The tail end of the weather pattern which had brought floods to Queenstown and the Clutha valley produced persistent light rain and low cloud, which made visibility on top almost nil, and called for great skill picking routes off the top. Fortunately there was little wind and temperatures were reasonable.
The event was won by Steve and Chris Holden, ironically the team that was overtime at the last event. They chose to head south through the suburbs from the start in Johnsonville to a cluster of controls above Crofton Downs, before returning over the top. So did second-placed team Mark Copeland and partner, who were only 10 points behind, in spite of a tempting 100-pointer on the far side of Kaukau.
Planner Tony Gazley set relatively few controls (14) compared to previous events in the series, but there were enough to provide a choice of route, and to prevent the winners from getting the lot. Whether this would be possible in good weather, and daylight, is a question which someone may like to answer!
Results are on the result page. There is unlikely
to be a December event because of the Omakere 12-hour, but there is enthusiasm
for resuming afterwork events next year.