Springbank - 8. Spring Ch 8

Near the gate to the house, the 20-foot standard building would be placed on top of ten concrete blocks that would be delivered in the morning, along with a set of stairs, for easy access, and a waste holding tank and a water tank. This building has only partly been completed, with a functioning bathroom and basic kitchen area, and all internal walls, windows and plumbing installed, which is a basic one-bedroom cabin, which would be ideal as the Race Official’s building for the race, as the bedroom window would be facing the river, right inline with the finish/start line and is also directly inline with the Watch Tower.

At the front gate of the property, I would have the ten-foot modular building and one of the twin-section toilets placed just inside the gate for those who would be assisting with monitoring competitors and crews arriving. I had also managed to secure the purchase of a twelve-metre radio tower, which I had arranged to be installed on the top of the 220 metre-high hill located just 450 metres behind the Watch Tower, to improve radio communications around the farm, as well as to benefit communications during the Avon Descent event.

At that height, it is an almost straight line of sight as far as Moondyne Rapids, which is 8 kilometres downstream from Emu Falls, and 17 kilometres downstream from the Watch Tower, with a Deisel generator to temporarily power the communications tower until a solar power station has been installed after the event has concluded.

At the main machinery shed, I would be having one of the expandable buildings, one side and slightly forward of the front of the shed, not far off the main access road, which will be the main information centre for the competitors and their crew. The second expandable building would be directly at the opposite end of the machinery shed, and this would be used as the operation centre for the Avon Support Unit, with the assistance of the new communications tower on the hill.

For power supplies and light lighting for the property, the shed and house are connected to mains power so they are fine, while generators and light towers will be placed at the Race Control building by the river, another one will be placed behind the machinery shed to assist with power for the catering as well as the two expandable buildings, another power generator to be placed behind the ablutions buildings located in the front paddock for the campers, with one ablution block placed across the road from the machinery shed, and one last power generator will be located behind the building at the front gate.

All the competitors and crews would be camping in the front paddock with a gate located beside the farm track just 50 metres before the shed, and Davies and the lads had been very busy marking the location of the 180-metre-long access track for vehicles into the paddock, as well as the location of all the camping sites, with each site to be 8 metres wide and 8 metres deep, providing 45 campsites and at the end of the newly made track there is a wide loop and another 80 metres of return track before it rejoins the main track, with another 11 sites on the back section of the track.

Finally, a holding zone for all competitor crafts was allocated just south of the access road just before the race officials' building, which will be fenced off with high temporary fencing and will be monitored over Friday and Saturday nights. Thankfully, the fire had only scorched the western boundary fence, so the post and rail fence were still intact, with some minor repairs to the wire netting, and the removal of some fallen branches, the whole property was once again fully secure on all three land sides, making it impossible for any unauthorised visitors to enter during the event.

With a mad rush of activity on the property, by Friday mid-morning, everything was in place, with Jasper and I having both contacted the university and our families to let them know that we would be absent and remain on the property until after the Avon Descent had left the campgrounds on Sunday morning. In the meantime, we have been camping out at the Watch Tower, with Leah keeping us very well-fed while we were on the estate and this has allowed me to get to know Jasper a bit more.

The rope that holds the Finish/Start banner was now across the river, Davies had installed a semi-permanent wire cable across the river, between two strong trees, with the rope attached to this cable. As arranged the full Board of Directors of the Avon Descent Event, had arrived at 11 am to inspect the new facilities for camping and running the event, just as the last of the supply trucks had just left, with Davies, Jasper and I at the front gate when they arrived.

Davies remained to guard the front entry until the lads returned from their early lunch break, we escorted the board members onto the property, showing first the facilities for the security teams just inside the gate, which is between Cobbler Pool Rd and the railway line, before moving onto the machinery shed.

We informed the board that as agreed the catering groups would be permitted to enter at 1 pm, to start setting up their catering vans and trailers, we showed them inside the shed, where painted on the ground are two bays along each side walls for smaller vans, and 4 bays along the back wall for larger catering trailers, allowing eight catering options for all of the people staying on the property over the weekend.

I was told that there was a total of ten catering vehicles coming for the weekend, which surprised me a little, so I said that two vans would have to be parked outside but facing inwards towards the shed, allowing for some shelter for those diners, and I had arranged for plenty of foldup tables and chairs to seat 50 people in the middle of the shed. Next, we wandered over to the campground area, with the now-established set track of crushed blue metal, and where steel pickets mark each of the 56 available camping bays, plus the toilets and generators were now in place ready to go, once people start to arrive soon.

Back at the shed, we showed the board members into the Race Information Centre, which has a lounge area and small tables and chairs in the centre area, and on one side of the building is a heap of information and pin-up boards, with some of them already filled up with large section maps of the Avon River from Northam to Bayswater. The other section of the building has been sectioned off with a temporary wall and a doorway with a large sign stating “Senior Officials only beyond this point.”

In this area, the floor is covered with some very large floor rugs, and the walls have several prints of previous races, in the centre of the room, there is a large boardroom table in the centre of the room, with twelve comfortable leather chairs, and in one corner is the kitchen area that has been fully fitted out with supplies for the weekend, including a hot water urn, cups and plates. Along the long side wall, there are four-two-seater lounges, two single recliner chairs and two coffee side tables for the Board members and senior officials to relax, and at the end is the bathroom.

The other building we saw next is the Avon Support Operations Centre, which has one section of the building fitted out with desks and tables, and there were already two UHF radios on each of the two furthermost tables, with large maps on the wall above them. In the centre of that area is one large table with six chairs around it, and the other section of the building has six separate tables and two lounge suites, while in the corner is the fully fitted-out kitchen area and at the end is the bathroom.

Returning to our vehicles we followed the now-improved driveway towards and alongside the river, stopping at the high fenced-off area reserved for the competition vessels after the first day of competition. From there we walked the short distance to the Race Officials building, which is now fitted out with office furniture, with plenty of desks and chairs, some bookshelves and in the centre two round tables and chairs to allow for meetings and eating meals, plus there are three triple seat lounge suites to allow them to relax and a small fitted out kitchen in the corner, with an urn and kettle, a toaster and a jaffle maker, plates, cutlery, mugs and cups for twelve people and kitchen utensils, and a bathroom at the end.

On the kitchen wall was a large digital clock and a digital timing clock for timing the race. In the open living area, there are two large televisions mounted on the walls to be able to watch the media footage of the race where needed. “I have had the telephone technicians run a temporary line from the house to this building, to provide telephone landlines to ensure uninterrupted communications, the telephone numbers are on the whiteboard over there. As you can see over on the corner desks, there are two UHF and two VHF radios, to allow for the monitoring of all communications during the race, depending on what frequency and channels are used,” I informed the board members, who looked a little surprised by what I had set up in the building.

“Mr Hudson this far exceeds anything that we have had before in the fifty years that this race has been operating, and we thank you for what you have done for us, to ensure that the race continues. Just tell me, what is that building across the river from here?” the board chairman said to me. “That sir, is what my staff refer to as the Watch Tower, as it is an ideal location to watch the race each year, and it is also used for staff functions. The new radio tower behind it on the hill will benefit the estate as well this race, and I will ensure that it is available for future races, we can discuss the future of this campsite once the race is completed and we have assessed how it went operationally,” I replied.

“With this campsite being in a secured area, I think I can safely say that we would be interested in securing a deal for the use of this site for future races,” the Race Director said in response, and the other board members nodded their heads in agreement. We headed over to the house, which I now had fully furnished as the new base for the Avon Support Unit during the race, with plenty of lounges, tables and chairs, a fully fitted-out kitchen, and the two minor bedrooms have bunk beds in them while the main bedroom has a double bed in it, to accommodate the senior members of the Unit, with a sign on the front door stating that the building is the Avon Support Unit Base.

My mobile rang as I was finishing the tour of the building, with Davies as the caller. “Hey mate, having troubles already?” I asked and Davies chuckled at this comment, “No boss, just wanted to let you know that the lads have returned, and I am free now, oh and the senior members of the Avon Support Unit have arrived,” Davies said to me, “Ok, since the lads are there, can you escort the visitors to the house please, that is our current location,” I responded, and less than five minutes later Davies in his vehicle and four other vehicle arrived in the house yard.

We all stepped outside as they arrived, and the stunned look on the Avon Support members made me chuckle, “Looks like a mob of stunned Gallahs,” I commented, which had the Board members laughing, “Geoff, this is Mr Cooper Hudson, the property owner, and I am guessing you have met is property manager Davies Carter. Mr Hudson, this is the Avon Support Unit Manager, Geoff Jenkins,” the Board Chairman said.

Geoff introduced me to the other members of the senior team, who were in charge of a separate section of the unit, “Welcome to your new base, I hope that it is satisfactory for your needs for this weekend, let me show you around,” I said to Geoff, as I motioned for him to follow, as I walked around the side of the house towards the back, where we had set up a camping area for the Unit team members, that included an extra two toilet unit, on top of having the bathroom inside the house and the shower and toilet adjoining the outside laundry.

Entering the house from the back door near the laundry, we showed the new visitors around the house, and they were stunned that this would be their new base, considering their former base was destroyed by the fire a few days earlier, just days after their pre-race weekend stay there, planning for the weekend ahead. “I presume that Davies pointed out the Operations Centre near the machinery shed?” I asked Geoff.

“He did, but I didn’t realise he meant a separate operations area from this space,” Geoff replied, “Yes, it is set up and operational for your team, so you can go and check it out when you are ready. This is just your living and social space for the Unit,” I replied. “Wow, thanks for all of this Mr Hudson,” Geoff responded. “Just not fair,” we heard a voice call out from further in the house, which made me chuckle. “Hey Geoff you have a double bed in the master bedroom for you and there are twin beds in the other two rooms,” one of his colleagues complained, and Geoff headed off to check it out.

“Thank you once again, Mr Hudson, for everything you are doing for us, and managing to do it all in such a short time is quite amazing,” the Race Director said to me, as he shook my hand before leaving, and we said farewell to the rest of the Board members as they too left. Leaving me and Davies with the Avon Support team. “This is truly amazing, thank you so much for all of this,” Geoff said to me, as Davies, Jasper and I left them to settle in and we headed back to the Machinery Shed. “Well, we have done our bit to keep this show going, now it is up to them,” Davies said as we had a last look around.

“Do you have that can of spray paint? I asked Davies, “Yes, in the back of the ute… Is this for the additional catering spots?” Davies answered, and less than a few minutes later, we had that chore done, just as my mobile rang. “Mr Hudson, I have the front gate on the radio, the first of the catering trucks have arrived, is it ok to let them in?” the Board Chairman asked me. “It is your show, the property is under your temporary management now, so I will leave it up to you good luck with a successful event,” I replied, “Very well, thank you, goodbye” came the response, before the call ended and I sighed.

While Davies headed back to the estate on the other side of the river, we decided to remain and watch from a distance to see how things were with the event setup, as three catering trucks, a caravan and a bus, arrived on site as they step out of their vehicles and look around the area. “Hey mate, do you know anything about where we are to set up our vehicles for catering?” one of them called out to me, now that I had parked out of the way on the other side of the road, not far from the toilets.

“Let me check and I will let… actually someone is coming now to deal with that,” I replied when I spotted a vehicle coming from the direction of the house, and Geoff jumped out of his vehicle on arrival. “I was asked to assist with this, and here are two event shirts and your ID,” Geoff said to me, as he handed over the lanyard and shirts. “Well I wasn’t expecting this but thanks,” I responded sounding a little surprised, as I looked at the lanyard, which had Avon Support Unit – Property Management written on it, with my name below.

“I have the list of caterers here, so let’s get started with the bigger vehicles inside first,” Geoff said to me, and about twenty minutes later we had the three trucks and caravan parked along the back wall of the shed, and the support vehicles parked behind the shed, while the Coffee Van was parked on the side wall near the front.