RTG AlMex Daily Dispatch - FINAL - Flipbook - Page 10
day 4: Whitehorse to Watson Lake, 31 August 2023
photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
Four of seven Mercedes with us: Anthony and Sonja Verloop, 1968 280 SE
Otakar Chládek and Jindřiška Žemličková, 350 SL
Gerd Buehler and Janine Franssen, 1979 450 SLC
Andreas Honegger and Peter Kruse, 1973 280 CE
enough for Jim Gately’s Cadillac. There were ruts, boulders,
and roots aplenty over the 4km and once again the dust of
the previous cars hung in the air like a veil. There wasn’t
much in the way of navigating - this was very much a oneway street - but keeping the car to the correct average
speed was quite a challenge.
The mid-morning Time Control at the Southern lakes
resort was an oasis of calm after the dry and dusty
morning. Sat on the terrace overlooking the beautiful
lake Tagish the crews were able to compare notes, enjoy
a light buffet and interact with some of the critters who
scampered about the grounds looking for stray crumbs.
Brian and Catherine Scowcroft’s Chevy fangio damaged
a brake drum not long after leaving Southern lakes. But,
thanks to prompt attention from Andy Inskip and Jack
Amies, it was able to continue until the night halt where
the sweep crews put it all back together.
from here the next task was to get to lunch 145km
further along the road at the Yukon Motel on the shores of
lake Teslin. Here the cars were filled with gas, and crews
were filled with beef stew and cornbread, to fuel them up
ready for the short, sharp, Morley’s Test a mere 35km away.
Jim Smith and dr John llewellyn sent the cars into the fray,
whilst Iain Tullie and Chris Mills manned the cones and
stopped the clocks. Tim eades and Jim Mclaren’s ford
escort sadly didn’t make it this far, having ground to a halt
shortly after lunch. It became clear that it needed a new
gearbox and car and crew are back in whitehorse tonight we’re hoping we’ll see them again soon.
watson lake put on a fine dinner this evening. There were
many tales, but none to beat nick and Serita Sleep’s who
had managed to find someone in whitehorse to machine
a pair of exquisite suspension mounting brackets for their
Mercedes to see them right through to Cabo and beyond.
www.rallytheglobe.com