Judith's blog

The forecast was good – blue but unstable, with SW winds, which would increase later. They set an ambitious 101km task, which most of us were pretty excited about. Launch opened as soon as they could in case it got too windy on take-off. Since it was a three kilometer exit cylinder around launch, I didn’t think there was a great rush to be off, so I took off 20 mins before the race start. I got the best start ever. I was higher than everyone and set off just after the gun and got the first turn point with the lead gaggle. I have never been in the lead gaggle before, so it was pretty exhilarating. We all sped back to the Montsec de Ares ridge to get high before crossing the gorge to the Monsec de Rubia ridge. You can go along the lower ridge, but if you have enough height, then the higher ridge is the safer one. By the time I got the height to cross others were already ahead of me and I could see Kirsty and another pilot ridge soaring up the ridge.

I dropped onto the higher ridge, but far from soaring along it, I slid down the rocks. This put me and Klaudia Bulgakow in the dip between the ridges, where the air is pretty dead. A French pilot managed to work a broken thermal and get up, but I was too close to the rocks and was half in and half out of it. Eventually I had no option but to fly back to the end of the ridge and fly around the front of the lower ridge, loosing height all the time. There are no landing fields round there (in fact there is only one landing field in that area and I was miles from it), so my options were getting limited. I could land in a car park in the mouth of the gorge, but I assumed there would be a very strong venturi effect there, and if I got it wrong, there would only be the road or the river. There were two small clearings in the trees, so I chose the higher as my plan A and would use the other, slightly larger one as my plan B. It was a tiny clearing and I brushed a small tree with my body coming in, but landed unceremoniously, but ok. Klaudia radioed me to check I was ok and I ran to watch her land in the bigger clearing below, not envying her having to put down a comp wing in such a small sloping space. She had to stall the wing before she overshot, but landed unharmed. I packed up and then tried to walk to the dirt road I could see along the mountain. I had landed on old overgrown terracing, so kept having to find the edge where the path was, since the walled drops were too big climb down with the paraglider on. I eventually got down to the path and then walked down to Klaudia. By the time I got there I was pretty hot and tired, since it is about 37C here. We called for retrieve and then waited. To make a long story short, it took some hours of waiting and then a long 4×4 adventure higher up the mountain to get Emma and Sophie, before getting back to HQ four and a half hours after I landed. I was hot, headachy and dehydrated, so got a few liters of water down me and then off to bed.

Today’s task has changed the leader board – Laurie landed after a few kms and Kirsty is now winning the comp. Ruth had the hardest flight of her life, but came third today, landing only 5km from goal.

P.S. last night’s kayaking was a hoot. We got there and were all allocated a single or double kayak. I went out with Jordi, the comp medic, and soon the lake was filled with the sound of giggling, singing and people playing kayak dodgems. Once we were out on the lake, it was magical in the full moon light. We caught up with others who had gone into a side arm of the lake and got drenched by the boys who just can’t resist a water fight. At 12pm, we decided it was time to head back, so we set off. The only problem was that the guys on shore had switched off all the car lights and we couldn’t find the jetty. Calling them didn’t help… there was nobody answering. We eventually found the cars and everyone was either chucked in or splashed so much that we were drenched. But on getting out of the lake, we found the vans abandoned and no rescue boat in sight. With everyone now cold and shivering, we decided we needed to get back and dry. My spare clothes were mostly wet, but at least I had a dry pair of shorts. The vans luckily had keys in them, so we commandeered one of them and set off. It’s such a heap of old junk it couldn’t get up any inclines and every time we came to a hill we all had to get out and walk and/or push the van. Bearing in mind that most of the women were in underwear, we made quite a sight. We got back at 1am.

Turns out that the organiser guys had come back in the rescue boat after we had left, counted the kayaks and realised three people were missing, so had to search the lake to find them, while we were all off to bed!

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The forecast was for an epic competition day and there were rumors of a task to Organya or Castejon de Sos, which would mean us crossing some pretty big mountains and stunning terrain. Everyone was buzzing and up for it. Unfortunately, the forecast changed and we were suddenly looking at a blue, inverted day with climbs to 1800m only, rising to a possible 2200m later.

It was 90 degrees off when we arrived on launch, but confident that the valley would warm up and bring it on, they set two provisional tasks. One would take us along the ridge, then over the back for a technical cat’s cradle task, landing at the same goal as on task two. The second option was Organya. The west wind kept blowing, but eventually there were launchable phases and the wind dummies were dispatched to check out conditions. They reported NW in the valley and I started to get concerned when I saw Jamie not going forward much heading west and then doing huge oval shaped turns in thermals while he was getting drifted fast east. Ivan was the last wind dummy and he reported the same conditions, so the task was cancelled. A really good, safe decision. Some flew down, some drove. Ariana decided to try the task and landed at Tremp. She was chauffeured back by a 70 year old bloke who couldn’t speak a word of English, but was happy to drive her all the way to camping.

Everyone is chilling out now. There’s a pool party to celebrate scorer Chris’ birthday, then a panel discussion on comp flying. After that we are going to make the most of the full moon by going for a moonlight kayak trip round the lake. I love this comp!

See photos of today.

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The star gazing last night was excellent. We had an audio-visual thing in the planetarium before they decided to show us the actual sky and slid back the roof. We then went to an observatory and looked through the most powerful telescope in Catalunya and saw the surface of the moon and a star cluster. Shame the moon was nearly full, so there was a lot of light pollution.

Today’s forecast was for a blue day with more westerly wind and Nicky wasn’t optimistic before we went up. Once there, the wind actually seemed less strong. They set a task down the ridge, back and then over the back to a goal beyond Tremp, next to a lake. We’ve been promised this goal, so we know to pack bikinis in our harnesses. Our wind dummies, John and Jamie, were dispatched and reported excellent conditions, so we all got off quick. As we were heading along the ridge good cumulus started to form and conditions got very good indeed. I would be ecstatic if every blue day was this good!

I bagged the second turn point gliding back from the start in lift the whole way, and then turned back along course to take the thermal over the back. From there it was easy – there was a cloud street all the way to the third turn point and I was still high enough for a comfortable glide across the valley to the spurs before the lake where I could top up. Not having a fancy GPS that tells me I am going to make it, I decided to play it safe and topped up in a thermal 5km out from goal. I thought I could probably make it, but decided I would never forgive myself if I landed short, so thermalled while Bella and Jess flew past me straight into goal. I got there with loads and loads of height!

I’ve decided that consistency is the most important thing, rather than racing (I’ll do that when I get to goal as a matter of course), so getting to goal is more important than how fast I get there. However, I could maybe reduce my time by not taking photos before I get to the ‘end of speed section’. Ooops. Still, I was no slouch. My average speed around the course was 40km/h and I did it in 1 hour 1 minute.

Lots of happy faces in goal, especially when our whole team got there. We swam in the lake and then had beers in the beach bar. It’s been such a lovely comp so far. Everyone is just so nice and the camaraderie is better than in any comp I have experienced before. You get to chat to so many women from different countries and they’re all just really nice. I want to come again next year!

See photos of today.

For results and a map of the task, see here.

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We woke up to lots of high cloud, but I was pretty sure it was going to burn off. The organisation’s greater concern was the forecast of strengthening westerly wind. They got us up the mountain early and set the start in the valley at the east end of the ridge, then back to launch and then over the back. Conditions looked weak before the start, and windy-dummy John was struggling to maintain at times. As soon as we got into the launch queue the wind picked up, but people got off ok and there were no long delays to wait for lulls. We had 45 minutes to race start, which was 7km away, so you had to work out the tactics of how to spend that time. Go straight to the end of the ridge (not hard with a tail wind, but lots of sink around), or stick to ridge soaring the westerly facing bits of the ridge and then work your way along until nearer the race start time.

It wasn’t very lifty, but I was maintaining well close to launch. However, this meant I was in the path of all the people launching behind me. As I was heading east (with the ridge on my left), I got pushed along by a pilot, since she was flying on my outside and I couldn’t turn out. She pushed me right along to an easterly facing bit and we slid down to the lower ridge. There it got really hard to stay up and we ended up in a gaggle of six. There was a perma-thermal there, but very light. I knew if there was constant lift it was a good trigger point, I just needed to wait for the big release. So I went into patient mode. I circled and circled, topping up in ridge lift from time to time and waited until I got my chance. Others decided to try somewhere else and got drilled, or went on low glides along the lower ridge. I eventually got enough height to fall back onto the higher ridge and then scratched my way on to the top of it. It’s quite intimidating when you are flying wingtip to the rock. It’s quite a big ridge!

I soared all the way to the end of the ridge while those under me didn’t make it up, and then topped up in a weak thermal and headed for turn point one. I lost too much height flying across the valley to get the turn point and couldn’t return to the ridge before getting drilled, flying into a head wind. Lots and lots of people got minimum distance today and I did reasonably well to get 8.2km. Conditions improved dramatically half an hour later, with cumulus and good height gains to be had.

The tactic today was to stay on the ridge until the conditions improved, and then set off on the task, like Laurie and Jess did. But you needed a lot of patience to do that. There just wasn’t enough strong sun until later. However, it did blow out on take-off within half an hour of the window opening, so it was a good decision to get us off. I wouldn’t be a meet director – you’re constantly between a rock and a hard place.

Results are Laurie Genovese 1st, Natalie Fresne 2nd and Kio Pujol 3rd. I’m 12th in the task and overall. Laurie Genovese is now leading the comp before Kirsty Cameron. Our team dropped from first to second place.

We’re off to do some star gazing at the local observatory tonight.

Update 24/8/10: Kio arrived late at launch and was a little hung over. It’s a comp tactic that worked for her. She was in the air when it got good!

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After last night’s excellent briefing, we had the first task today. We were all a little concerned about the interesting wave clouds early on, but Nicky assured us that Ager has a micro climate and that the clouds would evaporate. We all did a bit of cloud appreciation while waiting, but it was gustier than any of us would have liked.

Kirsty and I were duly called to the task setting meeting and they set a 45km cat’s cradle task, with a pre-task turn point 9km away. There was some confusion about this, but we eventually all got it programmed into our GPS and were ready to start. John, acting as wind dummy, reported good conditions in the air, so we were all keen to go. The launch sequence was a little confusing – at least for the Brits. Instead of a marshal coming round asking us to ‘sign to fly’, we had to pass through a tent and were signed off and then allocated a place along take-off. It was getting windier and as I got past the marshal, the launch window was closed due to too strong winds. It was a good call, and appreciated by most of the competitors. So the committee reconvened and we decided that we would assess the conditions each hour and try to have the task as soon as possible.

Obviously, as soon as the task was delayed, the wind dropped, and by the time we re-briefed, it had picked up again. However, there were more lulls, so the task went ahead. We had to go through the tunnel and sign to fly again, and by window open there was a long queue. The majority of us were left standing in the sun, with full flying gear on, getting hot and bothered while we watched others having to stand on launch waiting for lulls. As we only had an hour to fly the 9km before the race start, many were very keen to get going. Sandra Monse was first off, when the wind was very east and had a horrible time getting away from the ridge, but then settled down and was off on the task. The rest of us launched as we could, but by the time I got to the head of the queue and got a lull, I was well into the pre-race start hour.

Nicky had mentioned to us that the lower ridge would be working and would be smoother, and a chat with Mike Cluer confirmed that he thought the same. I got off, struggled with the wind and then set off along the lower ridge, trying to stay under the wind, and quickly sussing out that thermalling wasn’t necessary until the valley crossings. You could just top up in the thermals along the ridge whilst flying straight. On the top ridge it was windy and turbulent and I thought that would just delay me. Lots of people were ahead of me and the tactic of setting a pre-task way point certainly stopped us having congested gaggles – I never flew with anyone the whole task! The wind made it hard work at times, and I kept low, only getting high at critical points. I was getting tired three quarters of the way round and seeing people high, I started to think that actually I am not really that good at all this comp lark and maybe I should just not bother next year. But I really wanted to get round and gritted my teeth and kept going. Ruth and Trude got to the last turn point before me and I was really pleased they got in. There was nobody in the landing field when I got to goal, so I assumed that they had all got there hours before and I was last in. Another pilot came in while I was packing and then another and I realised that maybe I wasn’t last after all. When I checked in, there were only 9 others in before me. Wow. A few arrived after, so I wasn’t last after all.

First was Kirsty, then Klaudia, third Sandra Monse, a really talented Swiss/German pilot who we’ll hear about in years to come. I am 10th overall so I am really pleased. With three pilots in goal, Doc’s Bollocks might be winning the team event.

Brilliant talk by Anja Kroll tonight, called “Elements of Success”, all about comp flying. Really, really useful!

See photos of today.

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Geoff writes: another day which promised a lot, and delivered little. The forecast was for starting SW, then going west early afternoon and increasing winds. In the event, winds stayed very light, but what wind there was, was SW or even SSW. There were thermals, but weak low down. Loads of people travelled to come to the Mynd, but very few had good flights. A couple did get away at one point – Cris Miles got to Telford, and Phil Colbert did 15km. Mark Leavesley got high, pushed in front, and came back and landed. Mostly, that was it. It did briefly come on around 4.14pm, and some then got high, but as far as I know, no-one left the hill. Almost as soon as it came on, it went off to the south again, and various people went down, including me.

I think it was probably a very good XC day. Probably, Elan Valley was the place to be in this area, or Bradwell in the Peaks, which seems not to have been blown out, though some indications were that it would be. You just had to be on the right hill, and, in spite of the forecasts, the Mynd wasn’t it.

Judith had a good day in Ager though, and no doubt will report on this later.

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Day one was a practise day, although we didn’t get a task to fly. We were offered a lift up the hill at 12.30pm and 4pm and could explore the ridge as we chose. Since I know the area relatively well (at least the Ager valley), I didn’t feel the need to explore as much as others. So my plan for the day was to assess the conditions, have a nice little fly around, take some pics, admire the scenery and then land and relax before the stress of the comp.

I had a leisurely approach to launching, so much so that Oscar asked me if I was actually going to fly. I got off fine, after a short interlude of a dust devil and wind from the north. I launched straight into a smooth thermal and headed west to the lake. Then I went east along the ridge. Conditions were surprisingly smooth. Even coming out of the thermals wasn’t rough at all. In fact it was all really like a good day in the UK. Others found it a bit rougher at inversion layer, but I have no complaints. If the rest of the week is this enjoyable, I’ll move to Ager permanently. After an hour of floating around (no turning necessary) I decided to land, but couldn’t get down. There was lift everywhere. I promised Emma an LZ beer, but had to delay that for 20 mins while I floated over the town in gentle lift.

We all got our beers in the end and decided to go to the lake for a swim. It’s boiling here and we needed a cool off. So off to Corca to the turquoise lake to the west of take-off. When we got back to register I had a slight wardrobe malfunction… At registration we were a little stumped by our local address and Nicky advised us just to write down ‘Doc’s place’. Our landlord is a mild mannered Irish gentleman called Doc. Once we were all signed up, we needed to choose a name for our house team of Emma, Kirsty, Ruth and me. It seemed obvious really, so we’re called “Doc’s bollocks”. Not sure he’s got over the shock yet.

The other news is that Kirsty and I are on the safety committee. They needed someone at the front and back of the field, obviously. The power has already gone to my head. If I bomb, I’m calling the task off for safety reasons!

See photos of the flying and frollicking today.

See photos of the comp briefing today.

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