September 2008
Monthly Archive
Saturday, 20th September 2008
The forecast was really unclear. Of the four forecasts I looked at each one was giving a different wind strength and direction. They did all agree that it would be light. So where to go? A southerly site is always a safe bet, but some height is also good, so although Corndon would give us lots of flexibility, you lose out on the height. Bache was closed for a motorcross rally and by 11.30am the wind was SSW at the Mynd, but WSW at Moel Acre, so no good for the Gyrn [or so we thought; in fact, it was flyable there]. We headed out towards Clatter only to get a phone call to say it was ok to fly at Bache so long as we didn’t drive up or park on the track. The walk up isn’t too bad, so we headed off there.
By the time we arrived there was a strong breeze and it was easily soarable. Graeme had been high, but not high enough to cross the trees over the back. I went off and got into a thermal but only got to about 650ATO. It then got very sinky and I had to top land. Geoff waited until the sun came out and there was a cloud above him and he launched straight into a thermal, circled up and went XC. Well done that man!
I tried to follow him, but the sky was blueing out and the thermals were getting weaker and weaker. Graeme and I landed near to the cars for an easy walk back and I went off to get Geoff. He didn’t go very far. I think the phrase ‘over the back’ was coined for these occasions. We had an ice cream in the sunshine on the way home by way of celebrating the sunny weather. Makes a nice change from the rain, doesn’t it?
Friday, 19th September 2008
Basically, flyable all day at the Long Mynd. Brilliant XC sky, gradually got bluer throughout the day. Thermals were a bit broken in places, and, by and large, didn’t go that high (at least, not for us!). We failed to get away, along with most other people. Ben did get away, but landed just over the back in Church Stretton. Kai did get up, did another excellent triangle. As far as I know, that was it for XCs.
It did get scratchy sometimes, and both Judith and I were forced to slope land, separately, near Black Knoll (Judith twice, in fact). I managed to relaunch; Judith was much lower the second time, right at the end of the ridge, packed away, and walked back most of the way, before giving up and phoning Katie for a retrieve.
We both flew again later, until we had finally had enough, after a lot of flying. We probably should have got away earlier in the day, but it was difficult low down; as ever, once you were high, it was probably a lot easier. Still, overall, it was a fun day, and our attitude was much better than yesterday – at least we got in the air and stayed there as long as we could! If nothing else, it builds up stamina for the days when we do get away from the ridge.
Thursday, 18th September 2008
Judith 19 Sep 2008 | : Trying, but failing, to fly
I’ve just read through our XC tips again, in the hope that I might actually one day practice what we preach.
We went to the Malverns, after some debate as to where would be best today. The choices for us were Corndon (too low in light conditions), Snowdonia (far away and may be windy) or Malverns (direction might change). When we got to Kettle Sings the wind was bang on and the sky was fantastic.
Once on the launch the wind seemed to be dropping and one person was doing bunny hops, but didn’t seem to be able to get any height. The cumulus was still raggedy and there seemed to be no rush. The forecast said it would cloud over in the late afternoon from the west, but we could see no sign of it. By 1pm the clouds were getting a bit more organised and Brian Hindle launched and climbed very slowly to cloudbase. By this time the wind was nearly zero on launch. A gaggle of birds came over and a few people got up, but I blew a nil wind launch, so didn’t manage to join them. Five minutes later the high cloud came in from the east and shut everything down. The window to actually fly and get up was 25 minutes in total. By 3pm, it was clear that the mist and high cloud was there to stay, so we drove home. 10 miles from the Malverns it was beautiful blue sky, which stayed like that all the way home.
The day was completely different to what I expected from the forecast, so we were caught out by the conditions. None of this is an excuse for not being in the air when others were getting up. No point sitting on the ground when you’ve come out to fly!
Geoff’s comments: Rich went to Snowdonia which was, apparently, blown out. Kai went to Corndon, he was the only one there. Very light, but apparently very buoyant, but blue above. He launched, got up a little, went on a death glide, and landed in Church Stoke. I think we went to the right place; just hesitated too long before launching, thinking it was going to get better when, in fact, it went a lot worse.
Wednesday, 17th September 2008
We went to Corndon to blow away the cob webs, but unfortunately they are still firmly in place. It was way off to the south, and although there seemed a reasonable breeze, Geoff launched and went straight down. He overshot his intended slope landing spot, so had to walk up from the bottom.
I flew twice. Neither flight exceeded 90 seconds. It then dropped off even more, so we packed up, went home and did some work. Nice meal with Michaela in the evening.
Tuesday, 16th September 2008
Judith 16 Sep 2008 | : Boring stuff
Cloudy and drizzly today. We worked and cleared out the house of Kai’s remaining furniture to make room for Michaela’s stuff. Two trips to Marlow were required with us looking like the Clampetts. First trip I was in the back of the van squashed between bits of sofa and the second I was sitting inside a table. Hopefully my neck will recover to its intended angle soon.
Monday, 15th September 2008
Geoff 15 Sep 2008 | : Boring stuff
We stayed in and worked all day, much of the time on the conference we are running in November which is gradually taking up increasing amounts of our time. However, it was flyable most of the day at the Gyrn, and people had some hours in the air there.
Sunday, 14th September 2008
I said it was a great bed and breakfast place. Not that great; breakfast was eaten to the background of an evangelical local radio station, giving out the usual god garbage. Given how stupid we think all religions are, it’s an odd way to start the day. A shame, because otherwise it was a great B&B.
Off to Tintagel, which drags in the tourists because of its association with King Arthur. This is the King Arthur who probably didn’t exist, and certainly not in the mythlogised form; and who in any case had no association with Tintagel. But a nice castle in a stunning coastal location, and well worth a visit, especially on a warm, sunny day like today. Geoff continued with the wetting himself theme to the holiday. We went through a cave an he missed the gigantic rock pool, which he walked straight into, right up to his knees.
And finally, a trip to Lydford Gorge on the way home. National Trust, a gorge and waterfalls. Nice 4 mile walk, followed by a 4 hour drive home.
Just possibly the coming week might be better weather, so we might delay our return to Spain. We’ll see what the forecast says.
Overall, an excellent holiday!