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Originally, this was planned to be just a driving tour to the Keys but we decided to make it a little more fun and organize a Monte-Carlo Rally instead. Unlike the name implies, Monte-Carlo Rally doesn't mean a speed event where cars are run flat out sliding in snow and ice covered roads; it's just the name used to rallies where step by step instructions are replaced with charts and navigator decide on which route they will take to each checkpoint. It's an easier format than the typical Time-Speed-Distance where the navigator must spend most of his/her time reading instructions and computing speed and time. And this day, was all about fun. The challenge part of the name was all about adding up the scores of each club (Alfa Romeo and Jaguar) and see which club gets bragging rights over its members rallying skills. While I was in charge of the technical and difficult tasks of organizing the rally itself, the fun task of finding a suitable location for lunch and for the finish fell in the laps of Alfa Club Social Directrix (and new president) Naomi Sarasola. As you can expect, someone with such a title is probably much better at finding a good restaurant than a "webmaster"... And she did, picking what is probably the best resort in the Florida Keys: Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada. Sixteen cars and about 30 members gathered at Tropical Park, in West Miami at 10am on a beautiful Florida winter morning... mostly clear sky and no worries about old cars overheating. Yet despite the perfect weather and great destination, only four Jaguar showed up. Now, had this been a horsepower / number of cylinder challenge, the Jaguar club would have won easily thanks to Brad Cline's recently acquired 2004 XJR, Chip Starkey's 2000 XKR convertible and Jorge Burgoa's V12 E-type. But being outnumbered 3:1 , it was clear that it would not be even close to a challenge. After lengthy negotiations, Naomi and I agreed to do the rally in her car, a champagne 1986 Alfa Romeo Spyder Veloce figuring it wouldn't look good if the Alfa Club president showed up in a Jaguar... After distributing road instructions and a drivers briefing, cars got underway at one minute intervals towards the first check point, in south Dade next to Blackpoint Marina, easy to find being right next to South Florida highest (and only) "mountain", picturesque MT Trashmore (AKA South Dade Landfill). Monte-Carlo type rallies allow participants to stop before the check point to loose time if the are early. At this checkpoint, we located the stand down area right before a hump in the road, leaving no clue to the exact location of the check point... We took dubious honor for the highest speed across the line, having started a little late, but crossed within 2 seconds of the target time.
Stage two took us toward the Florida keys via scenic Card Sound Road where traffic was light allowing drivers to enjoy the run. Our destination, Cheeca Lodge is one the best resort in the Keys, if not the best, located on the Oceanside among acres of gardens and its own golf course. This check point was handled by Keys resident and SFJC members Jeff and Tricia Hynes who picked a nice location by the Hurricane Monument near the resort entrance. Prime parking had been arranged along the edge of the golf course for the 18 Jaguars and Alfas before heading for the waterfront restaurant where a long table awaited us on the water edge with a fantastic view of the ocean and pier. Is there anything better than emerald blue waters in winter? The final stage of the day would take us back to the mainland, again via Card Sound road with Alfas and Jaguars making good time. I was driving and despite frequently joking about the little four cylinders of the Spyder Veloce, I must say I was impressed by its acceleration when passing; while obviously not as torquy as the V12 or the supercharged AJ-V8 found in Jaguar's "Rs", when combined with the cars light weight the result is a quick and fun to drive little car. Leave it Naomi to find us a special destination: the Redlands Tavern, in the Redlands (just north of Homestead). Part biker bar, part country joint (including a horse tying post next to the band), the Redlands Tavern was a great choice to end the day. As the results were tabulated, we realized that we were facing a serious problem: the prizes were missing! It turned out that our two checkpoint workers, Susan and Denorah (Naomi's friends, does it say something about her picking the Redlands Tavern?), who left checkpoint 1 driving a very tame PT Cruiser met a couple of bikers during a pit stop at Alabama Jack on Card Sound road. They became somewhat distracted arriving late for lunch at the Cheeca Lodge and disapeared after lunch, apparently taking turns riding on the back of the bikes while the other one reluctantly drove the wagon... It took many phone calls to finally get them to head back north to the Redlands Tavern and deliver the prizes. Luckily the band, "Big Dick and the Extenders", was pretty good and kept us entertained. While the number of Jaguars entered in the rally was disappointing, everybody had a great time and feedback (at the end and afterward by email) has been very positive; those who who didn't make it missed a fun driving event! Rallying is fun, especially when running a Monte-Carlo rally with no pressure on the navigators... ever heard the joke about divorce attorneys being needed at the end of many TSD Rallies? In these events, the only pressure was to have fun and while some took it seriously enough to get a perfect score, others just enjoyed the drive. Some did at a leisurely pace in a classic Italian Spyder, others in the back of a supercharged luxury Jaguar watching a DVD on the headrest screens with the landscape literally flying by. From XKRs to E-types, rallies are fun... what are you waiting for? |
