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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