good effort by new entrants. Incidentally, Carpe Vinum win the Coolest Boat on the Cut category for the inflatable chair on the foredeck. Watching the crew gazing lovingly into each others eyes as they cruised out of Hawne Basin was one of my memorable moments of 2014. I feel I may have hampered Reginald leaving him in third place, by attempting to fill in their entry form for them. Throwing themselves on the mercy of the judges by submitting a blank set of forms with a note of apology is a strategy to watch for the future, although I fear that the scrutineers may outlaw it. Team Cobbett comes a creditable second with a strategy based on sleeping, tea, lunch, cheese and throwing caution to the wind. This is another strong strategy with winning potential in this class. And in first place, taking not only the CWDF Wooden Spoon again, but also the BCN Challenge last place with a magnificent 45 points is Clarrie. Congratulations to Laurie B on his effort, including a route with an improbable two locks - only one of which scores. This is world class stuff

 

 

can i just say to everyone involved thank you, the BCN challenge is a classic example of what i love about this country, a mix of serious and silly with a healthy dose of humor, we were firmly in the not serious camp and no one looked down on our efforts, the whole thing was great fun

 

and a special thank you Richard for filling our form in, i will cherish the memory of hearing you say "you can't hand that in" for quite some time, i though my note had just the right amount of creeping and honestyclapping.gif

 

maybe next year in my own boatbiggrin.png

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I sincerely apologise to our route-planner and timekeeper, Allan Keeping Up, for the early and sudden decision not to follow Beau into Icknield Port loop with MoJam hard behind us, and instead skip straight to Soho loop to avoid being in a crowd. Cost us 2 places that did, and Allan will hold it against us forever...

 

And to my father for refusing to risk going up the Bradley Arm early Sunday morning as we weren't sure we'd then have time to do Titford etc.

 

But we had a splendid time. Well done to the BCNS! And Hawne Basin.

 

Roll on next year!

 

Who among us is going to volunteer to collate data for the BCNS next year?

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In return I must thank Odana for letting me be part of team Poppy to find out what the challenge is all about. It was a great weekend, and the BCNS and Hawne Basin certainly did us all proud! I can't wait for our bouncy little dog to lead Team Telford on our own boat next year.

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Indigo Dream managed to rack up a very respectable score, moving the boat between walkies for the greyhounds, I hope their appeal went well and raise lots of money

 

Thank you, it was nice to be the only 60' boat in the top 6! Just need a better route next time!

 

The fundraising has been great we are at currently at £1870 + gift aid so say around £2,200 in total. It would be great to hit £2000 before gift aid so if anyone can spare a few pounds then please our charity page is here: http://www.justgiving.com/indigodream or you can simply send a text to "BCNS88 £2" or "BCNS88 £5" or BCNS88 £10" to 70070. Half the money is going to Perry Barr RGT with the rest going to Greyhoundhomer in Essex. Both are run by volunteers and they are finding it tough to raise money at the moment, though Perry Barr have got the BCN bug and we are doing two charity trips for them later this month. I am sure we will end up having a world record for number of greyhounds on a narrowboat soon.

 

Whilst talking fundraising do also have a look at the Carpe Vinum page here: http://www.justgiving.com/BCN-Challenge, Darren is just a few pounds shy of his target and I believe he still has bottle of whisky to give away as described here!!! Surely anyone that goes round the BCN in a plastic boat with an inflatable sofa on the front deserves some sponsorship.

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This belongs here:

To all BCN 24 Hour Challengers

 

Firstly my thanks must go to Roy & John for the organisation of this increasingly popular event.

Over the past events the numbers have grown to 40 entrants this year (yes I know there were 39 who actually took part).

 

Secondly to Hawne Basin for the fine welcome you all received at the end when you were all tired & hungry and of course desperate for a long cool drink!!

 

Lastly but very importantly, as it wouldn't happen without you, I would like to thank all of you & your crews who took part in the Challenge, The spirit into which you entered it was superb.

Those that decorated their boats and especially those who decorated themselves, despite the rain on Saturday, showed a real taste of enthusiasm.

 

Now that the results are officially out there will be many of you who are really thrilled with your position & some who may even be a little disappointed, but do you know to us it really doesn't matter. The whole point of the BCN 24 Hour Challenge is to USE THE BCN especially the parts that are not often visited and to enjoy yourselves and you were all winners in doing that and for that we thank you all very much.

 

Those of you who had not entered this event before were given a 12 month complimentary membership of the BCN Society. We hope to see you during the year if possible but certainly hope you will be back next year and you may even wish to support the Society by renewing your membership.

 

Next year we are considering finishing at the end of the Bradley Arm and have a meeting on Thursday with a CRT representative of the Work Shops to sort things out. As soon as all is confirmed we will let you know. Need to try & match up with the welcome finish you received at Hawne Basin - food & beer!!

The dates for next year - 23rd & 24th May - put it in your diary!!

 

Thank you from the BCN Society.

All the very best

Brenda Ward

BCN Society Chairman

Richard

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can i just say to everyone involved thank you, the BCN challenge is a classic example of what i love about this country, a mix of serious and silly with a healthy dose of humor, we were firmly in the not serious camp and no one looked down on our efforts, the whole thing was great fun

 

and a special thank you Richard for filling our form in, i will cherish the memory of hearing you say "you can't hand that in" for quite some time, i though my note had just the right amount of creeping and honestyclapping.gif

 

maybe next year in my own boatbiggrin.png

 

Hear! Hear! Love the silliness of all this. cloud9.gif The event is meant to be fun & many of the crews saw it like that and really enjoyed the event. We look forward to seeing more of this next year!! cheers.gif

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This belongs here:

Richard

When we last did the challenge on Fulbourne (about three years ago) we had to give up on the Bradley Arm due to weed and lack of depth.

 

Mind you it was a fairly disastrous event for us that year , we did the grand total of one lock in our 24 hours!

 

Tim

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When we last did the challenge on Fulbourne (about three years ago) we had to give up on the Bradley Arm due to weed and lack of depth.

 

Mind you it was a fairly disastrous event for us that year , we did the grand total of one lock in our 24 hours!

 

Tim

Only one lock !! Tut Tut

:)

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Right, as chief pundit, I have the following on the CWDF Handicap Challenge 2014

 

Twenty five forum boats ran in 2014, against ten last year. The total field of runners in the whole challenge this year was thirty nine

 

Of last years ten forum boats, only seven competed this year, so that's eighteen new BCN Challenge boats from the forum - well sort of, Dove has competed before. Congratulations to all new competitors, you managed to cover nearly all parts of the result sheet

 

Best new entry is, of course Clover - although her crew are far from being BCN virgins (guess where SarahAVFC lives). Indigo Dream managed to rack up a very respectable score, moving the boat between walkies for the greyhounds, I hope their appeal went well and raise lots of money

 

In the Battle of the Boat Builders, Steve Hudson (represented by Telemachus) narrowly beats Barry Hawkins (Red Wharf) whilst the Dave Harris entry (Cobbett) was severely hampered by tea and mutiny

 

In the rusty bucket Historic boat category, working boats took first (Clover), fifth (Hampstead), sixth (Dove), nineteenth (Crane) and twenty third (Reginald). I have no idea whether that makes them an advantage or not - I love seeing them around the BCN. Once people see reason, Tawny Owl will be firmly near the top of that group

 

Most Improved boat was tricky to judge this year. Tawny Owl dropped one place, Diesel and Dust and Red Wharf two, Firefly three, The Cat who walks by Himself twelve, Clarrie seventeen and Cobbett a spectacular twenty eight. This award is being held over until next year, Standards Must Improved!

 

I am discounting The Moorhen from the Wooden Spoon category, not starting certainly ensures a low score, but I feel doesn't really adhere to the spirit of the competition. Veteran competitor The Cat came fifth, not being able to follow his usual strategy of overnighting at The Manor Arms because we nicked his mooring. New entry Carpe Vinum came fourth - a good effort by new entrants. Incidentally, Carpe Vinum win the Coolest Boat on the Cut category for the inflatable chair on the foredeck. Watching the crew gazing lovingly into each others eyes as they cruised out of Hawne Basin was one of my memorable moments of 2014. I feel I may have hampered Reginald leaving him in third place, by attempting to fill in their entry form for them. Throwing themselves on the mercy of the judges by submitting a blank set of forms with a note of apology is a strategy to watch for the future, although I fear that the scrutineers may outlaw it. Team Cobbett comes a creditable second with a strategy based on sleeping, tea, lunch, cheese and throwing caution to the wind. This is another strong strategy with winning potential in this class. And in first place, taking not only the CWDF Wooden Spoon again, but also the BCN Challenge last place with a magnificent 45 points is Clarrie. Congratulations to Laurie B on his effort, including a route with an improbable two locks - only one of which scores. This is world class stuff

 

There were several entries in the Pets on Boats category. Puking Odin on Chalice managed a magnificent performance on the Titford flight. Bella Basset on Denry had a very nice time with several walks, dodgy knees not withstanding. Golden Boyz golden boys stopped the boat at Windmill End as the running after sticks opportunities were much better than at Hawne Basin. Forum favourite Millie ably guided the crew of Iona through to Hawne Basin as she had heard that Unkle Richard would be there and there might be chips. However, the winner in this category has to be Amy on Peckham Poppy because she is a cat - I like cats!

 

So congratulations to everyone from the forum, including Albion (a creditable CWDF seventh place for this competitive crew), Beau hampered by 'pound-drainer' Louise - I believe there will be an investigation into any possible connection between Louise and the Walsall flight incident, Stronghold who made a graceful entry into Hawne Basin, Ryeland (one of the Wolverhampton ascent starters that decide us on relocating on Friday night) and MVCL, unfortunately washed onto the towpath on the Tame Valley by a passing Tawny Owl

 

It's been an epic year - let's do it again!

 

Richard

Beau also had a pet on board. Probably the most beautiful yet elusive and lazy competitor on the challenge - my cat Cassie.

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Very well done to the winners, and from us thanks to the organisers. It is great to take part in this, and hopefully with the publicity gained this does it's part in promoting the BCN, and getting others to cruise it, which after all is the real purpose behind this. Despite the weather we did enjoy ourselves, and the reception at Hawne Basin was fantastic, and made such a big difference.

 

On a personal note, 7th place was initially disappointing, it is the worst placed we have been in our 4 attempts, but we got the points that I was expecting having slightly bettered our plan on the day. Apart from having thrown 15 points away on incorrect clue answers, I don't think there is any more that we could have done. I think I am correct in that all the boats placed higher than us are longer than us (50ft), our route had 83 locks as that got us 20 points or so more than a leisurely 38 lock route, but it was still not enough, to counter the length factor on distance.

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