Water water everywhere...

Last 2 Days (Tasks 4 and 5)

2009-06-16T18:18:00.003+02:00

My rubbish performance the day before saw me drop from 7th to 17th... Much to do! And sorry for the lack of pics but I am writing this from work!

Some videos of each day of the comp are available on the links below courtesy of the French comps website http://gcvl.free.fr
Videos

With a stable forecast we had two tasks set and they called the longer of the two with a 16:00 start zig zagging along the ridges for 112.4km. Curt Warren was first off the hill around 15:00 after two parawafters had launched and proved it to be stay-uppable! Gaggles formed ans few broke away as the useable climbs were restricted to above 1600m altitude and few and far between. I launched and struggled to get up for 15mins before evntually climbing to 1900m to join the gaggle. When the start passed no-one seemed in a rush to start so I bimbled off staying high and trying to make slow progress as I went. Only a few notable others were really pushing and we were never far apart To cut a Loong story short, after a few hours in the air the day became too stable to continue and the field generally glided out. Mario won with 94km followed by Gerd Hoenhuber, Fabien Agenes then me. Small recompense but a decent effort today anyhow. We were retrieved late as most of the field were dotted all around the range. We got back for food at midnight!

Story of the day had to be Curt taking a leek in the air then getting his tinkle caught in the zipper of his harness. He perservered for hours trying to stay in the air to sort it out as it was too painful for him to get upright for landing... Eventually he found a good grass field to crash land into on his chest. It turned out to be a school field and just as the kids were letting out. Poor guy! The local doc wouldn't touch it so he had to cut his harness up to get out and was ambulanced off to the local A&E for a 4-hour ordeal.

Sadly I have no pics to show!!

The last day was forecast to be as stable as the previous but turned out to have little puffs of cumulus forming over the higher peaks of the Belle Garde Mountains aroun 2300m. A similar zig zag was set and the day started late also despite the evening presentation and meal booking! I raced across the ridges fairly low after making a terrible start 1000ft below most of the field but caught them up by the penultimate turnpoint where I climbed out to 2700m! I set off for final glide from here with 29km to go and a 17.6 glide angle... At the last turnpoint the glide had improved to 15:1 and 14km left so for safety I styed on a ridge to catch one more climb to be sure! Sod's law came into force and no climb appeared and as the glide increased to around 28:1 I had to leave and make the best of a bad job! Mario apparently glided behind me from the same point and saw me head for the ridge.. "Zat ridge never works!" he told me... "I got somzing from ze gorge and made eet een eazzily!" He gloated! Ten made goal on the last day and Mario won the comp outright... I placed 11th overall.

I headed straight back for work but return for more punishment after the 3rd July to Laragne before the Pre-Euros in Ager! See you then

Day 5 Task 3

2009-06-12T09:10:00.003+02:00

Well done to Antoine Boisselier who made goal yesterday… Unfortunately he arrived 13 minutes after the goal closure time! Mario only just made the second turnpoint before landing. Considering the conditions, grey and stable, they made remarkable progress!

During the night Luis arrived in our Gite! Now the whole French Worlds team are here! I'd better pull my socks up and show them who’s boss…. They are!

It turned out I had dropped from 2nd in the comp to 7th due to my mistakes! I hoped for better the next day but….

Clouds below launch..!

Task 3. Again two tasks were set as the clouds were below the launch when we arrived. The first start would be at 16:00 and eventually the longer of two tasks was decided upon at 94km. It was a race along the ridges from Val Peylouse launch first to a turnpoint in the valley and then to Grenoble and back in a zig zag once more before goal at the Lumbin landing. Not having learned from racing ahead the day before, on the way to turnpoint 2 I got low and had to glide out to the valley for a low save near the Allegarde lake where a few others landed. I never managed to get back into the mountains and only glided to Grenoble never catching another thermal. Antoine won the day followed by Luis then Pierrot and Mario…!

Who's a Pretty Boy then???

Day 4 Task 2

2009-06-10T20:28:00.004+02:00

Yesterdays Task Winner with Raymond Caux

Well with a changed forecast we now have 20kph SW winds so again we headed out to Le Sire overlooking Chamberry. The high cloud filled in as two tasks were set... We were to be told which we would fly 5 mins before launch would open! As it turned out we ended up taking the second shorter task along the ridge lines as the day became more and more stable..

Flying the Flag

The Start of the end of the day!!

A Crazee French Juggler

Again I had a relatively good start.... (above the ridge is a good start today!!). Maybe I pushed on a little too hard but I was in good company with Antoine Boiselier and Mario just behind me. We crossed the first two ridges taking rough climbs that petered out just above the ridge tops. The next ridge was a longer crossing and got the better of most of the field... A few of us scrabbled along the ridges managing to simply extend our glide toward the first turnpoint 24km away. Several other pilots got their timimg much better and again climbed allowing them to not only make the turnpoint but to return across the same ridge! How they faired only time can tell... More updates tomorrow. BTW I made only 20km of the 74km task! Bummer!

The two Antoines

French Nats Day 3 Task 1

2009-06-10T20:22:00.002+02:00

And not before time! Todays forecast was for strong southerly winds and localised thunderstorms so again we drove to a site north of Chambery. We set up on arrival and watched as the storms developed in front of launch. A task of 64km was set in a zig-zag along the ridgeswhich were 45 degrees to the wind. We were to head north as far as Annecy finishing in Gruffy and to our amazement the storms died back and a task was flown!!! Woohoo!!

I was soon in the air and soon found lift over the crucifix to the left of launch. As I climbed out the views were amongst the best I’ve ever seen if not THE best! I took a camera with me but unfortunately the air was rough due to the increasing southerlies so never got the chance to take any pics… I will ask around for pics in the morning!

I had a good start position and so raced off down the ridges managing to stay ahead of the pack with Laurent Thevenot for company. I got better air on a valley crossing after the first turnpoint and managed to sit on top of him for the rest of the flight before leaving him after turnpoint 3. By now Mario and Pierre Zin had caught up but were still lower which helped me find better lines. I took a risky glide to the last turnpoint, into wind and away from the cloud line, and so allowed one of the german pilots to overtake me having taken a route via the clouds. He rounded the turnpoint ahead of me before gliding onwards to goal. I raced for the last turnpoint then chased him managing to make up some ground coming into goal second. Behind me came Mario Alonzi then Pierre Zin. Having led most of the day I hope to be rewarded in the scores but will have to wait until tomorrow to see what happens!

Strange Attire worn by a German pilot "Just in case of crashes!" or so I'm told... he's been named Robokraut!!

French Nationals Day 2

2009-06-08T16:02:00.008+02:00

Monday and again we have bad weather! At least the breakfast here is good... Free is good! They have organised the retrieve service, a hearty breakfast and a lunch pack for all the pilots each day and service with a smile!! What more could you possibly ask... Oh Yeah.... Flying....!!!

The Meteo suggests we may have a chance to fly tomorrow early afternoon only, otherwise it may not be until Thursday before the competition starts in earnest. Today the French had a discussion about sprogs with an open question session hosted by Xavier Zaza and ably assisted by Raymond Caux, Mario Alonzi and Fabien Agenes. They might well have been sharing cooking recipes for all I understood!

Instead I watched some aerobatics by the paragliders who braved the rain showers then listened to some classical music whilst the Italian in our Gite prepared our evening meal…

Gianpietro Zin

Just wait until it’s my turn to prepare a good old fashioned British meal... do you think they’ll appreciate a greasy sausage dinner wit’ chips’n’peas followed up with a Mars bar!!? Nothing better after a quick pint of mild and a walk back home past the mill/pit with your whippet and a copy of the racing post!

Now I have to admit to getting bored of not flying! I took up running again whilst here a few days ago in an effort to get a little fitter and although the first warm up effort was only for half an hour my legs have been a little stiff! Likely due to all the hills here. Nevertheless I'm off shortly for a cycle ride before we have dinner Italian style!

Ciao for now!!

French Nationals Competition

2009-06-07T18:06:00.009+02:00

St Tropez is nice this time of year and the pace of life quite relaxed… A dip in the pool every now and then is welcome as the temperatures reach 30 celsius most days..!

I stayed with friends for a few days, needless to say I think they need help on a personal basis... The pics speak for themselves!

After a few days in the sun to recharge my cells I set off for the “Championnat De France” (French National Hang Gliding Championship). Later that evening I arrived at the competition area: St Hilaire, and soon found the North launch with breathtaking views and fine weather.

Naturally I searched out a lively bar first before even thinking about setting up camp for the night… and so, several hours and much Pastis later, I stumbled from the pub “Grange Au Loup”. Luckily for me I was fortunate enough to be offered a bed for the night from the local fireman which I gratefully accepted on the grounds that he didn’t try to give me the French interpretation of a fireman’s lift!

The next day arrived and brought the bad weather with it… Welcome to Hang Gliding! Grey skies and cloudbase below the hill… So much for the practise days I had planned. The comp starts officially on Sunday though it looks like the first flying will not be until Monday when the weather is due to improve… Another glorious night in a tent with broken sleep due to torrential rain, thunder and lightening. There was an expo in Grenoble for all types of sports today which we visited. They even had sailing and wind surfing in the car park via a huge temporary swimming pool..! again the weather played it's part and, as you can see, the whole event was a roaring success...

At the south take-off there is a 3-day Juggling convention and display with ethnic dancing and drinking. We visited the practice night last night! Tonight promises to be a riot!

Swiss Nationals

2009-06-01T08:40:00.002+02:00

Wilkommen Auf Der Sweiss

After a long day driving through Holland and Germany I finally arrived in Biel for the Swiss open just in time to set up a prime camping slot “avec les Francais!”.

In the morning at the brief it was announced that we would head up Mt. Whatever where an 80km task was set; a ridge race criss-crossing East and West before heading downwind to the end of speed section over Biel. The goal was set at the comp HQ, Kappelen Airfield, a further 4km away but due to airspace constraints we were to descend to below ~3000ft before heading to goal. Also as this was around a 10:1 glide the goal was opened up to 1km radius to enable sports class and lower performers to safely reach the airstrip.

The brief on the hill was first in German, then French and finally I was given a brief overview to check details… 7 turnpoints and height limits with varied cylinder sizes.. Plenty of food for thought! No sooner had I programmed the Compeo+ then I was called to launch! There was an ordered launch with the first 15 pilots from WPRS in reverse! I got ready as quickly as possible but then there was a push from no. 3 pilot! (the w@~ker!) The air was stable and the cloudbase only 500ft above launch with a gentle breeze on the hill… even the wind dummies didn’t want to launch and there was still an hour to the first start! With only a thirty second window before being punted to the back of the queue I launched and climbed out no problem!

To say the skies were grey was an understatement and busy to the point of being dangerous. Still 40 mins before the first of two starts I glided to another ridge to keep clear of the melee. As the first start clock passed I made a perfect start and headed on course at cloudbase only to find I was 500ft lower than some pilots! Still I was doing OK and made the first turnpoint simply gliding across the tops of the ridges. The return was similar though some of the French pilots including Raymond Caux and Fabien Zadora had raced into the ground from allowing themselves to get too low on the ridge.. With the low bases it really was a ridge hopping day although the lift tended to be more thermic up the faces of the slopes than dynamic. I lost GPS signal for a few minutes back over the take off turnpoint second time around but other than that made good progress around the course behind what I believed to be the lead gaggle.
We had one valley to cross for the penultimate turnpoint and here I managed to catch the pilots in front of me. With glory in mind I headed towards the last turnpoint which was also the end of speed section and dived over the back of the ridge with only 100ft clearance! It was a rough ride but I made the turnpoint before the others could catch me up. Now I just had to make it to goal but no pressure. I headed over the low hill before goal and required a 17:1 glide though only got 16:1. With the grey skies above it seemed unlikely I would get a thermal so glided on with clenched buttocks! At 2km to go I realised I would make the cylinder but not the airfield and as I started picking fields I noticed other gliders below on the ground! It would seem I was not leading after all! I made goal by 200m and turned with just enough height to make a safe landing and watched as several gliders passed by me overhead.

Approximately 20 of the 41 gliders made goal and I placed 11th later corrected to 10th. Winning the day was Primoz Gricar from Alex Ploner then Mario Alonzi.

Day 2

Day cancelled due to strong winds. Some pilots went to Interlaken to fly a small site in the flats. I spent a little time studying the strange mating rituals of the common hill frog!!:

Day 3

We went to a beautiful site high in the mountains near to Bern to rig and then have the day canned due to rain, We at least free flew for half an hour after the rain… A very stable day!

Day 4

Today we ventured into the hills on a hope of a flight bearing in mind that the forecast winds had died down each day late in the afternoon. A task of 152km was set first along the ridges from launch then crossing the valleys to end up at the base HQ below the airspace. The site itself was small and sheltered from the true wind which in actual fact was 90 degrees across the hill. Only one launch at time was possible and so with 67 pilots this was always going to be a challenge! I launched in 7th place and was blown around the ridges for 20 mins before climbing out in a scrappy 2 up thermal. The base was only 2000ft above launch (1200ft above the ridge). This turned out to be rather significant as the winds increased. I started on the first gate at cloudbase and stayed relatively high with the lead gaggle until the first turnpoint around 20km. When I turned back into wind to head back I was drilled and found there to be an average 34kph headwind. For most pilots this proved too much and those that actually took off AND went on course generally landed before or at the first turnpoint. Pushing hard upwind I was being turned uncontrollably and kept my distance from other pilots for reasons of safety. With only 1000ft between the ground and cloudbase there was little room for error. Eventually common sense got the better of me and so I headed out to the valley for a safe landing. A few pilots continued further on course but not many. Mario Alonzi however made a sterling effort and covered 130km of the 152km course as opposed to his nearest challenger at 50km …ish!

Special thanks go to Roland the Crazy French Chauffeur!!!

I ended the day in 11th place putting me in 8th overall for the comp. Let’s hope for lighter winds or better conditions tomorrow!

Last Day

With a forecast for strong winds again the day was cancelled and the scores stand. Results here.

Primos and Alex are joint winners with Mario in third place...

Now I'm off to the sun in St Tropez as the weather in St. Hilaire is pretty blowy with storms forecast for the next few days!

2008-01-17T21:46:00.000+01:00

Day 5 (Task 3)
Light winds forecast and so we went to Mt. Buffalo, a scenic launch off a wooden ramp over a rock gorge. The task was set for 160km with three turnpoints before goal. The conditions looked great… until we took off! We scratched around take-off eventually climbing in broken thermals over launch to around 8000ft then gaggling up near the edge of the first start.

2008-01-16T21:54:00.000+01:00

Day 4 (Task 2)
Yesterdays score put Jonny ahead of me by 50 or so points… Little reward to be gained for setting off first as there are no leading bonus or departure points in this comp!!

Today’s weather was up in the air for a while with the forecast of an incoming front set to change the winds from moderate northerly to southerly and increase significantly. A task was set From Mt. Emu north westerly launch. First 40k to the north along the ridges to Gundowring north then 20k south to running creek before returning to turnpoint 1 again then goal at Bullioh for 108km total distance. Conditions on launch were gusty and switching occasionally from the north. Launch remained closed to competitors for a while until wind dummy, and International Man of Mystery, Steve (Austin Powers/Windy) Gale reported back real time conditions, having free flown, to get the party started…
There was a ten minute slot in which anyone outside the top 18 could launch if they chose to (open window) before the ordered launch commenced. Because of the changeable conditions only four people got away. I took off immediately behind Oli with Jonny behind me and we climbed out to 8000ft in a rough but strong thermal. The climbs were not as frequent as the day before and so most just tried to maintain height before the start. At the edge of the start with only a minute and a half to go I meandered into an 8up and was immediately joined by around 20 others and the clock started as we climbed out to 10 000ft precisely (as that is the Aussie airspace limit). I set off on course and within the first five km a few of the pack turned back to apparently take the second start.. A smart move as it turned out… Still with the pack in tow we reached the end of the range with 10k to go to the first turnpoint and took a final, but slow, climb before gliding out and back. One or two braver guys stayed in the valley for a more direct track to the second turnpoint. Back along the low ridges we made good progress to easily take the turnpoint and head back to the north again. This is where the guys who took the valley route got their pay off… Along the range I glided along gradually losing more and more height waiting for the thermal that would get me to the next turnpoint. After ten or fifteen minutes It came along but not before I watched the valley guys soar above my head on the way to goal and the second start pilots catch me up! I took the turnpoint at 6000ft and headed straight for goal without stopping on the ridges again. I could see the other pilots ahead stopping in weakies to top up. Goal was 30k away but with a strong-ish (15kph) tailwind, even the terrible glides were enough to put me within range of the leading guys thermal. I joined the bottom of their lift just as they left on glide to goal. With an 11:1 glide to goal I set off cautiously as there was another ridge blocking my path, however, this proved to be no problem as the air slowly rose above the hill and allowed me to fast glide the remaining 4km beating one guy ahead of me in (small recompense)!
I was about twelfth in today but with so many taking the second start I don’t anticipate a good score.

Bogong Cup 2008

2008-01-13T03:13:00.000+01:00

Day one
Blown out and storms forecast today.. Twelve of us took a trip to Falls Creek with the French team for a look around... Nice place but not much in the way of snow!!! It would be great to see a task set over here as the scenery is simply stunning!!!

Day 2 Canned due to high winds… beautiful day for a trip to the Bright Brewery though!!! Several pints later wobbled back for an early night…

Day 3
Light Northerlies saw us set up on Mt. Emu for a 114km task via Gundowring, Ovens then Running Creek before returning to Mount Beauty airstrip. I had said I planned to be a follower today as I was new to the area (last year was too smoky to see on the one day we did fly due to forest fires). Oh Contraire! It turned out that I led the pack most of the course as the flying was so very similar to North Wales but in a much larger scale. Climbs were mostly 6 to 8up and were always above the peaks of the hills (around 4500ft). With climbs taking us to 8000ft on average and occasionally peaking at 9000’ the course was straightforward. Between the first and second turnpoints there was one valley where the glide took us below ridge height, and within attack range of the Eagles for some unlucky pilots, but the climbs were strong and we were soon racing again. On the glide to the last turnpoint I took a leap of faith when I spotted a paraglider launch into lift maybe 2km ahead and within glide, even when taking in the turnpoint..! This put me almost a minute ahead of the next guy (Oli Barthelemes) and I straight lined the next 25km across the ridge tops to make goal first on the first day.
Jonny Durand raced in ten minutes later having taken the second start so we shall have to see the results to find out who won the day!!

2008-01-13T02:59:00.000+01:00

Perfect racing sky at goal on the last day....

Day 8
Last and final day…. Although 8th in yesterday I was 23rd overall in the day scores having taken the first window..!
With a light north easterly a crosswind then downwind dogleg was set at 134km. The lift early on was strong with 8up lift from 1pm onwards but the sink was equally strong and the clouds had not yet started to form. I waited for the second, and mandatory, start. Seconds before the clock I hit a 10up and made base just on the edge of the circle making for the perfect start. With the big boys in tow I raced off on course heading for the next good cloud…. Managed to core the next two climbs and stay ahead of most of the pack at a staggering pace.. Len Paton was close behind when I glided for the turnpoint 15k out from 8200’. We hit horrendous sink and ended up scrabbling around searching for lift for what seemed ages before taking a 1.5up at 200ft agl. Eventually we climbed out to take the turnpoint then headed back on course for goal some 60k away. We raced through the sink to the sunny ground and rocketed back up to 9600ft where the instruments said go for it…! I glided to 32k and topped up a few turns as I required a 15:1 glide but was only making 12:1. Again at 8km away I had run through a sink hole so topped up again in a dusty with two wedge tailed eagles for a fast glide into goal narrowly beating Trent Brown (again). Had it not been for the poor glide into the turnpoint I had a real chance of winning the task today… Oh well we live and learn! 44 people made goal today..! Lots of smiling faces!!

2008-01-13T02:39:00.000+01:00

Well I finally arrived in Oz after a mere 23 hours of travelling… I met Forrest Whittaker on the flight to Abu Dhabi.. Interesting guy to talk to. Got a few snaps with him… It’s New Years Eve at 8am and it’s already 22 degrees and sunny. I stayed with Roland Woherle and a few other Germans for the day and took in a day at the beach, swimming and surfing, before ringing the New Year in with them down at the harbour bridge… Perfect!

Practice Day
Finally got all my gear together and took a tow up to 1500ft for a two hour boat around. It was great to see the tow paddock so green and had been rolled and mowed in preparation for the comp. The zipper on my harness jammed open so a less than comfortable flight but I was still feeling the jetlag and so persevered rather than go back and re-tow.

Day 1
With a forecast for Blue sky thermals to 8000’ and a 12 to 18 knot easterly wind, a task was set to Burgooley (west of West Wyalong at 124km). There is a Mandatory start time each day for the top 20 pilots in the overall scores which was set as the second start (generally there are 3 starts planned with 20 minute intervals). I started in 15th place for the day and so would be scored from the second start regardless. Most guys hung around a while after launch opened as there appeared to be little lift around. A few guys who launched early found rough towing conditions breaking weak links here and there which most pilots put down to inexperience. With 40 mins before the mandatory start I got in line and took a tow and wouldn’t you know it… I had a weak link break! U got to the edge of the start cylinder 4 mins after the mandatory start and set off on route straight away. I flew most of the flight alone and so was relatively slow making goal.

Day 2
Today was forecast for good conditions with a 12 to 14 knot south easterly so Hillston 224km to the west was called with a light cross-tailwind. The start was slow and as the sky filled with cirrus a lot of people thought the task unachievable. A few guys took the first start and ambled slowly down the course. I hung around as we only had 4500ft and there was a huge band of high cloud casting shadow over the first half of the course. It seemed the sensible option to wait for the better pilots to help me along. With only a minute to the mandatory start a gaggle formed within half a kilometre of the exit start circle and as the clock turned we set off downwind with only 4800ft at a steady pace. The gaggle stayed together in the weak conditions for around 90km when we eventually cleared the cloud shadow and made our first climb out to 7000ft. Dust devils were forming all around and in the blue sky conditions that we had turned out to be invaluable markers for lift! As the gaggle split and raced off in a starburst, I teamed up with Steve Moyes, Alex Trivelato and Steve Blenkinsop and stopped only in 5up climbs minimum topping out at around 8000’. At one point we had glided for around 20km and were getting desperate for lift when Steve turned in something strong half a km to my south. I raced across and by the time I joined his thermal he was already 1000’ above me. In a couple of turns I was coring the lift and watched as my vario went from 4.8 to 9.4 to 12.6 then after that I simply held on as the vario noise went berserk! I looked down through the central vortex of probably the biggest dust devil I had ever seen; It was the width of a football field and went from the ground up to maybe 5000ft (when I came to check my instruments later it turned out to have peaked momentarily at over 20up!). I shot past Steve and topped out at a massive 9400ft and set off on glide making it to within 30km of goal where we found several other pilots struggling low. We applied the brakes and searched for a top up whilst still at 5000ft. When the numbers gave me 14:1 glide in I pulled out and set off on final glide from 18km needing only a few turns more around the 8k mark to make goal 9th on the day!

Day 3
The task today was set for a downwind, crosswind into wind course. Setup in 15th overall from yesterday I was 7th in the tow line. I rigged and got setup up ready to go and when I turned on my vario at the task brief it froze! When I tried to enter the menu it locked up and would not reset or turn off. With only ten minutes to the launch open I tried to reset but to no avail… I had to bite the bullet and fly using only the Garmin 12XL to guide me on course. With all the delays I got in line for a tow and was still on the ground when my mandatory start time passed! I was not alone in this as it turned out the task committee had set the first start only 40 mins after launch opened and many people were stuck in line. Trying to make up time I set off racing with Luis Rizo and Trent Brown. We had four perfect thermals in a row to 6600’ gliding from cloud to cloud each time before we hit the blue sky. As we searched for lift it became apparent we had flown into a different airmass and we got lower and lower until almost on the ground Trent found a thermal not yet popped and managed to maintain 200ft whilst Luis and I, both a little higher, searched around for something better. We headed for a flock of Gulaws circling near to a road. They led us into a trap as they were following a procession of cattle and not lift. A thermal did spark off though it turned out too late for me as we stumbled into it at tree top height. Without a working vario I had to make a bomb out landing at only 47km and watched as both Luis and Trent climbed out above me.

Day 4
A triangle was set in what proved to be strong and increasing winds. The task committee took the weather info from a large scale model and did not foresee the wind strength which topped at 36kph at cloudbase. Not too good today... :O(

Day 5
Brief 1,2,3,4,5… Another Triangle set with a downwind first leg to Grenfell which proved an easy glide with 3 thermals. The second leg to Eugowra proved far more difficult and with the late start the climbs got weaker as the day progressed.. Most landed out including me at TP2

Day 6
A 147km cross downwind task was called to Boorowa in the higher ground. With weak climbs at the first window only a couple of pilots were brave enough to set off early. I was second in the air but chose to wait for the second start as the thermals became better developed and the clouds began to set up on route. Climbs were averaging 4up and choosing the right glide line was paramount today as there was a lot of sinky air about. The clouds did not always work so choosing the right one was important. I was continuing to have problems with my shoulder and back so boated around the course kicking upright in my harness to thermal each time. This proved very inefficient allowing the gaggles to easily escape me but served its purpose and got me to goal albeit slow.

Turned out I got a little too much sun on day 3 and had either heatstroke or sunstroke... terrible aches and pains with headache and dehydration.. Soon remedied when you recognise it... took me a whilke though.

Day 7
Still in 30th place :O( But feeling a little better although the shoulder was still niggling. I had a massage booked prior to flight which I hoped would help, but…. The masseuse was crook!!! Typical…! Task set of 189km to the Southwest with a blue sky and moderate North Easterly forecast. Flew very conservatively taking first window turned out to be a mistake today as the lift was light and broken with average climbs of around 3up for the first 50 to 60km. only five of us set out initially including Trent Brown, Phil Schroder, Jeff Shapiro and the Rusky Girl who’s name remains a mystery. We struggled a little to keep above 3500ft. Then the clouds started to form and the pace hotted up. The lead gaggle caught up at the 100km to go mark and then it became a race. Several of them got away almost immediately in a pumping core and Trent and I managed to stick with the rest often taking the lead. We final glided from almost 40km out slowing up for lift at 32km under a big sucking cloud but no need to turn here! I had lift all the way in though most took a more direct line and hit big sink. This allowed me to regain a few places and came in in 8th place at goal! Result!!!!