Not having a partner at the Monterey International Healey Week, I thought I would be relegated to the status of spectator at the Funkhana event.
But, then I spotted a cute young lass watching the event.
Recalling my days as a swinging bachelor, I decided to employ one of my “can’t miss” pickup lines. “Wanna navigate for me?” I oozed with a Robert Redford grin? The look on her face said it all. The conquest was complete. She was all mine for a tire screeching ride in my sexy little Sprite.
The theme of the event was “A day at the beach.” Held in an isolated parking area of the Monterey Hyatt, the event required each driver/ navigator team to negotiate five tasks.
At the start, each team was issued a picnic lunch basket, inflated balloon in the shape of a Corona beer bottle, and a huge beach ball. These items were to be carried throughout the course, making for some rather awkward moments for the navigator of each team.
With a shout from the starter the following tasks had to be performed as fast as possible: Highway 1: This was a short gymkhana course that involved weaving through a series of traffic cones. Picnic: Next, the team had to park at a designated station, get out of the car and perform two picnic lunch tasks. One was to pretend to feed each other sandwiches using small squares of wood. The second was to pretend to pour “wine” from the Corona bottle into a plastic wine glass and give each other a sip.
Then it was back to the car for a trip to the next station.
Sand Castle: At this station the team was required to arrange a set of cardboard boxes with lettering on them to spell out “Monterey 2017.” To the top of this pyramid, the team was to place two large cardboard cylinders that were marked with the letters “A” and “H.” Volleyball: At this station, the driver and navigator needed run to a badminton net, toss the beach ball over the net to each other three times, and then drop it to the ground.
Highway 1 Deux: The volleyball task having been completed, it was back down “Highway 1”, this time in the reverse order from the first trip, ending at a solo traffic cone near the registration table that marked the end of the course.
I turned in a time of three minutes, thirty seconds, the fastest of any prior run. Unfortunately, my victory was not to last the day, as other teams posted faster times. Our own Brian and Linda Hubbard took overall honors, with what had to have been not only the fastest, but the most spirited run of the day. (Photos attached.) The final results had the following three fastest times: 1. Brian and Linda Hubbard: 2 minutes 57 Seconds (increased to 3 minutes 7 seconds due to a 10 second penalty for a flubbed task.) 2. Ellen Wetzel and Ashley Feldman: 3 minutes 1 Second (increased to 3 minutes 21 seconds due to two 10 second penalties for flubbed tasks.) 3. John Tennyson and Nancy McCloskey: 2 minutes 52 seconds (increased to 3 minutes 22 seconds due to three flubbed stations.) Everyone who ran the event had a lot of fun. Kudos to course workers Marc and Patti Lewis, Eliot and Ginny Brown, Carla den Dulk, and Irene Medzyk. I ran the event in the morning and was surprised at how many entrants didn’t show up at their appointed time. Rumor had it that serious partying the night before left several entrants in no condition to drive! Afternoon attendance was apparently much better.
My only criticism of the event was the proximity between the gymkhana course and the registration table. I would have run the course much faster than I did, but I did not want to risk spinning out into the crowd at the table. I’m sure others exercised similar caution in this area.