Folkestone

Here we go for the final race of 2017 for the Welsh National Flying Club as the birds headed South Easterly to Folkestone, an average distance of 180 to 190 to most of the Welsh lofts competing. 

With the birds on site in the early hours of sat morning the day broke with low lying cloud cover and mist on site and at various points throughout the line of flight along the M4 which meant an early get away wasn't possible until such time that things improved.

As the morning went on things slowly and surly started to brighten up and with the many fanciers along the route providing us with the conditions within their area we were rapidly approaching mid day when everyone could see that a liberation was seen to more possible with the convoyers reporting a break in conditions at 12.30 we had a final check on the line of flight and with blue skies appearing above the birds were liberated at 12.45 into a light North by North Westerly wind.

Taking the leading honours once again and rounding off a highly successful young bird season were the Davies and Coombes partnership from Blackwood yet again taking 1st 2nd 3rd and 4th open with velocities of 1328.x2 1327.4 and 1327.3, the winning which was only decided by the order in which the ETS recorded them was a young dark cheq hen of Van Rijn bloodlines which the partnership have recently introduced from pigeons from Adrian Duggans whilst crossed with the partnership familiar lines of Leon Boers x Hardy Kruger, the second over the line which incidentally is as good as the winner as there's nothing to divide them is another hen this time a blue of 75% Leon Boer whilst crossed into the Frans Zwols pigeons with previous performances inc 1st club 1st Federation Epsom 130 miles.   

For 3rd its a blue cock this time chasing the hens home the breeding of such is again of the Mirage lines from Leon Boers crossed into the Van Dyke Kannibal pigeons and again resulting in some prestigious performances from such crossings as these are the same as the partnership previous 2003 Maidstone National winner. 

The fourth pigeon and open completing a tremendous young bird programme for this loft and fanciers see the Frans Zwols dominant in the pedigree and is related to a 1/2 brother of the 2014 Maidstone National winner but on this occasion crossed into the Joop Koopman and Van Rijn pigeons and as an added bonus also took 1st place in the Newport gold ring scheme claiming £450 in prize money.. for this partnership it rounds off a highly successful young bird season in the Welsh National Flying Club with 1,2,3,& 4th Open Maidstone 2nd Open Battle and 1,2,3& 4th open Folkestone added to this they undisputedly receive the 2017 Welsh National young bird average trophy for such performance 

Davies & Coombes - Winners of the WNFC 2017 Folkestone Young Birds

For 5th open we head to Newport where the Hawkins family consisting of Tom, Ray and Jack recorded their arrival on a vel od 1225 was a cheq cock that was purchased at last years Welsh National presentation auction when the previous years winners are asked if they would donate a yb the following year to help club funds so money well spent on this occation as dai promised the Hawkins family that their purchase would  come direct from the 1st and 2nd open Welsh National Ramsgate winners of 2016.

For 6th we stay in Newport as Alan Dunn timed his arrival on 1224 sadly on trying to contact Alan I was unsuccessful. prior to meeting the deadline for publication.

Well that’s it for 2017 race wise, it’s time for the winter break but before finishing off we must of course thank everyone for their input throughout the year first of all the marking station secretaries whom i rely on every week to ensure the paperwork at their respected clubs gets in on time and there club members who work tirelessly on marking nights, the conveyors for all their hard work in ensuring the best possible care is given to the birds once they are on their journey, the Welsh North Road Federation, the Solent Fed and the CDCFC for the convoying duties both inland and overseas, our sponsors also need a mention as its these people and organisations that have donated the winner’s trophy for competition.  Alongside our resident photographer Chris Sutton who travels on numerous occasions to photograph our recent winners and of course our membership who put so much trust in the committee to ensure a smooth running during the season. 

Finally, I cannot forget the NWHU Secretary Terry Dawber and the distance department, especially Linda Buckley who has on many occasions without hesitation come to our rescue during the year even on weekends to provide distance for me to produce the results on time, so thank you Linda both personally and on behalf of the committee and members of the WNFC.

It’s also pleasing again this year to see we've attracted a few new members along the way from other organisations which shows we are working in the right direction, so to those we hope you have enjoyed your time and racing with us and hope to see you all in 2018.  Just to clarify our position in 2018, we are of course celebrating our ten year anniversary and therefore to celebrate, all existing 2017 members will be eligible for half price membership in 2018 as a means of thanks for your continuous support over the years, the sad thing is our founder chairman back in 2008 Terry Tremeer sadly past away in 2016 and therefore celebrating ten years from forming, this milestone is a tribute to him as well as everyone else on the committee  for our continued growth over the years.

A date for the diary - The annual presentation evening will again be held  at the Seamans Mission on Sat 9th Dec, remember tickets go quick, so get your numbers in early to save disappointment. 

Tom Harris