• Spray is something that Michael Ponsonby hopes he will
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not see in the Seychelles next winter when, with his wife, he enjoys his prize in a recent Monsanto Clear Pass competition.
The two week holiday prize, worth £1,500, was for giving the closest estimate of the average time taken to fit a Monsanto Clear Pass Spray Suppression system on two twin-axle trailers using the Transmod FitFast frame. (For the answer, see below).
We are told that Michael enjoyed the advantage of having been responsible for fitting Clear Pass to over a hundred vehicles at his Ryder depot — it is Ryder policy, apparently, to fit Clear Pass exclusively. As he said, "When it conies to fitting Clear Pass, I've done everything but actually pick up a spanner, though we don't use the FitFast method ourselves." It seems that experience counts!
The prize, incidentally, was presented by leading campaigner for compulsory spray suppression, Barry Sheerman MP, who is chairman of the Parliamentary Advisory Committee for Transport Safety. He told those present that he was delighted to do so on behalf of Clear Pass, who had been the pioneers in this critical field of road safety.
Anyway, next year, when the rest of us are being dramatically reminded of the need for spray suppression on our rain-drenched roads, Michael and his wife will be enjoying the Seychelles sunshine.
(The answer was just over 57 minutes — 42 minutes for the experienced fitter and 73 for the one who had not seen it before.)
• Twenty-one years ago to the week — on June 25, 1985 — CM carried an article about Felixstowe, and called it -A port of the Future". Reason for the feature was because the then Transport Ferry Service, which TIR pioneers will remember operated the first regular roll-on/roll-off ferry service on ex-military landing craft between London and Antwerp, had switched from its traditional UK port of Til
bury to Felixstowe because — and I quote from CM — of its nearness to the Continent (i.e. Rotterdam): because its roads were not congested as were those round 'Isilbury at that time; and because of its strike-free labour record.
I visited the port last week after, maybe, a ten-year gap and took that article of 21 years ago with me. Of course, so much has changed since then with dozens of new berths working giant containerships which, in those days, could not have got into the port. Cargo throughput was a mere 300,000 tons, against last year's total which was in excess of 10 million tonnes, and there is now an Orwell bridge to save the drag through Ipswich.
But sonic things are still the same. It is still the UK's nearest port to the Continent; its roads are still fairly uncongested and its workforce still has a good strike-free record — all marketing still used in selling the port to potential users. Some of the hauliers and port officials mentioned in CM's feature are still the same too — T. Brady and Sons, for instance, and Ferrymasters, and I notice that the Transport Ferry Service's then traffic superintendent, one Mr S. Livingstone, still practises his art but as the bossman of Townsend 'Moresen, which took over IFS, readers will remember, in the early 70s.
CM got it right about Felixstowe being a port of the future, but it did not become the giant hovercraft port we envisaged; and while I gather, there is still a rebate for bringing in cargo on pallets. the rates for moving a trailer have gone up from the then quoted 4s 6d. per sq. ft for 'all loaded trailers' and 2s, 6d. for empty units.
• Here's one to turn any sail racing enthusiast green with envy, especially if his car wants renewing and he fancies a trip to Korea via Keil in 1988. Trimoco Limited, the vehicle leasing company, has announced a sponsorship deal to support world and Europe; champion yachtsman Tim Handcock in his bid to win th Tornado class at the 1988 Olympics in Korea.
Already an established member of Britain's elite Olympic squad and the currei European Tornado champion, Tim worked for the Lutonbased car and commercial vehicle contract hire and leas ing company, until he left to concentrate on his goal of Olympic success.
He has teamed up with helmsman Jo Richards who won Britain's only sailing met (a bronze) at the 1984 Los A geles Olympics.
Their first serious outing t■ gether will be at Keil in June with the campaign building ur to next year's pre-Olympic tr als which will be held in Korea By then they hope to have financed a special hightechnology Tornado catamara which will be a vital part of their preparation.