Our last day on the rock

James

Jul 19 |07:55

Our last day on the rock

Can you believe it. It's time. This morning sees Pete the Saxo being craned onto the Lyonesse, to begin it's journey (although this first leg is only 2 and a half miles across to the larger island, St Mary's). There, Pete the Saxo will wait overnight for us, and we'll meet up with him tomorrow. Sailing on the Scillonian, we'll hit the mainland at about 7.30pm tomorrow evening.

It's about to get real.

10 months of planning and preparation; 300 odd days of trying to work out every possible angle for the rally, to give us a fighting chance; and the countdown to leaving Tresco currently stands at 25 hours.

So, the last few days have been a bit manic, as i'm sure you'd guess - Ollie saved the day and we had a great sticker printing session in the office. Turns out, you can print great quality car vinyl stickers at home. Good to know for next time. Pete the Saxo now adorns Pete's face, and those kind mate sponsors who have donated a generous amount are getting their ugly mugs on the back.

Pete the Saxo looks awesome.

Mechanic Shiles, the wonder engineer who's made the car as worthy as it will ever be, will no doubt be glad to see the back of us; the guy is a hero though, and we're trying to think of something we can get him from the road to show our appreciation. I have a feeling though, he'd just like to see the car (and his hard work) back!

We have our leaving party tonight - starting at 8pm'ish at the New Inn, with live music from Noxious (reforming for one night only), David Dan and also the inaugural performance from the Dave Johnson Experience! Coupled with copious amounts of Guinness, I can see this being a very good evening... (although, as designated driver for the first leg of our driving odysee, I must turn down any drink that's served in a shot glass, or end's in "bomb")

We have a few days on the mainland to do those things we're unable to do on the island - get the wheels balanced, buy our clothes for the trip, and have a McDonalds breakfast. Very exciting.

James and Nick are working till the very end (James in fact pulled an all weekender to finish his jobs), so Will has the task of getting the car to the quay for the 10am boat. We'll go down and film this moment, and watch as eyes well up around the island.

Once we're on the road, and we have some precious time, we'll write more about the help and support we've had from our friends, colleagues, suppliers and strangers.

1 day left on the rock..........