We were optimistic about flying at Sant Pere de Rodes, but a quick phone call to Matthias confirmed that it was too windy. So off to Santa Brigida we went…

It was all looking very good. Warm (17C), sunny and cumulus bubbling in the distance. It was off to the west, but coming up the face on launch. We all got ready quickly and Udo, Jenny and Nani joined us. Geoff was first in the air and got low, only to thermal up to 1050′ ATO. I followed and there were thermals popping off all along the ridge. I misjudged a top landing and didn’t manage to pull the glider around into wind, so ‘arrived’ in a most undignified fashion.

Michaela thermalled up and flew around, but went down eventually along with Jenny. They just missed the next cycle, as Nani and Udo got high again. Whilst Geoff drove retrieve I got ready and launched again as the other lads were landing. As soon as I got into the air I noticed something very odd. I turned to the west and stopped dead, sinking like a brick. There are only very few, very narrow fields in amongst the trees below the launch and I’ve never seen anyone land there, but I was certainly heading there. I looked up to see the flag on the monastery pointing towards me – due north. I took a frontal just as I thought ‘Shit, I’m in rotor’. I then had an asymetric. All I was concerned about was getting away from the front of the ridge as fast as possible, so I crawled out into the valley, being tossed about all the while. Over the bottom landing field it was equally interesting. I would go from strong lift to strong sink (at one point going parachutal), the glider turning one way or the other. I didn’t have any more collapses, but I wasn’t entirely sure which field I was going to make it into. Several fires close the the landing field were blowing in different directions and the flag in the landing field varied from SE to NW. Albert and a couple of friends had arrived and watched open mouthed as I stuggled to get down in one piece. In the end I managed to land fine, but towards the NW, which is the narrowest part of the field. Felt like the longest 17 minutes of my life…

I got a lift back up, but it was curtains for the day, as the wind stayed over the back/too far west so after some consolation beers we headed home.

We have never seen it change so fast before, but I suppose with it already being west, it didn’t take much to push it further round.

Geoff writes: Scary for Judith, and even scarier to watch her. I was glad I was on the ground. I had a really nice couple of flights before though, and the first one was a nice thermal to just over 1000′, then I flew around for a while, top landed, flew again. It was all nice and benign when I was flying. As Judith said, it changed suddenly. Normally when it goes off to the north, there’s a period of calm, which usually decks people anyway. This time, it was an abrupt change and, plainly, caught us out. Not normal Santa Brigida conditions – though it is always an interesting place to fly, and we still learn a lot flying there.

See photos of today.

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