On The Road

Laughs and ChaLLenges in moroCCo : 2022 km oFFroad For CanCer researCh and a 4th pLaCe Finish. by Helen Tait-Wright

Anew off road rally in Morocco giving 100% of the event profits to cancer research (70% to CHU Poitiers and 30% to Fondation Lalla Salma in Morocco) was always going to grab my attention, so on 28th September Priscilla and I, along with new team mate and long time friend, Marcella, set out on our journey south from Poitiers towards the start line in Fes, Morocco. Despite a rather late formation of the team, we were confident that our preparation was the best it could be, and we were looking forward to the challenge, up against all female and mixed teams, and navigating using a road book and compass.

The first stage of the Rallye des Aventurieres Solidaires took us along narrow winding mountain tracks through the cedar forests, often with a sheer drop to the side, and concentration was needed to stay on the road. For Marcella it was her first experience of using the road book “in anger” and we did make a few small errors, but nothing horrendous. We were trying to keep a regularity of 30km, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but on technical ground it was quite tricky, and I often felt I was driving faster than I was comfortable with, particularly on steep descents. We saw monkeys, goats, and sheep along the way, and passed through villages clinging to the mountainsides along the 159km special stage.

Stage two was the most difficult I think, or at least for us. There were so many different types of terrain, the navigation was really tricky, the visibility was very poor as a misty haze hung over the northern part of the Sahara, and a long 12km section down an oued had me clenching my buttocks. We saw our first camels, a scorpion and a bright pink iguana! We actually cried together at the end of the stage; we were so happy to finally see those finish flags. But Priscilla took it all in her stride and despite the challenges, we held 5th place overall as we headed further south to the dunes of Merzouga.

Day three saw the tyre pressures lowered right down and the sun shining as we drove out into the dunes to surf the sand. Priscilla passed through the Erg with no dramas, never getting stuck, and we returned ready to face a dune slalom course. That was so much fun. Marcella’s previous eventing experience on horseback made her the perfect co-pilot to call out the course while I concentrated on getting Priscilla through the obstacles. We absolutely loved it! After a magical night in a desert camp, day four was the shortest special stage of the whole event at just 55km around the Erg in which we finished in 4th position.

On day five we continued west to Zagora and a combination of small factors saw us stuck in the sand in the first part of the stage. After a clear run through the dunes it was just frustrating. However we have all the recovery gear, we know how to use it and we were able to extract ourselves with some digging and the sand ladders, but we did lose time in the stage and finished in 6th position. It could have been worse. In Zagora Priscilla was able to get some TLC from Abdou and the team at Garage Sahara Zagora while we got a massage to prepare for the longest stage of the rally as we headed to Icht on Day 6.

With two special sections totalling 267km and liaisons of 136km, this was a fast stage with open stony tracks, and I pushed Priscilla quite hard to cross the finish line less than

14 minutes behind the leading car, but still in 5th place. Our average speed that day was 79 km/h! The drama of the day came when the only fuel station within a 80km radius had no diesel, and with all the crews and support vehicles needing fuel, there was concern at the camp. Luckily a late night delivery of fuel in a Sprinter van full of cans solved the problem!

The penultimate stage was full of challenges. The navigation caught us out early on and then we ran into a bad sand storm on an open plain. It was really scary. Suddenly we had absolutely no visibilty and the only thing we could do was follow the compass heading. Luckily we obviously did that well and we emerged on the correct track, which was a relief. But it didn’t end there. Further through the stage on a twisty mountain road the Priscilla’s engine cut out.

At first I thought Marcella had accidently kicked the emergency battery cut off, but then I realised the dash lights were still on so it had to be fuel. It wasn’t, as I first thought, dodgy fuel from the night before, but in fact the fuel cut off solenoid had failed, cutting the supply to the engine. Although we were carrying a spare, the dangerous breakdown position, coupled with a very hot engine and 36.5 degree heat and no shade meant that the organisers decided to recover us to the overnight stop. From a safety point of view they made the right call but it was a disappointing end to a difficult day.

With Priscilla fixed and ready for the final stage, we were determined to enjoy the last day of our rally and set off for the white beaches on the Atlantic coast. The stage took in a long drive through a magical oued, complete with puddles after heavy rains a few days before, to emerge on the beach with the sea in front of us. Stunning. After that we drove around 30km on the beach with the sea lapping at Priscilla’s wheels. After the final liaison, the rally terminated in Agadir where we finished in a respectable fourth position overall !!! The old girls did good !!!

At the time of writing we do not have the final figure for the amount being donated to cancer research but we know it is over 6500 euros.

Following the rally, we visited our personal humanitarian project, the school in Talataste in the Atlas mountains, once again distributing backpacks and school supplies to the children. It is always a joy to return to Talataste, and it was wonderful to see the computer equipment that Giti funded last year in use. We are so proud to be able to help these children live their best lives. We were accompanied on the trip by the wife of the British Ambassador to Morocco, Sophie Martin. Now we are planning our event calendar for 2023 ….. watch this space!

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