John Darby reports:  We had a well attended event. The evening went great raising £260 from the racing and £61 from the raffle total £321, plus people donated into the collection boxes which we will forward to the Greyhound Sanctuary.

Despite the bad weather there was a good turn out for the event, about 60 competitors. The IFIT (International Federation of Indoor Tournaments) crew started laying the four tracks out at 1.00pm and by 3.30pm they were ready to race on. The first competitor, Daniel Carpenter arrived at 4.45pm and by the time he had posted his time Brian Winteridge had put up the fastest time which lasted until about 7.00pm when Daniel knocked him off the top spot. The youngsters were very competitive and entertaining and quickly put in the fast times early in the night. There were lots of battles going on all night between siblings, friends and parents and most of all couples with a good proportion of the spoils going to the ladies. Dartmouth's poet Kevin Pyne also had a dabble and got on the leader board for a short while and somebody claiming to be "The Stig" came 20th. Nobody touched Daniel's time until almost 10.00pm when a group of four slot car enthusiasts from Paignton arrived and three of the four competitors all took it in turn on the top. Much later than anticipated last year's champion Jamie Hudson-Bond from Dartmouth arrived and pushed the leading driver Dale Lott from Paignton but that was as far as he got, a credible 2nd considering he hasn't touched a car since last year's event. Debs Gillard was the fastest woman of the night and 11th overall. Commiserations have got to go to Daniel Carpenter also from Paignton who through out the whole evening held the fastest lap on at least two stages and was on top of the timings for most of the night, good effort. The results were
1st Dale Lott with a time of 3:51.1
2nd Jamie Hudson-Bond 3:53.2
3rd Aaron Stephens 3:56.1

Fastest on each stage was awarded to Jamie Hudson-Bond for One and Four and for the two remaining stages Two and Three, Jamie and Dale Lott having identical times there was a race off (head to head) and Dale taking the honours for both.  We would like to thank all the competitors and their spectators for their support and to the council for the use of the Guildhall, Lawrence for his assistance and The Royal Castle Hotel for running the Bar.

2.  Atlantic challenge

Dart Marina Hotel & Spa is supporting Dartmouth’s Jo Langmead and her rowing team the Atlantic Waterbabes in their attempt to row across the Atlantic. The team of four women aims to complete the 2,900 nautical mile Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Challenge from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua, leaving on 6th December.

Jo Langmead said: "I would like to thank Dart Marina Hotel & Spa for its generous support. Without the backing of our sponsors this epic challenge would not be possible and it has also allowed us to raise a significant amount for charity. We are aiming to break the women’s fours record of 51 days, 7 hours and 31 minutes which would really be a wonderful lifetime achievement."

The crew made up of Jo, Karen Radband, Kiley Trehorel-daly, and Sarah Medland will be rowing for 12 hours every day (two hours on, two hours off) meaning they will need to consume 7,000 calories a day to maintain their momentum.

Paul Downing from Dart Marina Hotel & Spa comments: "We are delighted to be able to support such an awe inspiring challenge. Dartmouth has a real rowing heritage and we even have our own team here at the Hotel. When Jo contacted us we were glad to get involved as we really appreciate the magnitude of what the team is taking on. We wish the Waterbabes all the very best in their attempt and we can’t wait to see if they can beat the world record."

3.   Thanksgiving

Gary and Teri Larsen, for the 10th year running, invited their friends and the people of Dartmouth to join them in a traditional American Thanksgiving Dinner.  Tony Pike and Gary both spoke eloquently of the days when the Mayflower and Speedwell set sail from Dartmouth heading for a brave New World.  One of the highlights of the evening was the gorgeous marshmallow-topped yam mash, and more food than anyone could possibly eat even though we tried very hard!  Thanks to Nigel, Rita and the Royal Castle staff for such a fun evening.  Two tables tied for first place in the Anglo-American quiz, eventually won by the Tony Pike/Dartmouth dot TV table (thanks to Jane Tomlinson in the tie-breaker).

4.   Candlelit Dartmouth

Sarah Duggan reports:  The finishing touches are being put to the lanterns for the procession for Candlelit Dartmouth on Friday 11th December. The theme of the procession is appropriately for Dartmouth "The River" so expect to see fish, crabs, boats and light houses. See the procession off from The Old Market at 5.30pm or watch it as it winds its way through the streets before arriving at The Boatfloat to greet Santa as he arrives by boat. We hear the tide may be low so wonder how Santa will manage. You’ll have to be there to find out! There is a market and entertainment in The Royal Avenue Gardens from 4pm and all day Saturday. There are special offers in many of the shops, Candlelit menus in the restaurants and late night shopping on Friday until 8pm. If that’s not enough to tempt you, the Park and Ride is running on Friday afternoon and evening and all day Saturday when parking is free too.

See the Candlelit website for more information by clicking here.

5.   Small News

• If you walked into a restaurant and asked for a free meal, what would they say?  It's the same with Dartmouth News, we need contributions from people who want their business or organisations promoted.   We all have to eat, drink and pay our mortgages!

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Images copyright Dave Cawley, Tony Pike & others.