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| 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
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| A bug waits on my sail... |
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| Glen McFarlane (Aussie Champion) waiting at launch |
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| 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...
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| Sunflower field in the foothills |
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