European Championships Begin

Nice opening ceremonies under the hot sun in Ager yesterday.  They had originally predicted rain for the first few days, but things turned around and it looks like there will be no rest anytime soon.  

There are several non-European teams here - Australia, USA, Brasil and Japan.  The European teams are not always as friendly as they ought to be to the foreigners ;-)

The "Colonies" team gave it to the Brit boys.

Natalia and Julia are flying incredibly well.  Young Julia finished 9th in the Spanish nationals.

Go team UK!!

More Photos

And it was all Yellow

Everything here is built of giant blocks of yellow limestone.  It all matches so beautifully.

I arrived in the main square of Victoria (the biggest village on the island) just in time to see the saints come marching in.  They're preparing everything for a big festival this weekend - they being the townspeople, not the saints ;-)

The only things that aren't yellow here are the vividly colored fishing boats.

...and the famous Azure Window,  of course.

Filling in the missing colors in my paint by number dreams...

Arrived in Malta yesterday afternoon.  I love it here!  Yeah, I say that about every new place I find....and it's true about every new place I find.

Kind of looks like a very elaborate movie set to me.

Wind was about 30 knots out of the west and I know there was a perfect cliff facing right into the wind.  Ah, but no glider....

Today is a beach day!

Some Pics

Bassano

Having a lovely time in Bassano.  Each day here is very flyable and we've had such a nice, lazy time cruising up the hill to launch in the afternoon.  It's really nice not to be in a rush and not having someone else dictate where you set up, what time you set up, what time you launch, behind whom you launch, where to go....and on and on and on.  Sometimes not being at a comp is a good thing.  Timothy arrived yesterday and flew with us today.  It's great to see him enjoying some airtime in his Malibu.  

Carlos leaves to go back to work tomorrow and I'll be on my own for a few weeks.  I'm not happy about it, but I suppose I'll survive ;-)  Here he is flying over an amazingly huge monument at the top of the big mountains behind launch at Bassano.   We were told it was a monument to the soldiers that died in WW1 - the Monument of 1000 Souls...or something like that.  

Epic Day

A non-pilot asked me recently if hang gliding is so great that a good flight can make up for the countless days we spend sitting up on a hill in unflyable conditions hoping it will get better.  After two weeks of frustration in the snow and rain in Tegelberg, we had one of those days yesterday.  Carl has been watching the forecast since I arrived just over a week ago, scoping out the best conditions for the various sites around here.  The weather has been quick to change and we've had several days that looked to be fantastic from a few days out, only to go bad the night before.   Yesterday the planets seemed to stay aligned.  Carl was so excited night before last that he couldn't get to sleep for lying there anticipating the great flight he had planned for us.  

About noon we headed out to Moelfry, a little 1300ft ridge in north Wales.  There were a dozen or so paragliders out there, but we were the only hangies.  Carl laid out the map and started explaining in great detail where we would go across Snowdonia and the high mountains to the west, into the flats and across the Menai Strait onto the Isle of Anglesey.  There were some pretty decent mountain crossings and he wondered whether we would have it in us to go across no man's land with the high ground and not-so-happy landing options or if we would chicken out and take the safer route around the higher ground through a wide valley more to the north.  I chuckled to myself and thought "yeah, nice plan, but it will never happen."  Not to be such a pessimist, but it really did seem like a flight you only do in your dreams.   As we started suiting up, Carl realized he had forgotten his radio and had to use a spare in the car that only allowed him to talk to me, but not hear me.  Oh well, I thought, it's a nice idea, but a little cruise around here wouldn't bother me any, if that's all we got - it really is a gorgeous area.  To top things off, we had no retrieve....right, none!  Before heading out of the house, Carl has asked how much I really wanted to go XC because getting back home after was going to be an ordeal, to say the least, especially if we didn't land together.  I was up for an adventure and thought at least I can speak the language here so how difficult can it really be?

We launched about 1:30 under beautiful clouds with about 3 or 4 paragliders playing around on the ridge.  It wasn't an easy start and after a half an hour or so of ridge soaring I was starting to think it just wasn't going to happen.  I wasn't getting more than a few hundred feet above the hill.  It pays to have a partner who is a waaaaaay better pilot than you ;-)  Carl found a lovely 500fpm climb out in front of the ridge.  I joined him there and we quickly shot up to cloudbase and over the back.  With base about 4500 feet and rising, we had plenty of height to head off into the taller hills.  With an up to 20km tailwind at times, it was easy drifting across the lower hills and up to the edge of the high mountains.  I don't think we ever got below 3500 feet or so and despite the ugly looking landing fields below, I never got too nervous.  Carl talked me through every bit even though I couldn't talk back to him and went nice and slow so we could fly wingtip to wingtip most of the way.  

It all seemed to go much faster than I expected and before I knew it Carl and I were climbing up beside this spectacular rocky peak with what looked a bit like the mouth of a volcano on top.  All I could do was laugh and say out loud over and over again "I can't believe we're doing this."  The coastline was in site and on an easy glide and all went totally relaxed.  No more big mountains and bad landing fields left to cross, just a smooth mellow run to the beach for some ice cream!  Amazingly, the convergence was setting up very close to the coast and we just fooled around in it forever before shooting off across the Menai Straight with a bird's eye view of the famous Menai Bridge.  The air smoothed out beautifully and we went for a long glide halfway across the Isle of Anglesey to the biggest empty field next to the village of Llanbedrgoch.  Carl landed next to me ten minutes later and we couldn't wipe the grins off our faces.  Apparently we broke the site record going just about 85km.  More importantly, Carl had the flight he has dreamed of for 19 years!

(the view coming over the mountains toward the coast - not my picture...just found it on Google Earth ;-)

Now we just had to find a way back to the car 85km (by air) from where we were.  But hey, it was just before 5pm and there was plenty of daylight left.  Carl thought a tall blond girl might have a better chance of working out some sort of way back to the car than he would, so he sent me off to the village while he carried the gliders up to the road.  My guardian angel obviously continues to watch over me because there, 400 meters or so from our field was Jane's Taxis.  This tiny little village had the biggest taxi company on the island and certainly the friendliest most amazingly helpful people.  Jane's taxi company was based out of her house and in no time I was sitting at Jane's kitchen table sharing a bottle of wine with her while we waited for the taxi driver and Carl to meet up with us.  The original plan was to take the taxi to Bangor, on the mainland, then catch a train to Oswestry, then another taxi up to launch where the car was parked.  Carl mentioned the possibility of renting a car instead though and that seemed like a much quicker and more convenient option.  Jane found a car rental place for us right there on the island that was still going to be open after we had uncorked the second bottle of wine.  But, they weren't willing to rent a car to us without a little more ID than we normally carry around in our harnesses.  Not to worry, Jane to the rescue!  This woman is amazing really - she drove us to the car rental company and rented the car for us in her name!  Unbelievable.  Jane now has an open invitation to my house absolutely anytime!

Well the rest was easy.  We got back to the car before it was too dark, had a quick pint with the Kynastons then drove back to Llanbedrgoch for our gliders.  Home by 3:30 am, still wearing our permagrins ;-)

Funny thing is, we're still not convinced we haven't died and gone to heaven.  After Wednesday's near plane crash (that's a whole other story), Carl wondered the night before if we had actually crashed his plane and this was really heaven we were living in.  For the entire 10 hour retrieve we kept joking that being dead was not too shabby at all!  

This wasn't my longest flight ever, we didn't have the strongest climbs or the smoothest air, but there is something indescribably special about doing what you love most with the one you love most that made this one of the most unforgettable flights of my life.  

Here are a few more shots I found on Google earth of the area we flew over.  I always thought England was lovely, but I never realized it has such spectacular mountains.  Even these pictures don't do it justice.  

Good Day Sunshine

Gorgeous day at the Model Ridge yesterday.  Who says the sun never shines in the UK? ;-)  What a lovely site.  Only ridge soarable yesterday, so we couldn't really get a task off...the winner made it 11km.    Most everyone else was at the bottom landing field or a few kilometers down the road.  I was quite happy to just cruise around the hill all afternoon.  

Our little house in Hawes has the nicest view.

Today is rained out so Carlos and I will head back to Liverpool and get rested up for the spectacular XC days that are coming Wednesday and Thursday!

Mending Fences

It's sooooo nice to be out of the rain and into the UK! Ha ha ha...that sounds like a joke, doesn't it! Coming to to the UK to get out of the rain?  Well, it's gorgeous here and apparently they had fantastic flying most of the time we were waiting in the rain in Germany.  What a switch!

So, we're up in the Yorkshire Dales - a beautiful part of the UK.  Rolling green hills, narrow cobblestone streets and cute little villages.  I'm enjoying the miles and miles of endless stone walls, cutting every great landing field into tiny little postage stamps ;-)

Yesterday was the first day of the British Open Series comp here in Yorkshire.  It was quite windy for my taste, too windy in fact in the end.  Of course, the Brits are used to this and have no problem flying in a bit of wind.  I'm still a big chicken and opted to stay on the ground while they flew an awesome 125km task to the beach in booming conditions.  Carl was calling 800fpm climbs and I think they blew downwind very quickly.

This is what everything looks like around here...so so pretty.  (no my picture, by the way - I've been lazy with the camera.  I think I have to attribute this one to freefoto.com).

Some random pics of what we did during the Women's Worlds....

The organizers were great at finding group activities for us on every day that the task was cancelled without going up the hill.  One day a bunch of us toured a brewery in a nearby town.  

Timothy wanted a big gulp!

Of course, there was Neuschwanstein Castle.  Very impressive looking, but disappointing to learn that it was just a tourist attraction.  King Ludwig never lived there - he died before it was finished.  Apparently it became a museum just a few months after he died.

Our cable car passes also gave us free entry on the alpine slide.  It was the only place there was any racing going on.

Maria and I found bikes to rent and those were our main transportation around the village and to and from headquarters.  I started to feel like one of them.

And of course, Maria cooked lovely meals for us as often as possible.

And, when it was all over, I actually flew!!!

Every form of snow imaginable has fallen on us here at launch. We find
other ways to amuse ourselves.

Almost There

For the first time in more than a week it was starting to feel like we might do what we came here for.  The delay until noon was just enough to tempt us up the hill under at least partially blue skies.  We had nearly a foot of snow on launch and it was really cool for this California girl to set up in the snow for the first time in my 20 years of flying.  I was so excited to find that a task was set and the plan was to launch at half past two.  Unfortunately, not ten minutes after the task was set, the sky started looking very angry way out in front and the weather man told us it was coming in fast.  We all derigged in a hurry to miss the coming storm.  Although we managed to get the gliders under cover, the high winds arrived just as we were ready to head down the hill and the wind shut the cable car down for a while.  The restaurant on top was a great refuge to wait it out though and we relaxed with a cup of tea and apfelstruddel for a short while before the cable car opened up again. 

This morning’s sky looks quite similar to yesterday’s and currently we are on hold until 11:30.  But, as I sit typing, hail is falling :-(

Like no launch I've ever seen!!

I love Germany in Winter...

….oh wait, it’s May :-/  This picture was taken about halfway up to the Tegelberg launch yesterday.  So, you can imagine what launch looks like!

It’s hard to get motivated to write much of anything around here.  Day after day we wake up to dark skies and cloudbase near the ground.  I understand all too well how hard it is for organizers in these situations.  You spend so much time and effort making sure everything is prepared and together only to have no control over the one thing that can put a stop to it all.  Some have given up and left already and I can only imagine how disheartening that must be.  As of this morning, the forecast looks like we might have one day of flying, at best.  I hope my read is wrong.

Meanwhile, we all know Schwangau so well.  We’ve done nearly everything there is for a tourist to do here.  The organizers have activities planned for the cancelled days and for each evening.  We’ve had Bavarian night, Italian night and last night was flying films night.  During the rainy days we hike the mountains, sit in the thermal bathes and saunas, cycle, shop and work. 

Yesterday I hiked with a group two thirds of the way to launch.  The area is so gorgeous from the ground and I can only dream about the view from above.  Had I known that the practice day might be my only chance to see it, I might have savored it a bit more. 

Women's Worlds Day 2

It was hard to believe we weren't flying yesterday because the sun was shining and the clouds looked lovely.  In fact, it was the first day we had such nice sunshine.  However, the meteo guy was very concerned about the Foehn that was supposed to arrive.  We were apparently just on the edge of it.   

All of the girls went off in different directions - some to the castle, some working, some hiking up the mountain.  Maria and I got bicycles and decided for a ride out to the Swift field for a picnic as they were having a task. 

There were many spectators out at the airfield (mostly pilots wishing they were flying) and we could see much of the task from there.  We watched the guys race up and down the ridge and then land back at goal at the airfield.  Not surprisingly, Manfred came in first with a nice loop over goal.  Bob Baier was second and Steve Cox came in third.  Brian Porter and Jacques Bott both had difficult days and landed short.  

Now I am sitting in at HQ eavesdropping on the Class 2 meeting regarding the Archeopteris (I'm sure I've spelled that wrong).   From my understanding, it is a fairly new design by a Swiss company.  It has not been demonstrated to be foot landable and so it doesn't qualify as a Class 2 glider.  It seems it wasn't noticed before the comp started, so now after there has been a task it is unclear whether it should be included.  Interestingly, all of the guys here in the Class 2 comp want it included in the comp and they are discussing ways to get it in.  Heather asked who would protest if the pilot flying the glider won the meet.....they all agreed that they would not.  In light of the small number of Class 2 pilots and gliders, I think most everyone wants to find a way to encourage more of them.  

According to Section 7 rules, it must be demonstrated that the glider can be foot landed.  Brian Porter is currently arguing that there is no time period for making this demonstration and that if the pilot wanted to demonstrate it here, he should be allowed in the class.  I think the CIVL reps are very very reluctant to allow for this.  

Here is the Archeopteris at goal yesterday.   

With the discussion coming to an end, the final decision is that they will not allow it to be included in the world championship competition, but they will do two sets of scores, one with him and one without.  So he could win, but not be the world champion.  He will also be allowed to line up with the other Class 2 gliders at launch time and he will not be required to launch first or last or have any less priority than the others.  It is interesting to me to see how fervently all of the Class 2 pilots are arguing to get this glider in the class.  

Another interesting tidbit I just learned....although Manfred arrived at goal first yesterday, the Archeopteris won the day because of the leading bonus.

The Foehn Returns

Yesterday gave us the small hope of a task so we all made our way up the hill.  We have a setup order here because there isn't so much space up top.  The alpha group set up, only a few of the bravo group did and those of us in the charlie group were slow and lazy - lucky for us.  They thought perhaps there would be a small window available where they could get the girls off the hill and on a task.  So, we waited for over an hour before the rain started and the wind came from over the back.  

It was a lazy coffee day for most.  Maria and I joined Tim and Linda from the US and Daphne from the Netherlands for the afternoon.

Today's forecast was for strong Foehn and dangerous thunderstorms in the afternoon.  The task was cancelled at the team leader briefing so we didn't have to head up the hill.  Otherwise, the day looks lovely so far - the warmest we've had yet.

In Lovely Tegelberg

From the heat and humidity of Florida to the cool, rainy alps....what a trip it has been.  I guess I forget sometimes that there are four seasons in most parts of the world.  I left the hotter of the two Florida seasons for Tegelberg where it is definitely still spring with a nip in the air and plenty of rain.  Thankfully, it's not too terribly cold and anyway it is so gorgeous here that I probably wouldn't even mind.  Although the rain is a bother, everything is blanketed with vivid green grass and wildflowers of every color in the fields.  

We drove down from Munich on Friday evening and I was instantly in love with the landscape.  We're on the edge of the Alps here so there's spectacular high mountains behind launch, but comforting flatland with huge landing fields everywhere out front.  What more could you ask for? (ok, well, sunshine would be nice ;-)

Today was the opening ceremonies, but also the only day for the next few that it looks flyable so everyone was up the hill for a quicky before the opening.   It was a perfect day...light smooth lift for cruising up and down the ridge to check out the area.  I couldn't have been happier with my first flight here....got the nerves shaken off and had a chance to check out Damien's handling after the baby daddy made a few modifications to suit the CIVL.  He's sweeter than ever, but not necessarily so pleased with new pink accessories ;-)

I hope to get some shots of the castle from the air soon.  It's a spectacular site and makes me feel like I'm at Disneyland.