Mid Essex Double DF 17th October 2004
14:00
Two very strong signals but when I call bearing 2A to Graham in the car, he yells back ‘That doesn’t tell us much, it’s straight down the river!’
Back on the road we change tactics and go for Station B. The cross puts him in a wood by the road, but if that start bearing is just a few degrees off, there are a couple of other woods. We need another bearing.
The next transmission (now random) comes up in the middle of Frating - not ideal, power lines everywhere! Bearing 3B rules out one of the woods to the east of Frating. It looks as though he is in the wood by the lay-by on the A120 but to get there means driving all the way back to Colchester. Also if the start bearing is a bit out he could still be at Bromley Cross. We decide to go to the north of the site. If you are wondering about the extra pencil lines, it is because I usually yell a rough bearing at Graham, wait for morse to stop, check, then return to the car with a correction. This practice produces the highly desirable cone (in team joke!).
As we arrive at the north end of the path it is clear from the cars that many others think he is here. Andrew is ahead of us on the track, 700 m plus a bearing later we are standing between two wooded areas. Here comes Tim from the southerly patch looking sickeningly pleased with himself, then Rosie and Colin. Another signal, Graham is saying that Mike is emerging from the north wood and running for his car, but the signal peaks on the west of the southerly wood.
