Day 7 British / French HG Nationals (Chabre Open), Laragne, France

The final day of the competition. With only 2 tasks flown out of a possible 6 so far, the pressure was on to get a third and final task in on day 7. British HG Meethead Nick  has earnt a lot of respect from within the British hang gliding community for maximising every opportunity to deliver challenging but achievable tasks against the odds. Supported by our French counterparts, Rebekah Sherwin, and other members of the competition organisation, the pressure was on to deliver.  And so we were sent on our merry way back South to St Andre....

It was definitely very noticeable that there was a signficant reduction in pilots for the last day. I cant remember exactly but the scores will show the true picture. St Andre has a reputation for being "gnarly" (ie very rough thermals that can be very difficult to fly safely) and limited landing options, I have only had a couple of recreational flights there, once on my hangie years ago, and also riding tandem on a PG with British local Mark Taggart who runs "Fly St Andre", holiday accommodation and leisure site situated just on the East side of St Andre, and is rightly known as "A Little Piece of Heaven". If you are planning to fly or play in the area its worth checking out by clicking the banner.

Gordon Rigg plotting the course
with Task Committee

Once up at Le Chalvet take off, there was a bit more room to jostle for a good rigging spot that would also allow a pilot to manoeuvre to a take off position quickly. I managed to squeeze in just behind the early birds so that when the main launch window was open I could get off the hill early. The task committee, under the guidance of Nick Pain, set to work to maximise the days flying from the conditions. deciding evetnually on a race to goal of 89km via a number of turn points across the mountain ranges and valleys, passing close to Digne and eventually landing near Oraison. The sky was looking promising and with some free flyers already starting to climb out it had the making of a good day.

An early bird is off and away

Very soon the Early Bird pilots were launching in their window of thirty minutes before main launch. As soon as the main window opened I was one of the first in the launch lane and with the helping hand of the brilliant marshalls, I was guided to the front of the hill where the wind was slightly off to the north and gusty but I made a clean launch in to some good bouyant air and had time to explore the full length of the ridge, eventually coming back down to the south side of take off to where gliders were in established climbs to cloudbase.

Looking back across the busy take off

As the sky filled with gliders quite a few of us who had launched earl;y had a good amount of time to enjoy the spectacular scenery while we waited for the first start gate.I could easily see the Fly St Andre base just by the side of the Lac De Castillan (the white building just above the dog leg where the river turns in to the lake)

As the start gate approached, I found myself, along with nearly all the other pilots, up at cloudbase, hanging around on the edge of the start cylinder ready for the off. I have never seen so many gliders all congregating in one place like this, and it took a great del of concentration to keep tabs on where everyone was, especially as some were just creeping in to the edge of the clouds as they pulled away from the "cloud suck" that can take you fully in to cloud. Not a sensible idea when there are lots of gliders flying very close by!

The start glide

And then the start was on. I glided out with the lead gaggle, staying slightly behind as I had no local knowledge of St Andre flying and didnt want to make any unnecessary mistakes. The top pilots were gunning on towards the first turn point, starting to leave some of us in their wake. After a quick top up in a strong core, I  took a route over the valley to the edge of the cylinder of the turn point, with a view that there was a ridge beyond that could provide a climb en route to the next turn point, but having got lower than expected I glided back to the ridge where I had seen gliders climbing. After a bit of searching I banked hard in to a strong climb accompanied by what a large bird of prey. (If any knows what it is from the picture let me know). It was absolutely exhilarating flying wing tip to wing tip with this magnificent creature.

Coring up with a bird of prey

Bagging the turnpoint and gliding on, I was soon scrabbling around close to a rocky escarpment accompanied amongst others by Darren Brown and Gordon Rigg - at one point I thought Darren was about to land on the rock face as his shadow almost seemed to meet his glider... Eventually we did all climb out, but not before I had started looking down the valleys for safe fields to glide to, just in case.

There can come a point in a flight where if you make one wrong decision it escalates then in to trying to make the best of a bad job. Now considering pressing on directly for the second turn point, I could see a glider low down on the face of the ridge, struggling to get up. I couldnt see if there were any landing fields so instead of opting for a direct line I fell back on to the ridge, hoping to soar along. But as I approached the ridge two gliders ahead of me had not found a climb, and were now being forced to go lee-side through a saddle back gap on the mountain. I tried for a few minutes to get enough height to push on with my plan, but eventually got drawn round to lee-side, hoping to be able to benefit from watching what the other gliders did. 

The upslope meadow

With full visibility now down this valley, there we several rocky escarpments that could have triggered thermals, but if not, there was only one possible place to land, an up-slope meadow surrounded by trees,  so all decision making on where to search for lift had to bear that in mind. First one, then two, gliders were forced on to land, followed by several others. The air was starting to bubble as I desperately searched for the low save, making an approach towards the field over rocks bathing in sunshine. But no, I was soon turning in to wind for a landing. At was at this point that I realised that I had not shifted my harness slider to the "land" position, making it quite difficult to go up on to the uprights. As I made my final turn I was still grabbing for the right upright, meaning that my turn was a lot flatter than expected. Just in the nick of time I grabbed the upright to sharpen the turn as I chased a few squirrels out of the trees surrounding the field.

Glen McFarlane asleep with his derigged wing,
with the sunny rock face that didnt deliver in the background

Caroline Greiser - up and coming German star?

I was very disappointed to be down. I could see my mistake of having not gone directly to the turnpoint, and the sky was looking fantastic, including a small cloud starting to form just where I had need to find lift. As I joined the other pilots I was surprised to Glen McFarlane derigging his glider. Oh well, if I can make the same mistake as the Aussie champ, perhaps I'm not doing too bad. Also down in the field was German female pilot
Caroline Greiser who is doing extrmeley well after only a short spell in competitions - perhaps a name to be looking out for in the future?

Having texted the organisers and Geoff Sykes, we had to wait about an hour for first the retrieve bus and then for Geoff to arrive. He was amazed that we had found somewhere safe to land, something which became apparent when we drove back down to Digne. The road was surrounded by steep, rocky, tree lined cliffs - not a landing site in place.

We stopped in Digne for a quiock drink, waiting for news of Richard. As the land-by time came and went, and the sky looked like it had stopped working, both Geoff and I became a little concerned. But then, the text came through "GOAL!". A fantastic effort by Rich on the last day. When we went to the goal field he was grinning from ear to ear! I'm sure I had a piccie :-(

So a dash back to Laragne for the Closing and Award Ceremony. Once again the French laid on a great evening with a fun atmosphere, a band playing, including the National Anthems when the winners were announced  - as our British Champion Grant Crossingham said "I felt like a racing driver, but without the money!!" There a lots of pictures from others on Facebook and via Alan Moffat Photography so check those out too.

The Brits were pipped to the post by the French, and it was a shame we only had three task-able days out of seven, but it was a good, well organised, fun, sociable competition. A big thanks to ALL the organisers for a great event.

Full results here

Day 6 British / French HG Nationals (Chabre Open), Laragne, France

To fly or not to fly, that is the question...

Today was always going to be a hard call for the competition organisers. The Mistral was still threatening to blow the day out but, maximising every opportunity to fly competition tasks, we were promptly dispatched after briefing to the Chabre North take off, with strict instructions from UK Meethead Nick Pain not to take our gliders off the cars, let alone rig. A further briefing was to be held on launch once the conditions had been assessed.

Windsock on take off
indicating a strong cross wind

With the wind round to the North West and blowing fairly strong it was in the balance whether a task would be called - launching in gutsy conditions when the wind is "off" the hill can lead to disastrous consequences. The streamers at take off point 1 were blowing in different directions to the main windsock that was frequently indicating either a 90 degree crosswind or indeed a tail wind. Timing a take off was going to be critical, and getting 120 pilots off the hill safely was becoming questionable.

With the vast majority of the top 30 pilots electing to rig and launch at take off 3, the most eastern launch area favoured by the vast majority of HG and PG pilots, there was a scurry of activity when Nick Pain gave the go-ahead to rig. I had gone for take off -1 which , even though was deemed to be more problematic, I thought would be all right if given the time to chose a launch window. Having seized the opportunity to take one of the six "early bird" slots (allowed to take off up to thirty minutes before the main group of competitors) I felt confident that I could time my launch appropriately.

Sailplane buzzing the ridge before doing acrobatics

A task was set - first to Col St Jean to the West then back over the valley to a couple of way-points to the East with goal in the South. But as luck would have it, take off 1 was closed on safety grounds due to the erratic nature and strength of the wind. With my early bird ticket I was allowed to push to the front of the queue at take off 2, managing to manoeuvre my glider across the spine back ridge with the help of  our trusty local ex-pat flying guru/driver Geoff Sykes. While the rumblings of "this is crazy" and "I refuse to marshal the take-offs when its this dangerous" became more noticeable, Nick Pain(UK Meethead) tried to find various creative solutions to get a task in, including sending up six volunteers to test the launch and conditions, armed with the task IF the wind dummy pilots thought it safe. Unorthodox, but a valiant effort to get everyone flying. I volunteered. Get the timing right and there should be no problem.

3rd briefing of the day...

A blast of the air-horn. Another briefing. Bad news, the task was cancelled on safety grounds. A ripple of applause greeted the announcement. Not deterred by this, I was keen to have a fly. I recall certain non-French marshals reminding me that "its only a sport", "Its just for fun" and "think of your boys..." as I made my way to launch. Once at the top of the ramp. it became abundantly clear how turbulent the air was but several French pilots were already flying, apparently with the aim of flying the task. Quickly decking the base bar as first the right and then left wing lifted violently, I was soon being helped by two wing wiremen and a noseman. Jena Louis Fuglia (French Meet Director) jumped in to take the nose as I tested the air several times by shouldering the glider as if to launch, but each time quickly either dropping the base bar to the floor or relying on my helpers to keep the glider straight and level. Suddenly everything was pointing in the right direction - windsock and streamers were all blowing up the hill.
 

With reassuring confirmation from Jean Louis that it was good, I committed to take off and was soon climbing out in very rough air in front of launch. Listening to the French radio channel I could hear them making their way to Col St Jean and then pushing out over the valley to Gash before attempting to glide upwind back to the Laragne Monteglin goal field.
I decided to try and push up north towards Serres, before heading back down south to goal. The strong head wind meant that it was a big challenge to push upwind, with heavy sink making the going very tough. A couple of sail planes were also enjoying the gnarly conditions.

Having got a part way to Serres I decided to head back for the campsite. It was apparent with the speed with which I was covering the ground that the wind speed was indeed very high, confirmed by the radio messages from the French that the wind in the goal field was extrmely strong and gusty. As I made my final approach a whole gaggle of gliders were racing in, using the whole length of the field to stay away from the rotor inducing trees and buildings by the campsite office. I was un-ceremoniously dumped from ten feet to make a not so perfect landing, but got away with it. The Brit retrieve crews were running about the field helping pilots control their gliders as they struggled to the derigging area - thank you to Babs and Charlie.

So another day not taskable, but a fun days flying.

Day 5 British / French HG Nationals (Chabre Open), Laragne, France

Day canned. The Mistral wind is blowing a hoony through the area, effectively grounding all hang gliding and paragliding. The only gliders able to play in the strong winds are the full scale sailplanes. Perhaps that's why quite a few hang glider pilots end up switching over, when they can afford to...

The voluntary catering team

As like every morning though, the comp organisers had their team of sandwich makers working hard to provide the packed lunches for the pilots. A sterling effort by all. Thank you to everyone involved. 

Well, another day to find some amusement. After yesterdays five hour mountain trek, a more sedantory day was on the cards. The Laragne market was on today, a great place to wander around and see local fresh produce. Quite a few pilots and their families were out buying olive oil, paprika, fruit... It made for a very colourful scene.

After a leisurely morning, a party of French and Britsh pilots headed off to the lake where Laurent Thevenot had discovered the "Blob Jump" - you know, when someone jumps on to a huge inflatable bag to launch someone sitting on the end in to the air and in to the lake. All harmless good fun. That is until you have the catastrophic mix of Ollie Chitty, Luke Nichol and Laurent working together to create a record breaking jump... As Laurent and Luke jumped from the top platform to launch Ollie, Luke's knees slammed in to Laurent's nose as he hit the bag. Its not much fun pushing a broken nose back in to place. 

Well, time for a pizza and a glass of wine before an early night. If the Mistral continues to blow through, then tomorrow I may well pack up and head up north to Annecy to at least get fly on my way home. 

Day 4 British /French HG Nationals (Chabre Open), Laragne, France

Rain puddle in front of the bar

After a rather bizarre start to the day with a dog trying to serve us coffee in a local cafe, we arrived at HQ just before 9.30am to find Brian the Scorer, Nick the Meethead and Rebekah the Weather, all huddled together under an umbrella. A pretty clear sign that there was a strong likelihood that the day was going to be canned. 

Brian, Nick and Rebekah

At briefing, Rebekah gave us a rather pessimistic view on not only todays weather, but the next few days, As soon as the day was canned, contingency plans were already being made amongst huddles of pilots: cycling, swimming in the lakes or the gorge, diving, mountain walking, shopping in Sisteron.... Luckily, there is a lot to do around here on non-flyable days. One thing is for certain though, there is a French group of friends who will always find something radical or different to do, and I found out later today was no exception.



I, on the other hand, opted for the rather more "sedantry"pursuit of mountain walking. Teaming up with my travelling companion Richard Hunt and a few other pilots including "H" from the Netherlands. During the drive along to St Genis, North of Laragne, we could clearly see the clouds hugging the mountain tops, but the sun was starting to heat things up nicely. After a brief drive to the foot of the volcano, we parked up near an ancient church and started walking....

Richard (left) and "H" (centre) with our walking crew

And did we walk! Some two and a half hours later we reached the "Col de Lazer", a south facing peak on the range with amazing views across to Laragne and Sisteron. We were all admitting to some tightening of the muscles after th continual climb and

Chabre from Col de Lazer

Which way?

Vista south east from Col de Lazer

After a brief snack and water stop, it was a quick step march to get back down the mountain again. Tonight was going to be the Championship party night at the "Salon des Fetes" -  we all wanted the chance to rest our weary limbs before a night of fine food, wine and dancing. Returning back to the campsite I bumped in to Lou Belin and Laurent Thevenot (of the previously mentioned French group) - they had managed to find a lake that had one of those large bouncy balls that someone sits on, and then two people jump on to catapult them in to the air for a big fall in to the lake. Such a "joie de vivre"! I know where I will be headed on the next non-flying day...

The evening did not disappoint. The French organisers had sourced a fantastic band called "Wanted Soul" who managed to get more pilots up and dancing than I have seen before - no mean feat when the average age is rather older than we would like to admit. In amongst renditions of old favourites from the likes of James Brown, Stevie Wonder and The Commitments, food for the gathering of nearly two hundred people (that had been prepared and cooked by volunteers) was served up. Music. Food. Music. Food. Music. Food... accompanied by free flowing wine.  A fantastic effort by the local community. 

The food, wine, company, ambience and music was superb. Thank you Laragne for embracing the flying community and for putting on such a great night. I think some pilots will be grateful if its not flyable tomorrow!

"Wanted Soul" in full swing

Day 3 British/French Hang Gliding Nationals (Chabre Open), Laragne, France

Sunrise at Camping Laragne Monteglin

A beautiful start to the day. The light here is fantastic, with the mountains glowing bronze in the early morning sunlight. The windsock in the landing field was already blowing horizontally, reinforcing the previous evenings rumours of strong winds threatening the days flying. With the possibility of a trip to St Andre, some two hours drive to the south, an early briefing was called at 8.30am to allow for the extra travel.

St Andre was chosen as the site to give us the best chance to have a task. Arriving at around 11am the area around take off was soon choc-a-bloc with gliders taking up every bit of rigging space. With the wind off to the NW we were going to have to play a waiting game for the sun to come round on to the face of the West facing launch, hopefully drawing  the wind up the face for a safe take off. Several paragliders were parked in to wind, as Brit Meethead Nick Pain worked with the safety and task committee to decide the days plan.

One of the PG pilots flying was Mark Taggart who runs "A LIttle of Piece of Paradise", a gite and holiday accommodation specifically geared up, but ont exclusively,  for free flyers. Its a great pace to stay. www.flystandre.com

Jean Luis Foglia (French Meet Director)

Jean Louis Foglia, the French Meet Director, was busy gathering as much information as possible to help the decision making process. Its a difficult call, especially as so much is at risk if the wrong decision is made. The level of responsibility that free flying competition organisers have is immense, and they don't do it for the money... And apart from a few expected communication issues, the joint comp between the French and the British is working very well.

Lenticularis (wave clouds) forming over the mountains

As wave clouds started forming to the East of St Andre, it was becoming more evident that there was a strong possibility that the day would be canned. With strong winds over the mountains, flying canbeco me very dangerous both near to the ground and high in the air, as the wind speed and direction can change dramatically, causing a glider to either crash on landing or even tumble in the air. Not events that a pilot tends to walk away from. Many a discussion could be heard amongst the grounded pilots on whether it was safe to fly or not.

A bug waits on my sail...

Glen McFarlane (Aussie Champion) waiting at launch 

Nick Pain cancels the day

At 1.30pm the safety committee finally put a stop to the days flying, having had reports from a non-competing pilot who had launched that the conditions were incredibly difficult, with rough broken thermals and an incredible choppy landing. A ripple of applause greeted the announcement - no-one want to feel compeled to fly when they think it is too dangerous. Good call. Right , time to pack up and drive the two hours back to Laragne, and enjoy the glorious views en route. May be tomorrow will be a good day...

Sunflower field in the foothills

Task 2 British/French Hang Gliding Nationals (Chabre Open), Laragne, France

The pitter-patter of rain woke me in the night, but by 7am we were greeted with the early morning sunshine bathing the area in glorious light. If the forecast strong westerly winds held off, we could be in for a good day.

The Circus arrives at Aspres

After a short delay we were dispatched off to Aspres, a West facing mountain to the North of Laragne and another great flying site. By midday everyone was up at the top launch. At 1.30pm a task was set that would take us south towards Sisteron and then back north via couple fo turn points before goal at Laragne.

Mountain top briefing

Rigged and ready to go

Launching soon after the window opened, the sky was soon filled with over one hundred gliders fighting for lift. As soon as one glider is seen to be going up well, then like a swarm of bees around a honey pot, the rest of the gaggle of pilots will race to the same area, trying to catch the same thermal that has hoisted a competitor towards the clouds.

Climbing out from Aspres

At cloudbase 7200'

Getting high at launch I was in a good position to glide out towards the start cylinder. Gordon Rigg was just ahead with several gliders below. Watching the gliders around me I was adjusting my glide to try and keep in the best air and I managed to arrive at the next mountain above cliff height, while some pilots struggled low down to stay up. Working my way along the ridge I thought it was just a matter of time before I took another climb to cloud base. But no, with climbs breaking up at 5600', the next move to reach the first turn point was becoming more tricky.

Several fields at the foot of the mountain soon claimed more and more gliders. I pushed out towards the turn point, only to be drilled lower. Soon I was one of the many that landed after just a few kilometres. Frustrating, but at least I gave it my best shot, still working lift two hundred feet above the valley, but drifting downwind over inhospitable terrain. I made a good landing to join some of my fellow competitors. As I de-rigged a couple more pilots came in to land, one managing to overshoot the field to land on the road.

After a swift retrieve by our driver Jeff Sykes, a UK ex-pat who now lives near Laragne, we were soon back at HQ, just in time to see Grant Crossingham make a final glide to goal having completed the task.  Even though many pilots landed well short of completing the task, several of the top guns did make it in, proving that the task was good and valid. What did I do wrong? That's the million dollar question...

Oh well, a good excuse to have a beer or two.

Results here:

http://bhgcresults.wikidot.com/2014-nationals:results

Task 1 British/French Hang Gliding Nationals (Chabre Open), Laragne, France

There's something about a big hang gliding competition that is addictive. Well quite a few things about it are, now I come to think of it. A shared passion, sociable, an eclectic mix of people, stunning locations, a chance to meet up with old friends from around the world. I'm hooked.

 Every year the British Hang Gliding Competition panel organise the British Nationals, a competition held abroad in locations known to deliver great flying conditions both in terms of weather and terrain, and its where the British Champion is decided. So this year we are back at Laragne, just north of Sisteron and south west of Gap. 

Have a quick look at the official website (www.tourisme-laragne.fr/en). Laragne is an unpretentious town, with friendly, warm locals and surrounded by amazing scenery. It's a free-flying mecca, a place where hang gliding and para gliding pilots come year after year to enjoy the mountains and wide safe valleys for landing. The town is in the shadow of "Le Chabre", a long mountain ridge that delivers some excellent flying and a launch place for long cross country flights to various mountain peaks around the huge valley.

Chabre ridge on the right with Laragne in the background

This year we have joined up with the Federation Francaise de Vol Libre to combine both the British and French National Competitions in to one big event. 120 pilots, many travelling with their families, all gathering in one place to enjoy a sport that they are so passionate about. Its a lifestyle, and once its in your blood....

Anyway, enough of that. Back to the flying.

Task 1, Sunday 10th August.

A compulsory safety briefing was called for 9am at the town hall, the competition HQ. The main hall was packed out, reminiscent of a the World Championships where I had been Team GB Manager. Serious stuff, especially when a representative from the local electricity company gives a presentation on the dangers of "landing" in power lines. I don't think any of us had the intention of doing so.

Nick Pain, UK HG Meethead, at the safety briefing

Rebekah Sherwin, our weather guru, was greeted with the now mandatory "Good Morning Rebekah!" from the attentive pilots, all of whom have come to respect her immense meteorological knowledge.

Shortly afterwards the "circus" made the long winding drive up to the Chabre take off, some 6000" above sea level. I quickly got my glider off the roof of the car and  carried to a rigging spot next to the wooden take off ramp, just next to British Champion Grant Crossingham. An 89km task was called, carefully set to take in to account the strong southerly wind. which, if we were sent in to the wrong places, could cause some serious problems. A leg West for 20km, then back across take off to a point some 40km away, then a turn point just north of Laragne with the goal set at the usual Laragne Monteglin camp-site, with its huge landing field and beer on tap...

Happy days, before I realised my mistake...

I took off early, hoping to get high, and stay with the "top guns". And so I did. Until I realised I had not set one of my instruments up correctly (I blame the 16 hour drive from the day before). Having taken what I thought was the first start gate I had flown over 10km down the course, staying with a Moyes glider (not dissimilar to Gordon Riggs, one of the worlds best pilots) when I heard over the radio that pilots were just about to start the race on the first gate. Damn, I had jumped the gun, by a big margin. As I glided back to the start, a squadron of hang glider pilots were racing towards me. From thinking I was at the front, I was now definitely playing catch up. And that was how the day panned out, scrabbling to catch up , but realising that I had made a costly mistake.

Gliding along the ridge, I was amazed at how low some pilots were prepared to go before flying  out towards the safe landings of the valleys. Having been caught out last year in Spain, but managing to crawl out of a "Death Valley" (ie no landings) I am not prepared to put myself in that position again.

Crossing the valley toward the turn point in the East I had to fight to stay up, drifting in light thermals. As I crossed a wide gulley I could see a field full of gliders - well, perhaps being slower and just staying high might pay dividends. I wasn't going to be last! Taking the second turnpoint I was now flying in bouyant air, thnking that I might make the last turn point and goal. But no. After a drilling in turbulent winds I made a dash for a safe landing in large field near to the main road.

A View Junkie

My day had been average, punished by a stupid mistake, coming in 37th on the day. But special mention has to go to the British up and coming hot shots, Ollie Chitty and Luke Nicol. Ollie, flying in Class 1 and on his first foreign flying trip, came in 9th, a truly remarkable performance. Luke Nicol (Class 5 rigid) won the day for his class, flying against some strong international competition. Well done lads. You are doing us proud.

Full results here:

http://bhgcresults.wikidot.com/2014-nationals:results