The No.1 Winter Sun One Loft Race
The Final Island Training Flights
The Derby Arona Tenerife one loft race training programme is progressing rapidly towards the northern limits of Tenerife with training now taking place every two day`s and on being at such stages of the race we can now look forward to serious stages of the race programme which takes on the mid sea liberations and future hotspot races, with rewards to the winners of new cars or a cash equivalent prizes
However before such events ,there’s still the last of the many trying and vigorous island training races to overcome as the convoy have reached a location just short of Porto Santa Cruz , an approx. distance of 50 + klm, to the lofts in the south
some may have noticed that this liberation is slightly shorter than in previous years at this stage of the race but after speaking to Jose he explains this has been adopted by the team after reviewing the situation in the port area , its now become more populated and built over the recent years therefore releasing pigeons in such an area is becoming more difficult, so they have decided to liberate from this point just outside the town where they will be giving the pigeons a clearer orientation , away from such obstacles
Race day 10 and as the 2746 pigeons that remain in the competition make the early morning journey along the Tf1 motorway to the north of Tenerife, the loft management team along with everything else was set at the lofts to await the pigeons return ,along with the livestream feature which as always up and running again attracting over 200 fanciers from around the world to watch the pigeons on their return and to chat and await the confirmed liberation time
With everyone poised and waiting on a liberation time Abel reported that the pigeons were away at 11.30 a little later than advertised into a light 17klm north easterly wind with broken clouds and a moderate 20 degrees on liberation
team Armando Soto racing pigeon loft with pigeon Celtic thunder 1st international race 10
At the loft and on line time ticked on ,as fanciers guess the time of the first birds was again circulating the networks ,and as most of the estimates came and went was just under forty minutes flying time that the batch of around 200 or so pigeons were seen reported on approach to the lofts with further numbers following just behind , following a quick turn the pigeons hit the landing board and jostled to enter the loft and record their arrival
Jozsef Kovacs 2nd international team Hungary with pigeon eniko 3
Taking the top honours of 1st international was the south American country of Mexico with pigeon Celtic thunder entered by team Armando Soto racing pigeon loft, first over the line on a time of 12.09.18.75 ,in 2nd we go eastern Europe jozsef kovacs entry eniko 3 maintained a top position for team Hungary on 12.09 19 60,resulting in team Italia taking 3rd place with pigeon tedi 2 for adriyan miroslavov Stankov with a time of 12.09.20.90,in 4th again team amigos in paradise take the uk honours with pigeon shearer presenting team England improving on its previous tenth position in race 9 today at 12.09.20.95,team hungary come in 5th with their second country arrival as team jozsef kovacs records his second team entry bence 4 on 12.0922.30 ,Francisco Gutierrez from sevillaa regular entrant at the arona comes on 12 09.23.00 with pigeon nathelie taking 6th,a head of team Netherlands team marc van olst with pigeon speedmaster 58 in 7th timing in on 12.09.24.15,resulting in team stockinger aus wien and pigeon micheal from Austria in on 12.09.24.45 for 8th ,taking 9th we go to team Germany with pigeon 233 wonderful for sg elder on 12.09.24.46, as team Belgium round up todays front runners on 12.09.24.50 with pigeon jan 28 for team team p.s.s.s.
pigeon tedi 2 for adriyan miroslavov Stankov team Italia
As you can see once again today it came down to the slightest of margins separating the leaders ,but like in most one loft races whilst they’re liberated together it’s the first over the line that gets the glory
Over the following few minutes the loft and clock showed nearly 80 % of the pigeons home safely and whilst we wait for the back markers it was good to see that by nightfall 2,587 of the pigeons liberated were perched and with further 100 or so arrivals on the second morning this brought the percentage rate up to a respectable 96%,
Pigeon shearer 1st uk/Ireland 4th international team amigos in paradise
48 hours later and were at Race 11 , the penultimate island training race with another visit to the 50 klm point with 2362 pigeons on board ,conditions over the island showed a lightly clouded canarian sky on liberation with with thicker darker clouds at the home end and a trailing light northerly wind as we received confirmation that able got the birds away at 11.10
John may (Team mambo boys) 1st uk/Ireland 1st international with pigeon ben race 11
Once again its narrow margins that decide the winning positions as the result is declared with pole position on this occasion taking the 1st international honours going to the uk/Ireland with syndicate team mambos boys from England (john may) with their entry ben crossing over the pad at 11.52.90. 11, just in front of the 2nd place winner Francisco Gutierrez, from Sevilla arrival, Nathalie on 11.51.53.20.team Belgium and entrant jo bauters pigeon youri takes 3rd spot 11.51.54.05,followed by local fancier from the neighbouring island of gran canarian team carlos y german and pigeon twinkle floortje takes 4th at 11.51.54.30 ,syndicate karoly haraszti`s pigeon Natasha from Hungary was just a decimal behind therefore claims 5th 11.51,the 20154.31,whilst the 2016 final race winner beniamin neag from Austria, comes in 6th with pigeon Audrey on 11.51.54.90,on its tail we have team Belgium recording their second team arrival for 7th with syndicate petra & john smits entry helma on 11.51.54.90 ,team uk & Ireland take the 8th spot as mr & mrs uphams entry within the welsh national winners syn 2018 ,pigeon fair dincum run times in on 11.51.55.30, team bacskai sandor & Kellner andrea timed in their pigeon named adinin for the second Hungarian arrival in 9th on 11.51.55.55. resulting in team Netherlands, entrant sjaak buwalda with pigeon frysian swift taking the 10th position on 11.51.55.80
Fransico Gutierrez sevilla 2nd international race 11with pigeon Nathalie
the leading pigeons came through in their numbers and unscathed but for some reason this year and this isn’t just the one loft pigeons as local fanciers are also experiencing the same difficulties with pigeons being split on route, something we can only assume must be the local peregrines population playing with them during there flight forcing them off line
Jo Bauters Belgium with pigeon youri 3rd international race 11
With the majority of the pigeons home just after noon,we again had to wait throughout the afternoon for pigeons to come through, and as could be clearly seen on their arrival there was nothing taken out of them as they came to the loft after their five or six hours flight, so as such gained a lot of experience and island knowledge to correct there errors which may put the in good stead for the forthcoming sea and hotspot races
With 2,519 pigeons home by nightfall and the expectancy of more the following day the team reported at the end of day two the numbers had risen to 2,559 a percentage of 97.22% and adding the few that came on day three and four it wasn’t as bad as first thought
With Gladys and the arona team on route to the Olympiad show in Poland representing the derby arona Tenerife one loft race overseen by the new corporate partnership of Ledesma global organisation ,its report that the race has created a lot of interest in eastern Europe as numbers swell not only for this year but also greater interest for next year and seemed to have attracted many interested parties to the stand
Meanwhile at the loft jose,Abel and the loft team remained in the warmer climates to continue with the later stages of the island training programme with the final island training race prior to heading out onto the Atlantic in the direction of gran canaria ,
The town of Poznan Poland the venue for the Olympiad show 2019
And photos of visitors to the stand
with the 2,559 pigeons on board they made there journey once again to the 50 klm liberation site for the third time and and final time after settling on site they were away, at 11.25 into a broken blue sky ,and a temperature showing 20 + degrees
with the pigeons in the air abel reported shortly after that they had completed their orientation of the liberation site and could be clearly seen making their way south in the direction of home,by the time they had packed away
once again as previous race days the race is attracting many interested parties as the arona provides their uninterrupted live feed from the lofts with large numbers logged in and on various social media sites from around the world
1st international team Rumania syn viorel stetco with pigeon tipello gold race 12
on this occasion the pigeons made the southward journey slightly quicker than on previous occasions with the leading pigeons coming through just over forty minutes as team viorel stetco from Rumania takes the 1st international position with pigeon tipello gold timing in on 12.06.57.15 to continue its consist returns rate after achieving other highly ranked positions such as 50th ,53rd & 54th in the earlier stages ,in 2nd we head to Switzerland as team alpen jager entry schnidel wulz climbed over 200 places on the last race clocking in on 12.07.15.85,team stb from Romania claimed the 3rd international placing with pigeon lady olr on 12.07.19.70,ahead of their fellow countrymen syn of team ponistiak Rudolf & Jacub as their entry “no time to loose “ in 4th on 12.07.24.00 ,Robert marjanovic from Austria takes todays 5th spot as his entry the general comes on the clock shortly after 12.07.45.65, resulting in the German entrant team schnellin taking 6th with Richard der 3 12.07.55.25,for 7th we go across the atlantic to the usa as team timothy Macken and pigeon Claribel takes their country honours on a time of 12.07.27.10,the leading nation of rumainia claim another top spot with with 8th as their second arrival of indigo for team tanasa & paul timed in on 12.07.30.20 as we see team fratti-strunga-cosmin & George from sevilla take 9th with their pigeon lets go for fun on 12.07.30.65 ,team uk/Ireland also maintain a top position today as new participants team perry & plumber from Ireland round off todays top ten with pigeon blue boy with 12.07.33.45
team alpen jager entry schnidel wulz 2nd international race 12
unfortunately once again following a clear liberation and the leading batches coming at regular intervals things still wernt right on route with a clear liberation and the birds making good headway for home once again the returns were well split and therefore we seen pigeons coming throughout the afternoon up until nightfall ,and with just over 2,210 pigeons perched by dusk we all hoped day two would provide us with more arrivals and increase the numbers dramatically
Team stb with pigeon lady olr 3rd international race 12
race 12 2nd day and it was a clear blue sky over the island of Tenerife and as a result of a considerable number of pigeons still unaccounted for the arona team once again run the livestream facility and no sooner as it was up and running the first birds which had overcome their night out were seen to be coming to the loft , ironically still in small batches which indicates that after there ordeal the day before they had stuck together and made there way home,
as the day went it was pleasing for the participants and jose and the teams perspective to see a large number had made loft at the end of day two and with a further 35+ plus on day three showing up only a small number were adrift ,as the returns rate increased to over 93% ,yes theres pigeons away but like in all corners of the world pigeons come across obstacles during flight such as birds of prey wires etc and the island of Tenerife is no different ,but no doubt some will still make it home over the next few days
Team perry & plumber blue boy 1st uk/Ireland 10th international race 11
with all the twelve island training races completed and before we head out to sea ,the averages are again mixing and moving with different pigeons coming to the forefront ,however still amongst the leaders are team pouw & williems from the Netherlands with pigeon bolero in top spot on with 36,162 pts closely behind dropping one place is team Belgium with castermans and meas with their pigeon cindy in 2nd with 34,528pts as team hagemand and van acker from the Netherlands take the third position with entry dark Barcelona on 34,253
Pigeon “bolero” currently 1st ace pigeon for team pouw & williems
following an educational island training programme we now set our sights on the forthcoming mid sea liberations ,these will take place depending on the weather and vessel availability and will consist of three or four liberations from various points at sea in the direction of gran canaria the island which will host two of the three hotspot races ,and as previous years the arona team will commence with filming both the liberation and arrivals to make a documented film for your viewing so as we set ourselves for the next chapter we wish you all a successful competition as we continue forward
also from sea race one nominations are open for some added fun and interest is obtainable via your login tab on the derby arona website www.derbyatlantic.com with full instructions available ,however please ensure funds are transferred and in place prior to nominating
Tom Harris
