October 2009
Monthly Archive
Saturday, 17th October 2009
Geoff writes: a really strong tramuntana forecast, stronger than usual so we wrote off the day – even though tramuntana usually means good at Santa Brigida. Judith went for lunch with her dad – normally we totally avoid lunch, for obvious reasons (messes up the day); whilst I stayed in to do some work.
And, of course, it was flyable all day at Puig d’Afrou and Santa Brigida, in spite of being howling a few miles closer to the coast. After her lunch, we decided that it was far too nice a day to stay indoors and went out to fly. It was a little breezy, but not too bad, and off to the east slightly. I flew a couple of times, loads of lift, difficult to get down. And we saw a few of our friends here, had a generally nice time.
Friday, 16th October 2009
Windy again at the coast, but a lot less windy than tomorrow, when we have a forecast of gale 8 to storm 10! It won’t be anywhere near that inland, but there are also brisk winds forecast for the Pyrenees, so we thought we’d better go out today.
We were delayed by urgent work, so didn’t to Santa Brigida until 3pm and watched a French guy take off and climb to approximately 1000′ ATO without a single turn. Despite having flown the site hundreds of times, we are always nervous the first flight of the season. The pre-flight nerves were not helped by Xevi turning up and telling us about an accident a friend of ours had had over the summer. I was desperate to get off the hill before he could elaborate more! The French guy came back to the ridge and got low. Being cyclic, I didn’t think there would be a problem once in the air, so I launched only to sink so fast I thought there was a problem with the glider. Geoff whipped me back up and Xevi had a short flight, but he did get above launch. Geoff had a go and got up, and I did too on my second flight. Nice beer in the landing field.
On reflection, we need to get our heads round the idea that we’ve actually arrived here much later in the season than usual, so going out late means we’ve lost the main part of the day. We need to acclimatise…
Thursday, 15th October 2009
Judith 15 Oct 2009 | : Miscellaneous activities
We promised ourselves a day at the beach, but it wasn’t to be…
First thing this morning we had to answer some overdue email and then we played ‘in which box is the bikini?’. A lot of rummaging later we had assembled the necessary kit (cozzies, snorkels, towels, books, wet suits, etc.) and we set off for the seaside. The forecast had promised a moderate Tramuntana (the mistral-type wind which blows from the mountains to the sea), but on getting to Figueras, it was clear that it was a lot stronger than that. Being sand blasted in the wind isn’t much fun, so we turned round and went to the gorgeous gorge at Sadernes instead. It was lovely and warm, so much so that even Geoff went for a swim. A lot of lounging about, snoozing and lunching later, I feel pretty recovered from the drive. We may even go flying tomorrow.
Wednesday, 14th October 2009
Judith 15 Oct 2009 | : Holiday, Trying, but failing, to fly
We woke up to the ominous sound of wind. One look out of the windscreen and we could see the wave bars… Just our average trip to Millau then. We have to drive through the flying Mecca of Millau every trip we take to and from Spain and it’s a lovely place to fly. Shame the weather is usually lousy. Today was our 17th time driving through Millau. Of those 17 times it has been flyable 4 times. Once we couldn’t fly because my arm was in plaster due to a dislocated elbow and I couldn’t even drive for Geoff. The next time Geoff had piled in on the PG a few days before the trip and wasn’t able to drive for me. So we have flown the place a total of twice.
As we were driving towards Millau the sun was rising and the views very spectacular. The pinks and yellows of the sky mixed with the wave and mountains was breathtaking. We stopped off at a service station and could barely open our doors, it was so windy. The wind was also bitterly cold. Both of us went into a mini sulk about leaving the t-shirt weather in the UK to have to put extra layers on in the south of France.
Having written off the flying at 9am, we then looked for an alternative plan for the day. The Rough Guide to France recommended St Guilhem le Desert, a place we’ve seen sign posted 17 times, but never been to. It’s lovely. By the time we got there the sun had come out and we were sheltered from the wind and it was hot. We walked around the village, then out into the cirque behind it. Lunch was a picnic next to a trout filled river. Then off to Beziers, where we managed to walk around for an hour and failed to find a single tourist attraction. We saw them all whizz by on the drive out (what muppets!). We got to Castellfollit in time for a glass of wine on the balcony, watching the sun set. Exhausted now…
Tuesday, 13th October 2009
Judith 15 Oct 2009 | : Boring stuff
We had to be off by 6am in the morning in order to be sure we would have enough time to get round the M25 in case there were any jams. No problems and we got to Dover without a hitch. Once in France it’s just a long boring slog. We got to the Massif Central before we were both too exhausted to drive any further, so we bedded down in the front seats in the van. Because we have so much stuff the van is full, so there is no chance of putting the seats back or sleeping in the back. Nights like this are spent waking up every 45 minutes because your head has flopped forward or your leg has gone to sleep. It was also really cold because of the altitude we were at. We woke up at 7am not refreshed at all, but at least ready to drive again.
Monday, 12th October 2009
We got up early to pack the van, clean the house and leave. The sun was shining and looked like an epic day for triangle flying. We much prefer it if it rains when we set off to Spain!
We got to the Cotswolds late afternoon and spent the evening with Geoff’s family.
We’ve removed the live twitter feed from the right hand panel, since there’s no more comps, and we can’t update on UK flying conditions. We’ll bring it back in spring when we return to the UK.
Sunday, 11th October 2009
Geoff 11 Oct 2009 | : Boring stuff
Geoff writes: Judith is on the second day of the club coach course. I packed and cleaned, though it was flyable for hang gliders on the Mynd. Occasionally, you have to sacrifice yourself.
Eleven LMSC members on the coach course, which is excellent; we need more coaches. The club’s challenge now is to make sure they are well supported by the club in the coaching they do in the future. This is absolutely essential to ensure that the LMSC has a effective coaching structure.
Judith gave very extensive feedback to the BHPA organisers on the course, which has been running for many years now, and needs updating and improving. Hopefully, the organisers will take note of feedback.