The Forming Of The Moray Firth Flying Club,

[grizzle09]

The forming of the Moray Firth Flying Club,

 

Over the last few months I've been talking with fanciers along the Moray Firth gauging interest in a west coast race program and the feed back up to now has been very positive in that fanciers would very much like to try something new, Too many losses, slow returns, slow velocities, too many birds being hawked are just some of the reasons that has sickened just about everyone I've talked to.

 

Therefore, I've decided to form a club with interest already from over 30 fanciers that would offer those from Inverness through to Banff the opportunity to race down the west coast of Scotland and into Ireland, having trained and partly raced my own birds down this route already this year to test whether this was feasible or not, I found it was 100% better than conventional east coast racing, Birds were returning in bigger batch's than usual something that hasn't been seen for years (for us anyway), birds returning relaxed and not flown out with no dramatic weight loss unlike from races of similar distance and weather conditions down the east, velocities were also considerably faster and steadier.

 

This for me was enough to realise that these birds weren't being harassed by bop every five mile, along with no other clubs/feds flying in the area (Scotland) it means the only obstacles the birds were facing was the terrain and with the west coast being probably the hardest terrain in the country to fly through I found that my birds definitely didn't find it a problem proved by velocities and return.

 

A little about how this club will work,

 

⦠The Moray Firth Flying Club will operate in the same way a Fed or National club works in that the club will provide a race program, an open result and transport for fanciers wanting to compete within it.

 

⦠Each individual/partnership joining the club will already be a member of they're local club where they will have paid their SHU membership through, To ensure membership wont be taking away from said club and so that fanciers will keep the use of they're local club facilities in order to create club results, basket birds for race's and so on.

 

⦠Each race held by the Moray Firth Flying Club is designed so that each club has weekly club racing as well as having an open result between all members participating , All race results will be made at local club level and forwarded to MFFC race result convener so a open result can be made.

 

⦠The Moray Firth Flying Club will operate a full west coast of Scotland/Ireland race program for the 2021 race season for OBS and YBS, Offering racing from roughly 70mile-450mile (Program listed below with a start date yet to be decided)

 

⦠Price of membership to be fixed at £** per person/partnership to be payed before the 1st of February each year, Birdage to be fixed at £** per bird for Scottish race points and £** per bird for Irish,

 

⦠OBS

⦠Fort Augustus

⦠Fort William

⦠Oban

⦠Tarbert

⦠Campbeltown

⦠Maghera / Ireland

⦠Fort Augustus

⦠Mullingar / Ireland

⦠Fort Augustus

⦠Mallow / Ireland

 

⦠YBS

⦠Fort Augustus

⦠Fort Augustus

⦠Fort William

⦠Fort William

⦠Oban

⦠Tarbert

⦠Campbeltown

⦠Maghera / Ireland

 

I will post more information in the months leading up to racing keeping everyone informed best i can but If anyone has any questions regarding this I'm happy to answer either by pm, call or text

07432855167.

 

Yours in sport

Lee Barrie

[billt]

Well thought out and researched, I wish you success with the new club.

[Ryan Hay]

Fair play lee, would love to give your programme a go. Keep me posted please. Your right fanciers are getting disheartened as the racing seems to be getting worse yet we will still go to same race points so I would be happy to give it a try

[robbiedoo.]

The forming of the Moray Firth Flying Club,

 

Over the last few months I've been talking with fanciers along the Moray Firth gauging interest in a west coast race program and the feed back up to now has been very positive in that fanciers would very much like to try something new, Too many losses, slow returns, slow velocities, too many birds being hawked are just some of the reasons that has sickened just about everyone I've talked to.

 

Therefore, I've decided to form a club with interest already from over 30 fanciers that would offer those from Inverness through to Banff the opportunity to race down the west coast of Scotland and into Ireland, having trained and partly raced my own birds down this route already this year to test whether this was feasible or not, I found it was 100% better than conventional east coast racing, Birds were returning in bigger batch's than usual something that hasn't been seen for years (for us anyway), birds returning relaxed and not flown out with no dramatic weight loss unlike from races of similar distance and weather conditions down the east, velocities were also considerably faster and steadier.

 

This for me was enough to realise that these birds weren't being harassed by bop every five mile, along with no other clubs/feds flying in the area (Scotland) it means the only obstacles the birds were facing was the terrain and with the west coast being probably the hardest terrain in the country to fly through I found that my birds definitely didn't find it a problem proved by velocities and return.

 

A little about how this club will work,

 

⦠The Moray Firth Flying Club will operate in the same way a Fed or National club works in that the club will provide a race program, an open result and transport for fanciers wanting to compete within it.

 

⦠Each individual/partnership joining the club will already be a member of they're local club where they will have paid their SHU membership through, To ensure membership wont be taking away from said club and so that fanciers will keep the use of they're local club facilities in order to create club results, basket birds for race's and so on.

 

⦠Each race held by the Moray Firth Flying Club is designed so that each club has weekly club racing as well as having an open result between all members participating , All race results will be made at local club level and forwarded to MFFC race result convener so a open result can be made.

 

⦠The Moray Firth Flying Club will operate a full west coast of Scotland/Ireland race program for the 2021 race season for OBS and YBS, Offering racing from roughly 70mile-450mile (Program listed below with a start date yet to be decided)

 

⦠Price of membership to be fixed at £** per person/partnership to be payed before the 1st of February each year, Birdage to be fixed at £** per bird for Scottish race points and £** per bird for Irish,

 

⦠OBS

⦠Fort Augustus

⦠Fort William

⦠Oban

⦠Tarbert

⦠Campbeltown

⦠Maghera / Ireland

⦠Fort Augustus

⦠Mullingar / Ireland

⦠Fort Augustus

⦠Mallow / Ireland

 

⦠YBS

⦠Fort Augustus

⦠Fort Augustus

⦠Fort William

⦠Fort William

⦠Oban

⦠Tarbert

⦠Campbeltown

⦠Maghera / Ireland

 

I will post more information in the months leading up to racing keeping everyone informed best i can but If anyone has any questions regarding this I'm happy to answer either by pm, call or text

07432855167.

 

Yours in sport

Lee Barrie

 

Very best of luck with your venture Lee. Its good to see someone taking the bull by the horns and trying to do some good in the pigeon game. I hope its gets well supported and it turns out to be a huge success for you.

 

Good luck and all the best Robbie.

[geordie1234]

Very best of luck... I heard the WSCC was starting bk up too they may have a few Irish races

 

Anyway best of luck and fair play going for it something needs to change

Edited September 27, 2020 by geordie1234

[Mattydoos79]

Best of luck for the west side of Scotland

[paddymac]

Best of luck Robbie.

[ally mac]

That looks great Lee. I think you will get good racing up the great glen and hopefully down the coast from here. Your west of the mountains on that route. I'm looking forwards to seeing it all come together and see doos racing over me 😉

[Kyleakin Lofts]

Good luck in your venture.

[blue pied]

how far is the irish race points to you guys?

[jast]

Good luck in your venture, wish it all goes well. great idea

[grizzle09]

how far is the irish race points to you guys?

 

Rough miles to us in Buckie, there is the option to get over 500 mile if we wanted

 

Fort Augustus 73

Fort William 99

Oban 128

Tarbert 158

Campbeltown 185

Maghera 241

Mullingar 331

Mallow 442

[Simonmurray4747]

Sounds good 👠give me a shout if your wanting that dummy ring mate

[jbee]

Just back from Fort Augustus, never seen a perigrine nor a sparrow hawk when out walking. Did see a batch of birds flying at Dalwinnie, not sure who that person would fly with. All the best with the future race points. Brave birds flying through these valleys.

John b

[Bobby4]

Just back from Fort Augustus, never seen a perigrine nor a sparrow hawk when out walking. Did see a batch of birds flying at Dalwinnie, not sure who that person would fly with. All the best with the future race points. Brave birds flying through these valleys.

John b

[Bobby4]

Yes said the same about lanarkshire flying north instead off flying into the carnage wee do year in year out.just back from inverness all the way down a82 hardly seen a bird an if theres no birds theres no predators best off luck guys.

[grizzle09]

Just back from Fort Augustus, never seen a perigrine nor a sparrow hawk when out walking. Did see a batch of birds flying at Dalwinnie, not sure who that person would fly with. All the best with the future race points. Brave birds flying through these valleys.

John b

 

Thanks, I started training out to 30 mile (oldmerdrum) over 8 tosses with 48 and dropped 8 with 3 returning hawked,

Sent 37 with the fed to brechin 66mile all being fit and healthy, dropped 20 only seeing 7 on the day all arriving spooked and flown out and the other 10 working in through the week,

 

After 2 weeks of rest I started training them out to 30 mile (grantown on spey) over 6 tosses with 17 and hadn't lost a bird, Took them to Fort Augustus 70mile and lost 1, Birds doing 1750ypm with full returns within 1h 12mins then again out to Fort William 100mile having full returns within 2h 8mins doing 1350ypm, Instantly better! And definitely less BOP

[Bobby4]

Thanks, I started training out to 30 mile (oldmerdrum) over 8 tosses with 48 and dropped 8 with 3 returning hawked,

Sent 37 with the fed to brechin 66mile all being fit and healthy, dropped 20 only seeing 7 on the day all arriving spooked and flown out and the other 10 working in through the week,

 

After 2 weeks of rest I started training them out to 30 mile (grantown on spey) over 6 tosses with 17 and hadn't lost a bird, Took them to Fort Augustus 70mile and lost 1, Birds doing 1750ypm with full returns within 1h 12mins then again out to Fort William 100mile having full returns within 2h 8mins doing 1350ypm, Instantly better! And definitely less BOP

 

Good to hear

[St Finnan Loft]

Fair play to you guys for trying to resolve a problem that has prevailed in this sport since its inception.

Fanciers both now and in the past have talked about the unfairness in races hence we talk of The Golden Mile, Tram Lines, etc. I acknowledge that the dogleg for your birds is a big handicap, so well done to you guys for trying to resolve the problem. However at A.G.M.s fanciers in 'Golden Mile' areas still `close ranks or shout down any changes which would be beneficial to a larger percentage within their Federation. We all acknowledge there is no perfect route, however, when the majority of the early birds are timed into the side of the Federation putting the least entries into the race, it makes one wonder if this is a fair race route for all members. This is only my opinion.

[philg50]

Where would you be starting your pick up of doos from,its a good idea though i will be watching with interest.Good luck with this.

[grizzle09]

Where would you be starting your pick up of doos from,its a good idea though i will be watching with interest.Good luck with this.

 

Cheers Phil, This will be arranged closer to race season as a pick up schedule will depend on where fanciers are joining from, As racing takes us down the west, pickups would start with members in the east being Banff area, Inverness area being last.

[stan the man]

Keep me informed lee. I’ll definitely have go. Cheers stan

[grizzle09]

Keep me informed lee. I’ll definitely have go. Cheers stan

 

Spot on stan, will do

[R.A.M.C.63]

Nice one Lee , sounds great , count me in,

Spent 4 days down west only cn one Bop ,Ronnie

 

Nice one Lee , sounds great , count me in,

Spent 4 days down west only cn one Bop ,Ronnie

[grizzle09]

Nice one Lee , sounds great , count me in,

Spent 4 days down west only cn one Bop ,Ronnie

 

Nice one Lee , sounds great , count me in,

Spent 4 days down west only cn one Bop ,Ronnie

 

Your right, I've been up and down that road to oban quite alot and only ever seen the odd buzzard, never had any indication from the birds returning from that area that they'd been hassled by bop either, Got to be worth a try!

 

I will send out all the info I can/have upto now to club secretary's hopefully before everyone's AGM's so that fanciers that dont use PB are able to read for themselves.

 

Lee