And Now For Something Completely Different!

Good mate, Pro Team Member and Rally Driver Guru – Michael Guest rang me recently to tell me he was racing near my home in Noosa. He asked if I wanted to go for a spin during the testing day prior to the Imbil Coates Rally. I can’t say I’ve ever done the rally thing before so I was pretty keen to see what Guesty gets up to when he isn’t fishing. The only catch was my wife was very pregnant at the time which meant I couldn’t go too far from home…Guesty assured me he could get me back in record time if it was required!
I found the rally testing area easily enough and got into the atmosphere of lots of fast cars doing the test thing prior to a big race. Guesty took the car for a few quick laps to get the feel of the track and then it was my turn to get buckled up in the passenger seat and go for a ride. Now to give you some perspective of the surroundings – we were driving through some forested areas on small dirt tracks that I wouldn’t drive 50km/hr on in my 4WD. The track was pretty hilly in places, you didn’t have to go far to find dense forest and there were volunteers on every corner – I was definitely in rally country!

We checked in with the organisers, waited for the track to be cleared and then Guesty let the Subie go….I was too afraid to speak for the first lap! We hit 160km/hr pretty quick in the piece and then hit the first peak where we spent what seemed minutes in the air. The rest was literally a blur! The precision with which these guys drive their cars through the dirt is pretty unbelievable – Guesty worked bloody hard for the few laps we fitted in and I imagine they earn their dollars when taking on 35km’s of full on race stuff.
The testing of the cars is a critical part of the racing scene and I was impressed to see how clinical Michael was with testing the car and ensuring everything was right for game day. And I was most impressed that I didn’t die on my first excursion into the world of rally.
Driving home I thought about the preparation that Guesty was going through and it made sense to me that he was as good an angler as he is a rally driver. I am reading a book at present titled “Heaven on a Stick” by Chris Hole and it states somewhere in the book that angling success is often achieved through “Care and Attention”. I know that the careful preparation and research Michael puts into his rally driving, he also undertakes prior to fishing – and it is one of the reasons that he catches his fair share of fish.

I timed the rally driving day to perfection because the following day I got a phone call from my wife telling me to get back home quick! In the early hours of the next morning – another angler joined the Webster family in the way of a very little Abigail. I again realised how large and well communicated the fishing family is when messages poured in over the next few days. A big thanks to everyone who passed on their' kind well wishes.

All in all it was a big few days – I didn’t die on the rally track (lost a few years but didn’t die!) and a new arrival to the family made it safe and sound. I wonder what’s in store for next week - other than a severe lack of sleep…

Happy Fishing,

Nige