Judith's blog

Super Saturday! We vowed before to go to the Peaks if the forecast was SSW or SW, so we did. There were other good reasons to go there too, other than just better site choice. The wind was forecast to pick up (Clatter, Camlo, etc. would blow out very early), a warm front was approaching from the W, so we would have more of the day in the Peaks which is obviously further east. We got up at 6.30am and hooked up with Wayne and Michaela and headed for the hills.

The plan was to go to Eyam (SSW), but approaching it we could see people going XC from Bradwell (W). Hmmmm… It was coming on at Eyam at times, but there was little lift around and reports from Stanage (SW) said that wind was on and light. We headed there. As we walked up with hill, people were slowly getting high and two drifted over the back. Others were heading over from Bradwell and carrying on, having topped up at Stanage. Wayne was off first, but there was little lift. I launched second, in strengthening wind and struggled for 40 mins to get more than 250 feet. Given the fantastic sky, you would have thought we were trying to stay low! Wayne decided to do something more interesting, and headed along the ridge to the trig point. As he was there (about 2km away from Geoff and me) I hit the thermal (I say ‘the’ thermal, because there was only one) and shouted to them on the radio to join me. It was strong and took us up and out. Wayne raced back, but couldn’t get in it.

My climb out was much flatter and the drift took me over the back lower than Geoff, who was in a better part of the climb. I thermalled all the way over the north of Sheffield in the same climb. It was the biggest built up area I have ever flown over, and I was a bit intimidated.

I lost the climb halfway across Sheffield and started to look for ground triggers. I could see a quarry in sunshine just behind an industrial estate and I was certain it would work. I got there and I hit a boomer (sorry, always wanted to say that!). It took me past Meadowhall and then over the M1. I was grinning ear to ear, as I have never flown over a motorway before and I couldn’t believe the roar of the cars. I was at 3500 feet, yet the noise from the cars seemed worse than when you are in a car on the actual motorway. At this point I was ahead of the others and I could see Geoff, Phil W. and another pilot low near Meadowhall. The quarry didn’t work for them, but they got another strong climb and caught me up on the other side of the M1. Phil and the other guy went on a glide to the N, whilst Geoff and I headed NE. The rest of the flight we were together, which was really nice, although I think Geoff needs to work a bit on his in-flight waving.

We carried on until I made a mistake and I didn’t follow Geoff to a cloud which I thought I couldn’t make and I headed for a combine harvester with a bird thermalling downwind (how could I go wrong?). The thermal was there, but I didn’t get into it and went down at Norton, near Pontefract. 47km for my personal best. Geoff carried on for an extra 10km. Jean-Luc did 106km to get his weekly ice cream at the coast. Very impressive.

I walked to the nearest pub, stopping on the way to ask some people “where am I?”, which always makes me giggle. The people in the pub where so impressed with my having flown there, they bought me a couple of pints and crisps, so I was a bit sozzled when Wayne and Michaela came to pick me up. Big slap up meal near Chester, we headed home very late indeed. Big massive thanks to W & M for picking us up and for a lovely day.

Geoff: It was pretty much as Judith said! A great day. Whilst still on Stanage, it seemed we would never get away, struggling at ridge height some times, and I was tempted to land, but that would have been a stupid mistake. Once you are in the air, don’t land! I was also tempted to write off the idea of going XC, and just reconcile myself to a ridge run, but again, that change in mental attitude would have been a mistake; it’s important to believe that you will get away, and you only need one thermal to take you out. And we did finally find a thermal, a bit of luck being in the right place on the ridge at the right time. The flight itself was a lot of fun, if slow going at first, with little drift, though that gradually got better as the wind picked up. Great to fly with Judith for much of the way, there’s something special about being able to share this sort of experience.

I was finally downed by sloppy thermalling, not coring it properly, then losing it completely. I’m certain it was there, I just messed it up a bit. Three hours of hard work in the air can make you tired, and I think I just lost concentration a little. But it was, nevertheless, a great flight.

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