Myles Murphy the long-time organizer of the Owl's Head Land Rover weekend

Mike Smith / East Coast Rover Co. for setting up the off-road course.

Rovers North's driving school instructors for guiding folks though the off-road course

Jeff Aronson, Rovers North Newsletter Editor, for a wonderful tour of Vinalhaven.

All the seen or unseen volunteers who pulled of the DownEast Rover Weekend.

Preparations

I didn't really have a choice of vehicles, the Series motor still had the better spare engine in the back, and various bits, though it was running the old motor wasn't quick, and I didn't want to take it off-road as it is. The '90 Range Rover was in decent shape, though following the winter and the OVLR Birthday Party. a number of things needed doing. The tyres are at best racing rain depth, and the exhaust started getting much louder. All this and just 10 business days to the DownEast – and July 4th weekend – everyone and thier brother is out to get their vehicle ready for the first big summer trip.

Getting a vehicle serviced in Boston isn't what it is cracked up to be. The folks at the local dealer, LRMW, are nice, but when they typically give you a two to three week waiting time to get the vehicle in for a repair, it ceases to be a convience, and if getting the repair done is inconvient, I might as well do it myself and get to have some fun also.

Tuesday July 2nd

After calling a dozen tyre shops, finding a helpful one, waiting nearly a week and something short of promising my first-born, Michelin released a set of four XPC 235/70R16 tyres. Evidently the are on allocation as this size is only brought into the states as replacement stock for for Land Rover Discovery owners. The good lads at Dorchester Tire stuck with it, and extracted the tyres from Michelin, though they made a minor mistake, and quoted me a seriously discounted price, we agreed on a slightly higher price - I still got a good deal, and they won't dis me if I want to do more business there - it works for me.

Wednesday July 3rd

We raised the Rangie and discovered that only two nuts, of six studs, were still retaining the exhaust pipes, (this was as foretold by the muffler monkees at Direct Tire, Watertown, Ma.)

Direct Tire told me that they would refuse the business, as it might actually involve manual labor instead of just slapping on new parts with a built-in high profit margin. Likewise, they were unhelpful when it came to sourcing sneakers for the Rangie, as trying to get tyres on allocation would mean more legwork and phone calls, and that doesn't fit their high-turnaround, high-volume business plan. If you want to serviced (free coffee, doughnuts, waiting room cleaner than most kitchens, free loaner car, 'nice' service reps.) go there, if you want service done to your car, I'd recommend finding a real mechanic.

Once up on the lift we discovered some debris from the birthday party, a two foot long chunk of post or 4x4 which wedged its way up under the frame and side step mount. Were I thinking like a Yankee, I would have left it up there and brought some free firewood up to the DownEast, ay-uh. :-)

I worked with Doug, and we dropped the forward exhaust hanger and pulled the pipes. Five of the six studs were easily removed, so Doug fitted new studs with one of those wonderful Snap-On stud tools. On went the new gaskets and aftermarket retaining nuts (the ones that are dimpled at the top to act as lock nuts). Within an hour the job was done, I then did an oil change, and had the foresight to remove the disposable plastic undertray.

The Rangie was ready, now I had to get my act together.

Thursday, July 4th

In the morning I hung out up in Boston, scanned some photos from the Pennine Way trip last fall with Pierre, and then when it got really hot and muggy, I loaded up the Range Rover and headed DownEast in the rain. The Rangie has A/C, and my loft did not.

DownEast, ayuh.

The trip up was mostly eneventful, and the traffic wasn't horrible either. Folks DownEast are generally a friendly lot, and I got to witness this first hand when a Sheriff, waved me over to have a brief discussion about the proper way to drive in Maine. He wrote me a cheerful reminder and sent me on my way.

I met a bunch of folks from Yankee Rovers while checking into the campground, and after pitching the tent, joined them for dinner down on Lincolnville Beach. Two of that group told how they'd went and made their luggage racks, and I could only wonder where they get the time. Must be those long Yankee winters. After dinner I took a walkabout and wandered around the campsites until I discovered the Spenny mobile and David Bobeck setting up camp, and then hung out there discussing homemade beers, homemade rovers, and the net.

Vinalhaven

Friday July 5th

Friday started with some bottled pancakes cooked by Spenny's mom and enjoyed by all. Then we set off for the Vinalhaven Ferry and discovered that the nutty brown dog, Bo, doesn't appreciate being anywhere near the fog horn, when the ferry was away from land Bo just tried to hide, but within sight of islands, Bo looked like she just wanted to swim for it to be rid of the horn. The trip out was pretty neat, as we got to sail through all these schooners that were going round the harbour, during 'Schooner Days'.

We landed on Vinalhaven and the skies had cleared from mist to sun, and we joined Jeff Aronson, the Rover's North Newsletter Editor, and the folks who took the earlier ferry for lunch at the little kitchen truck across from the dock. Then Jeff brought us up to a nice beach and Spencer did his best to keep Bo from diving in the water and getting totally wet, but this is an impossible restriction to impose on a Chesapeake Bay Retriever water dogs will get wet. It came time to leave the beach, and we had a few too many bodies for Jeff's 88" to carry. Spenny volunteered for the bonnet-tyre seat, and as we headed off to the next senic part of the island, I got to ride up front with Jeff and Bo. Since Jeff was driving, the soaking wet nutty brown dog sat in my lap.

When we were done sight seeing, we stopped for an Ice Cream on the way back to the Ferry and the rain started again. We sought out shelter of the Ferry office and then ran to the boat in the rain. Spenny, Bo and I headed for a sheltered bit of deck, but soon after leaving Vinalhaven the rain abated and we went out on the car deck to dry out. Then hopped in Spenny's truck and headed back to camp and to dinner at a resturaunt over-run by rover owners. The best part about dinner was the company and the fireworks, the worst part is that the resturaunt was so over crowded it went into low gear and dinner took forever.

The Off Road Event

Saturday July 6th

We gathered down at the beach and had breakfast at the general store before heading over to the offroad course. The course was constructed with some tricky bits, one being an articulation alley–some logs laid in a 'v' shape, another being a narrow two-track log bridge, over some hilly bits and though a couple of muddy spots.

I think on the whole the organizers Mike Smith / East Coast Rover Co. intended to provide a non-damaging course, but as it was, I'd classify it as potentially damaging.

Of the course Chris Browne wrote to the Range Rover Owner mailing list:

While the course was advertised as non damaging I do not think that any RR or Discos made it through unscathed. All the RR dinged their rear quarters and a couple of Discos had some very obvious damage in the front of one and rear quarters of another.

As you sat there looking at the previous Landie going over the crossed log obstacle, you would be in awe at the capability of the wheel travel of the machine, but as Chris pointed out, the egress from the articulation alley/crossed log section would easily take out the over hang or bumper section of the 100"+ vehicles, IFF it was too far to the right (which considering the entrance and traction available on the logs, it was easy to end up too far right.)

By my count something like five Discovery drivers managed to at least knock a bumper end-cap loose (usually nearside rear). A more wreckless Disco driver managed to take off the nearside front bumper end-cap as well as put a hole in the turn signal lens. The Range Rover owners fared better, a red one managed to wrinkle the bottom of the nearside rear quarter, and a black one lost the nearside bumper endcap.

The next fun obstacle was a two-track log bridge (eg. each wheel track had a log under it, and in between or outside was the stream). This is definitely one of those character building experiences, where you must trust and communicate with the punter on the far side of the bridge to guide you straight onto the logs and off again safely. At least one of the series motors dropped the nearside rear wheel in between the planks and had to be extracted by winch. I think his door apron got the worst of it.

A fair amount of the course was in rutted sections, some in firm ground, which leaves you feeling like you are in a slot car. In one of these sections, the ruts ran up against a boulder, waiting to mash protruding hubs. Here David Bobeck and the crew in Bill Adam's 109" diesel used a highlift jack to push the 109" further over so it didn't mash the free wheeling hub case.

I've got no panel nor bumper damage for the excursion (with lots of thanks to my passenger/guide David Bobeck), but in my own stupidity (that rock isn't tall enough.. ka-twang!) I managed to kink the steering damper ($76), and, as expected, the running boards took their share of abuse but saved the rocker panels from any damage.

What I consider to be the most harrowing bit was the boulder strewn muddy section. During the event the mud got deeper, and the hard bits (boulders and stumps) thus became higher. Course workers ended up re-constructing the the course, removing large boulders, attempting to fill ruts and holes with sizeable rocks and laying some poles. Though this might have been reasonably passable if much dryer, it deteriorated to a muddy boulder and stump avoidance course, which I considered the worst section of the day.

Whilst others were whinging about the Birthday Party's light off-road course, I'll still stand by my comment that it was more a green-lane run, a fun romp though the woods with a real pond to cross, muddy (but not boulder-strewn) sections, with enough trees, rocks, hills, beaver works and curves to keep you paying attention whilst at the wheel.

I look forward to next years event and hope that the course will have terrain that while challenging, will be kinder to vehicles which are closer to stock or have longer wheel bases. (I say this as the vehicles in which the course creators were running and had doing recovery were a Ford Tractor, an 89" coiler, lifted with large wheels, and Chris's very capably-prepared leaf sprung.)

The Challenging Off Road

Later in the afternoon, a small group set off to do some serious trecking through uncleared woods. Quintin took his series one out, which is shown at left with the rare flying bill hood ornament.

Owl's Head Transportion Museam

Sunday July 7th

Sunday started out much as the day before, with the crowd gathering around the Lincolnville Beach General Store for breakfast, then we headed down to Owls Head and parked up on a green off the airfield. I spent the first bit of the morning under the Rangie, extracting the warped steering damper and the occasional Landie owner would comment in passing that with feet sticking out from under the Rangie and tools strewn about it must be a Land Rover after all. The remainder of the day was taken up visiting with other LROs and watching the various aircraft performing above, as well as the stealth fighter fly-by. A finer day it could not have been, and a relaxing way to end the weekend, before driving back up to Boston.

Bill Caloccia
Rockport, Maine
July 1997

Note: This text was orginally posted to the Range Rover Owner mailing list

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