The Rainbow Connection

All of us under its spell, we know that it's probably magic...

Although we haven't had the most perfect weather this time around, this place is still heaven. Yesterday after working until about 3pm, I headed out to the sand blow to find the wind a wee bit too strong and cross.  After that rest day, we were all pretty keen to get in the air today so we went out around 11am and spent an hour or so waiting for stronger wind....I was feeling like Goldilocks ;-)  It turned on perfectly though and we spent the day picking out the many sharks in the beautiful blue water below - the same water we've been swimming in all week - that is, until the sharks were spotted this morning (in knee deep water no less!!!).

I can't get enough of this gorgeous place.  There are more paragliders than hang gliders, but we all seem to be able to play together with no problems.   In this shot it's too light for us to stay up so the PGs are fooling around in our landing area.  But normally, they're out front and never get in the way at all - hopefully we don't get in their way much either.  

From the sand blow launch down to Double Island point at the far left side of the picture is about 15km.  Most of the ridge is useable - it's just that last 5km or so where the ridge no longer faces into the wind.   I've never pushed it all that much - don't want to end up on the deck that far down.

The sand blow is enormous and other than a small section that has some giant tree stump skewers, it's all perfect for landing.

It's pretty hard to see, but here's one of the MANY sharks we spotted all day long.  They're not way out to sea, they're extremely close to shore.  There were very few swimmers today - only the brave.  

Who ever said Disney was the happiest place on earth has never been to Rainbow Beach.

Arrived!

After three relaxing days of driving at a snail's pace up the east cast, stopping at all the empty, secluded beaches, Hadewych and I arrived at the Sunshine Coast airport to pick up the kids.  Kathryn, Franco and Damon flew up from Sydney and we all drove together from there to my favorite flying site in the whole wide world!  We arrived a smidge late for flying and it was a bit northy anyway, so we're just getting settled in, checking the dune, having a swim and whipping up a house dinner for tonight.   

I love being here and I love the group of people sharing this holiday (two PG boys and three HG girls).  The banter between the hangies and the PG boys is loads of fun and who knows, we might even manage to convert them this time.  

Too many things I haven't done yet...too many sunsets I haven't seen

Back down under to my favorite place in Oz!  I arrived on Monday and spent a cool, rainy weekend in the most special little town in all of Australia - Pearl Beach - before starting my drive north along the east coast.  Like last year, my plan is to check out every beach that catches my fancy between Sydney and the Sunshine Coast.  First stop, Forster, just a couple hours north of Newcastle.  I swung by Merether Beach and picked up Hadewych who is making the drive with me this time.  We arrived in time to have a swim and relaxing dinner in our little haven in the trees.  

My Travelling Star

They hunger for home, but they cannot stay.  They wait by the door, they stand and they stare. They're already out of there.  

Run before the wind, run before the rain, over yonder hill, just around the bend.  Never knowing why, never knowing when, every now and then, there you go again.  

I'm pretty much always questioning my desire to go.  I know there's nothing seriously wrong with me, but a few people have asked recently why and what it means to me and that makes me stop and wonder all the more.  I've never been able to put my finger on what causes it or even exactly what it is. Running from something?  Running to something?  Trying to escape boredom?  My ADHD? Some combination?  

But, a friend recently posted an article on my Facebook wall.  The subject matter was what the author called "Wanderlusters", a term I have heard, but never really defined.  A wanderluster is someone who can't sit still and has a constant desire to explore, to see and to experience as much of the world as possible.  According to this article, scientists have isolated a gene - the DRD4 gene.  Holders of this gene are predisposed to migrate and are typically novelty seeking, hyperactive risk takers.  The whole concept brought strange comfort to me.  They say that the drug companies like to come up with names for common medical conditions because people have a need to define what is wrong with them and of course, as a result the drug companies can then sell whatever snake oil they have to cure what ails them.  Seems I'm pretty typical then.  The fact that it brings me comfort to know that some scientist may have figured out what is wrong with me is hilarious really.  

Meanwhile, off I go again.  After returning from Macedonia and spending a couple of weeks in the Arizona desert at the Santa Cruz Flats Race, it was time to complete my circumnavigation of the continental US.  (Circumnavigation is a good word...makes me feel like I'm with Shackleton on the Endurance.)  With about 2500 miles to drive and the great state of Texas to cross, I thought I should find something worthwhile along the way, or the drive would make me looney.  

Favorite stop was Big Bend National Park.  Who knew there was something so cool in Texas!?!  It's lovely and remote and full of wildlife.  Went for a horseback ride in the desert, hiked the canyons and waded across the Rio Grande to Mexico.  Perfect.  

Long Ago Places

Everyone packed up and started to head back home after a week in Krushevo.  A little at a time, it was turning back into the quiet town I found a few weeks ago.  Jochen and I packed up the car with a plan to head west to some place flyable.  The idea was the Dolomites, but the weather didn't cooperate right away.  So, after a really nice Italian dinner in the old city of Belgrade (read: something sensible before the main course of chocolate lava cake and prosecco) we decided the best thing to do was head to the seaside and wait out the expected rain in the Alps in some place warmer. 

Pula, Croatia was impressive.  I had never even heard it, but it was chock full of old stuff and an arena that I actually found nicer than the coliseum in Rome.

Pula was just an hour or so from the site of the 2006 European Championships in Buzet.  I went to the pre-euros there in 2005 and then the euros in 2006.  It feels more like a hundred years ago than nine.  My how life has changed.  I blogged about the comps and the site HERE, and HERE and HERE. Although the launch itself looks just as we left it, the owners have added some incredible new amenities that make me wish for another comp there!  Yes, that pool is ON launch!  Not a bad place to hang out.  

Next stop, mountains!  Conditions didn't cooperate for flying the past few days, so we spent our time hiking in two of the most beautiful places on earth.  First we hiked to and around the Tre Cime (three teeth) in the heart of the Dolomites.  Words really can't describe the beauty....and my pictures don't do it justice either.  

Jochen gave me a whirlwind tour of the places he used to go in and around Salzburg as a child.  After quite a long hike in the Dolomites, we found a nice shorter one that ended at a peak overlooking lake Fuschl where I spent my afternoons "studying" while I went to school at the University of Salzburg many years ago.  It was hard to leave the stunning scenery.

Pre-Euros Finished

I kind of run out of blogging steam when it comes to the end of a comp.  We had a final very difficult task on Friday.  Only four flex made goal and Jochen won his second day in a row.  Goal was down south very near the Greek border, so the pilots (and ground crew) got to see a bit more of the area. Unfortunately, most of the area around goal was in shade by the time they were getting close.  So, few were at goal and many were within about a 15km radius.  

We woke up to heavy rain and beautiful thunder and lightning Saturday morning and quickly realized it was finished.  They held the prize-giving at 11am so that everyone could pack up and make their way back home.  Always the sad part.  

The Italians ruled again with Elio winning, Suan (Italy) coming second and Balasz from Hungary in third.  Italy had five of the top ten (Guenther 4th, Tullio 6th and Marco 7th).  They're going to be hard to beat next year.  

The Macedonians did a phenomenal job on their first big comp and I heard nothing but praise for the organization and meet directing.  Combine that with a really friendly area and great flying and I expect we'll be completely full next year.   I can't wait!!

Pics from a super fun task...

Task 3

We woke up to a lot of low cloudiness and cooler temperatures yesterday.  At the 9:30 briefing Goran and the weatherman were not optimistic, but didn't want to cancel too early.  So, we decided to re-brief at 11:30, just in case things miraculously improved.  By 10am there was rain, so when we all headed to the 11:30 briefing, at least I was sure they were just going to cancel the day.  But they didn't - the forecast was improving and we ended up calling a late task from across the valley at the Monastery launch.  

As we drove across the valley to launch (only about 35 minutes drive), the sky was quickly opening up and by the time we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to find lovely looking conditions. Because it was so late in the day by that time, the task had to be a bit short, just 74km.  But even the shortish task turned out to be a great call.  

At goal, it was one of those days when the vibe is just so great!  Everyone was on this collective high. Not because conditions were perfect, or the task was perfect, but probably just because few expected to fly and in the end, the day was gorgeous and most of all just plain fun!

Especially cool was Jochen winning they day by a huge margin.  He came smoking in at least 15 minutes or so ahead of the next guys.  He's not had the best comp of his life here, so seeing him win the day was fantastic!

Pictures - Task 2

Task 2

Our weatherman was not exactly optimistic yesterday.  The belief was that conditions would be weaker than Day 1, with clouds over the mountains, but blue in the valley and cloudbase not as high as the previous day.  There was also a lot of concern that the wind would come around from the west and make launch conditions questionable fairly early.  So, the idea was to have a single start and get everyone launched and out on course as quickly as possible.  The task committee set an appropriately shorter, 91km task to the south toward Greece and then back up to our main goal field.  

As launch progressed, we started to see that the conditions weren't nearly as bad as expected and even launch was fine for everyone.  With just 60 pilots and two launch lanes, it's relatively easy getting everyone in the air in well under an hour, even at a leisurely pace. 

By the time the crew got to goal, the clouds were looking great, even in the valley, and base was much higher than predicted.  We knew there would be a lot in goal.  There 41 in the end.  

Live tracking isn't mandatory here and it's a shame for everyone back home.  Only 14 were tracking yesterday and that was up from just 10 on Day 1.  The organizers provided free local SIM cards with 2 GB of data to encourage everyone to use the AirTribune app on their smartphones, but not many have done it.  We'll keep pushing for more.  

Who knew Alex had a twin ;-)

Launch & Goal Photos - Task 1

Task 1

Although only 5 flex and 1 rigid made it in to goal today, from what I've heard most everyone had a fun struggle.  They called a 124km triangle(ish) task around the valley.  Turns out conditions were quite a strong as expected and cloudbase was lower than the 3000 meters predicted.  The Italians ruled the day with Elio in first and Suan just seconds behind him.   Balasz came in a bit later on the longest, worst looking glide I've seen in a while.  We all thought he had no chance of making it in. Freddie and Tullio weren't far behind him.  I think it took them all more than four hours.  

Young Tim Grabowski, rigid wing world champion, was the only Class 5 glider in goal.  

Suan was a happy camper.

Photos from the Practice Task

Official Practice Task

The forecast called for strong west winds yesterday, so they sent us to the Monastery launch on the opposite side of the valley about 30 km away.  The wind started out fairly mellow and that lured everyone into setting up.  Eventually it started to gust up to 45kph and so the meet director cancelled the official task but allowed free flying for those that wanted to.

I love this launch.  It's a perfectly rounded, granite ramp.  There's only room for a single launch lane, so we probably won't be able to use it next year.  With the strong wind, the haze cleared out of the valley and the view was awesome.  

Probably a dozen pilots flew and reported that conditions were relatively smooth in the air.

Who knew a deputy meet director's duties were so diverse ;-)

Pictures

Practice Days

As nice as it has been having this whole place to myself for the last five days, it's fun when the whole hang gliding family starts to invade the town.  The French and Italians have the equivalent of two teams each.  Alex Ploner has returned after sitting out the worlds in Mexico early this year.  Young Tim Graboswki, reigning rigid wing world champion is here.  We also have some awesome girl pilots - Francoise (France), Yoko (Japan) and Sasha (Russia).  

Probably totally commonplace for PG pilots, but we watched a scary deployment yesterday from launch.  At first, several of us thought the pilot was doing aerobatics.  But we all started to think he was doing them in the worst possible place, low and behind launch.  Eventually we saw his reserve come out and he floated, apparently softly, down to the forest below.  

Young Students

There has been a Greek family here for the weekend.  The Greek border is just about sixty kilometers south of us and with such a perfect launch and wide open landing fields here, it's an ideal place to bring student pilots.  On Saturday we got to watch a 15-year-old kid have his 4th mountain flight.  I'm sure it sounds cheesy, but it was so heartwarming to watch (for everyone, I think, not just me).  

Dad is a pilot and instructor and he has taught his son.  They also have a younger daughter, maybe 13 or 14 who is learning as well.  What a cool family.  I always wished I could fly with my dad and brothers.  

  

Here's the family and some of the local Macedonian pilots out at the street party last night.  Dad is second from the left and mom and the daughter are on the ride side.  I think the new young pilot was resting up for today's flights ;-).  

I also had the pleasure of meeting Victoria, another young student pilot up from Greece.  She had a fantastic flight today, soaring and getting above launch while we all cheered her on.

Here is Victoria with me and Yoko, the women's world champion.