Chesapeake Challenge 52 Rally Results

Chesapeake Region

CC52 Rally: The Butterfly Crossing

Steve Graham

Ron Farb designed an interesting and scenic tour route in the Libertytown—Unionville region of Fredrick County. I’m certain Ron would be happy to share the 40-mile route with others who did not have the opportunity to participate in the rally, or for those who would like to revisit the route before I had the opportunity to mess with it.

The rally, which had to be designed in very short order, took the form of a 16-question sign hunt with participants searching the route for signs, local architecture, and various yard art. The route was broken into 3 legs, with the instructions for the second leg issued at Libertytown Elementary School, and instructions for the third leg issued at Libertytown Park. Scoring was based on correctly answering the questions, with ties being broken by mileage accuracy (used to decide 5 th and 6 th place, and for 8 th through 12 th place) and a poker hand. Playing cards for the poker hand were distributed at start, finish, and each of 2 check points.

The first and third legs of the rally were quite straightforward. Some commented that there were missing instructions on leg 1, but they had failed to pick up on the “Right at T” general instruction written at the top of the page. To add some interest and confusion to the second leg, odd number car traversed the route in a clockwise direction and even number cars in a counterclockwise direction. The first handful of instructions used different turns and side streets in the village to even out the mileage between the odd and even routes. All of the same roads were used, and the questions were visible regardless of the direction of travel.

It is duly noted that the rally participants could find “the broad side of a barn” and count to 10! This was the easiest question on the rally and in Leg 1 with 95% answering it correctly even though the only clue was the circled section of the barn. The location was on Artie Kemp Rd.

The most difficult question on the rally was also on Leg 1. While most participants knew the saying, “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”, only 20% found the butterfly crossing sign at 8619 Woodville Rd. Incidentally, a bee crossing sign is on the other side of the post.

Other tough questions on Leg 1 pertained to the EV8AUTO sign (25%)28

Chesapeake Region

Rally (cont’d)

and “getting blasted” (35%). There are 2 pistons and 6 rings on the EV8 sign, and you can get blasted on Woodville Rd. Both signs are on different faces of the same building. Getting blasted at the winery or the brewery, although possible, was not the correct answer.

Leg 2 and McKinstry Mill Rd. also held its fair share of challenges for rally participants. Only 20% of the participants were able to find the doll tied to the fence with the 3 rusty fuel tanks at the garage on the property. A short distance down the road was the Weber’s Nest / Eagle’s Rest sign with a 45% find rate.

The WBIG trailer was found only by 40% of the participants. It looks like it has spent a long time sitting in this lot off of South Street.

The answers for Leg 3 of the rally were all found along Bessie Clemson Rd. The flower sign was the second easiest question on the rally (85%) while only 30% found the “Organic – No Spray” sign on a fence along the road.

The poker hand was not needed as a tie breaker. As a group, this was a terrible collection of poker hands, the exception being Andy and Kim Powel who had the best poker hand of three 4s, Ace high.

All of the clues were clearly visible from inside the car (photos all taken from driver’s seat) and there were no clues on Liberty Rd. in the town center (stated in drivers meeting). Not taking anything to chance, these facts were ignored by our rally winners Messrs. Alban and Gutjahr. While transiting from checkpoint 1 to 2, I spotted Bob, on foot, on Liberty Rd, looking for clues in all the wrong places! Manny was found, parked a half mile up the road, taking a nap in the car. It was also reported that Bob, again on foot, had an encounter with Ms. Boll at the turkey farm, where he was interrogated as to why everyone was stopping to look at her flower garden. Clearly, he had some explaining to do.

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Chesapeake Region

CHESAPEAKE CHALLENGE 52: Gimmick Rally

Gimmick Rally, Mt. Airy, Oct. 23, 2021

By Aniano Arao

Aniano Arao

Photos by Aniano Arao

The month of October was move-out time from our old house and move-in time to our new home. Tied up

with so much to do on the domestic front, I sought the help of Ron Farb and Steve Graham in devising aGimmick Rally for this year’s Chesapeake Challenge. They readily and kindly agreed. Ron came up with awonderful route around Frederick County, while Steve concocted some neat and entertaining gimmicks.The result was a delightful driving and competitive experience for the 20 pairs of people who took part.

As I’ve done for several years, I will name here only the top 10 teams that completed the rally. There is nopoint in embarrassing the others who didn’t do as well. The perfect score is zero. The winning duo cameclose, with a 2.

1. Manny Alban and Bob Gutjahr 2 2. Jerry Wassel and Eli Nadel 9 3. Josh Fleming and Navya Banda 14 4. Andy Powel and Kim Powel 15 (Three 4's ace high) 5. Craig Davidson and Linda Davidson 16 (Tie broken by mileage) 6. Chuck Marshall and Sheron Marshall 16 (Tie broken by mileage) 7. Bob Williams and Kim Williams 19 8. Bert Roberts III and Bert Roberts IV 23 (Tie broken by mileage) 9. Steve Buss and Marsha Buss 23 (Tie broken by mileage) 10. James Beavan III and Ken Wilmers 23 (Tie broken by mileage)

And now, some photos.

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Chesapeake Region

Gimmick Rally (cont’d)

Steve Graham, my predecessor as Tour & Rally co-chair, walks past his 2018 GT3.

This charming Macan gets going as I launch it from the gate.

Guest rally masters Steve and Ron Farb preside over the drivers’ meeting after lunch.

Mark Miller’s Racing Yellow 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 gets into position.

Steve explains the ground rules and objectives of the rally during the drivers’ meeting.

James Beavan III and navigator Ken Wilmers wait for my go-signal in James’s 981 Boxster S.

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Chesapeake Region

Gimmick Rally (cont’d)

Aniano Arao

The winning duo Manny Alban and Bob Gutjahr bide their time in Manny’s ’90 Carrera.

Josh Fleming and Navya Banda gear up for the rally in their 718 Cayman GTS 4.0.

Another colorful Porsche waits for its turn at the starting gate with Robert Williams driving his 1976 930.

Steve and Marsha are ready to have fun in their Lava Orange 911 4S Cabriolet.

Jim Orrell’s 718 Spyder 4.0 is all set to hit the back roads, with son Hunter behind the wheel.

Scott and Veronica Kirklighter represent the early 911s in a 1970 911T Targa.

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Chesapeake Region

Gimmick Rally (cont’d)

Andy and Kim Powell are all set to enjoy the lovely countryside with top-down motoring.

With most of the cars on the road, I go back to the show field to take a look at Vince’s 964.

Doug and Francesca Ehmann decide to have a relaxed and relaxing jaunt in their Cayman.

Bob Gutjahr’s 1989 911 Speedster was one of several standouts on the show field.

Clement and Evie Hathaway also opt for a noncompetitive tour of the lovely countryside.

Jim Earlbeck’s, Bob Miller’s and Donna Brandt’s classic 911s are candies for the eyes.

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