Keith Mott

C.S.C.F.C Carentan Young Bird & Old Hens Classic

What a weekend we had weather wise, for the last Central Southern Classic Flying Club race of the 2010 season! As I have always stated, all you can do as a pigeon convoyer, is produce the best race possible with the conditions you are presented with on the given weekend. With the Carentan Classic at the end of August, it was another game of chess and before we had even put a pigeon in the basket I knew it was going to be a hard job. Although the Saturday was predicted to be a fair day with a few good options, the liberation had to be that day, as the Sunday and Monday were predicted to be a complete washout and no chance of racing from France. In fact, after the event was flown on the Saturday, the weather turned out really bad for nearly a week after the race!

One of the main reasons for me coming out of convoying retirement this year was to see some new liberation sites in France and I was keen to visit Carentan as every one has been giving it rave reviews. I must agree with them, it is an excellent site, staged at the Cattle Market on the out skirts of the town. The car park liberation area is very spacious, with no obstacles and gives the birds a great fly out from the transporters. The site has a good water supply for the pigeons, nice clean toilets for the convoyer crews, but no showers. In my nine seasons convoying racing pigeons to France I’ve never met a woman site agent, but I did at Carentan, in the form of Brigitte Outrequin. She came down to the site early on the Saturday morning with her two young daughters and her husband, and brought us down breakfast and coffee. This young lady lives in Meuilly and is very keen on the pigeons, and quite rightly makes sure the liberation site is kept like a new pin. When I was cutting the basket strings in readiness for the liberation, Brigitte followed me around with a black rubbish bag, so I could drop the string and seals in as we went, something we would normally do our selves. A brilliant lady!

All the birds were watered at the Salisbury marking station on the Thursday and I must say looked in very good order in the club’s crates. I met my race advisor, Roy Ferriman, for the first time at Salisbury marking and I must say what a great lad he is! He uses airport information for his weather advising and has done a great job for me this season. My ol’ mate, Steve Appleby, has also been race advising for me in the 2010 season and as usual he did a brilliant job. Geoff and I arriving at Portsmouth docks at 18.10hrs and departed for France at 22.45hrs, arrived in Caen at 05.45hrs. Driving in to the Carentan liberation site at 07.15hrs, I was amazed how quickly we got there and if it could be arranged the CSCFC could possibly marking for this event on a Friday. I watered the convoy on arrival on site and I must say, I was very impressed with the Cattle Market liberation site at Carentan. I fed the convoy at 14.00 hrs and again must say it is full credit to the member as most of the young birds were well basket trained and were drinking well. I telephoned my race advisors, Roy Ferriman and Steve Appleby, at 20.30hrs and they gave me a favourable weather report for the Saturday, but it would be a waiting game, with Sunday and Monday being a complete washout.

I awoke at 05.30hrs on the Saturday race day to 100% high cloud cover, which was clearing as I was watching it. The race day blossomed in to blue skies and sun shine, but the problem was in main land England, with cloud cover and drizzly rain in the West Country, which was clearing to the east. I rang Roy and Steve several times in those few hours and we finally established a good line of flight at 10.00hrs, with them telling me that the adverse weather was clearing and it was good at the home end to liberate. At that time I also spoke to Clare Norman on the mobile and she told me the adverse weather had cleared and the sun was shining in Southampton. She also informed me that she had had phone calls from two fancier, one of which was in Bath, and they both had sun shine on their lofts. Hearing these good reports from my contacts at home, I was well satisfied with situation and I liberated the 2,200 birds at 10.30hrs in a strong south west wind and convoy cleared the site with out turning in a northerly direction. On our short drive back through France to Caen the weather was perfect and on arrival at the ferry port the English Cannel was like a sun bathed mill pond. We crossed a very cloud covered and misty English Channel on the Sunday morning, arriving at Portsmouth at 06.30 hrs to 100% heavy cloud cover, mist and light drizzling rain. The Carentan Classic was a funny race to sum up, as I’ve had phone calls from fanciers who had bad races and some that had good races! I must say, I was amazed to hear on my return home on mid-day Sunday that several Federations had held over in the West Country on the Saturday, so there must have been some adverse weather in that area. As I have already stated, all you can do as a pigeon convoyer, is produce the best race possible with the conditions you are presented with on the given weekend and that’s exactly what my self and my race advisors did on the Carentan Classic, did our best!

Congratulations to Vic Morgan of Portsmouth who recorded 1st and 4th open in the Carentan Young Bird Classic! His wining pigeon is his good Koen Minderhoud / Gaby Vandenabeele blue pied cock, now named ‘Super Ken’ after Vic’s late brother Ken and was raced on the natural system. Vic won 4th and 5th open in the 2009 CSCFC Guernsey Young Bird Classic, with the 4th open pigeon being the same way bred as ‘Super Ken’ and were bred from stock pigeons obtained from Peter Reeves of Hazelwood Lofts. The small Morgan team of pigeons are all raced on the Natural system and are fed on Vic’s own mixture, which is high in protein. The Carentan Old Hens Classic was won by Tony Barrett of Portsmouth with a Cooreman / Vandenabeele blue hen, which was bred and gifted to him by his good friend, Jason Ross. Tony has named his hen, ‘Annie’, after his wife’s 92 year old Nan, who cleans out the loft regular for him. Well done Annie and good luck to you!

I’ve stated several times before on this page that this convoying lark is a young man’s game and every season I personally find it harder and harder! I’m sixty years of age in a couple of months time and I’m defiantly getting old for the hard work involved in convoying pigeons properly to France. I love the job, but it doesn’t love me any more! I’ve had all sorts of health problems this year through convoying the pigeons and have finished the season completely knackered. The 2010 season will be my last year convoying pigeons! I can hear what some people will be saying when they read this in the BHW this morning, ‘yes, we’ve heard all this packing up convoying rubbish before’. This really is my last season and I will not be convoying for any organizations in the future!

I hope the member of the CSCFC have enjoyed the racing this season, I have certainly enjoyed the experience of doing the convoying work and using their wonderful transporter. In spite of the general run of ‘not so good’ weather conditions this summer, I think it is safe to say that we made the best of it and produced some good Classic racing for the members. I have made some good friends and enemies in my year as chief convoyer of the CSCFC, but this is part and parcel of the job, if you are doing it properly. I have always said how brilliant Clare Norman is at her jobs as secretary of the CSCFC and now I’ve worked with her this year and now know first hand just how brilliant she is! Martin Norman and his brother Bill are two very hard workers for the club and I must say it has been a pleasure working with them both, they are two great guys. I would like to say a special ‘thanks’ to my drivers, Geoff Biffen and Mike Clarke, and my race advisors, Roy Ferriman and Steve Appleby for all their good work in the 2010 season. The Central Southern Classic Flying Club: pigeon racing at it’s best!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.