cutting part of the route, but Paul used his maps to work the route ahead and recommended we push on and try to follow the whole route. This we did, passing a cou- ple of cars competitors in the ditch and a Renault, resting with its front against a tree. When we arrived at the first rest and gas stop we were 34 minutes late and therefore four minutes beyond the maximum. Al- though the route book specified a 45-minute stop, this only applied if you arrived on time. Time out for the first car was 45
minutes after its ideal time of ar- rival, calculated from the start; thereafter cars were required to leave at one minute intervals in the order in which they arrived. For us, this meant we were required to start Leg 2 only eight minutes after we checked in. It took me all of that time to fill the car with at the one premium pump that as operat- ing and event then we left a minute or two late on Leg 2. Paul got a minute or two inside the restaurant, but I had none; no time to visit the washroom, no time for refreshment (but Linda Hollock did bring me a coffee – thanks Linda!). Shortly after we started Leg 2, I
had the high point of my rally. I passed Walter Boyce, two-time na- tional driving champion. We came up behind Walter on a narrow snowy road, following him closely to ten miles or so and then slipped by on the first wider section – going uphill, my old Datsun had more traction that Walter’s Toyota! Walter and I discussed this incident at the finish. Certainly, he had problems
transferring his power to the ground – his rear wheels were spinning for more than mine. Maybe there was a problem in his transmission or suspension set-up that night. Whatever the reason, my Datsun’s relative lack of power and its independent rear suspen- sion combined to us more direc- tional control and more traction in the wet snow and mud we trav- elled through that night. Having passed Boyce and
Woods, Paul and I guessed we were high in the standings and de- cided our strategy from that point on should be to press on carefully and conservatively, taking no risks, staying on the road and guarantee- ing ourselves a finish. In this fashion we motored on
to the end of Leg 2, taking some more penalties for maximum lateness on the way. The scores were
posted at the Haliburton Lunch stop and Paul was able to confirm that we were indeed holding first position. After the lunch stop,
we travelled some more tight sections and forestry roads on our way back to the finish at Bramalea. Following our conservative strategy, we lost more points in these sections, but held on to our lead and avoided any serious set- backs. We had only one odometer cable, and an old one at that. At the end of Leg 2, it broke. This was just the kind of challenge Paul needed – looking for some- thing at that point to keep him awake. Out came all his maps and he navigated with- out an odometer from there to the finish. Our main difficulty was to
locate the entrances to some of the forestry sections. We overshot a couple, and
had to make a U-turn and re- trace our path. This is probably the origin of some rumours I heard that Paul and I short-cut parts of the route to remain within the maximum lateness; we went off-route, yes, but al- ways tried to turn around and go back so that we completed the whole route. The 1971 Tall Pines was a
great rally, fast over reasonably smooth roads, and accurate. The end of November is a difficult time for an organizer to beat the weather (I know, because I organ- ized two national Climax Rallies for DAC in 1968 and 1969). You can set it up for 36mph av-
erages and the weather brings one foot of fresh snow, and everyone will be DNF. Gord McCallum did an excel-
lent job as Rallymaster of the Tall Pines; the weather turned his maximum lateness rule into a real tough condition, but the weather will always be unpredictable at the end of November. To allow for it, I suggest next time he sets up longer rest stops. •
2010 Rally of the tall Pines • 13
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