23 June 2014 - Annecy

Curently at home in Annecy for a few days making the most of the sumer solstice and the great conditions.

Looking South on Veyrier before crossing the lake

From the Semnoz after crossing from Veyrier

Flying towards Planfait landing field from Forclaz 

My next stop will be the Nordic Open Championships in Pedro Bernardo - Spain :-)
Catch up with me once I'm there ;-)
*****

Belgian Open - Day 6 - Second and final task

Friday 20th June

This will be written in haste as low battery on laptop, no doubt to be re-written in less haste later on.

Pilot briefing at 08h30 at HQ followed by the departure of the shuttles in one fell swoop to take off at 09h00.  Because of the predicted storm clouds bringing rain by 14h00, the task had to be set, race started and finished with all pilots on the ground by this time.

The task committee already had a short task in mind, a race to goal, but after waiting on take off for a further 60mins, realised that the task would be impossible unless some changes were made.  With high cirrus shrouding the hill and the entire valley in cloud, and no thermal activity, with a slight breeze on the hill from the valley, it didn't look promising and everyone anticipated the field would be able to manage take off with a 10k glide towards the first turn point before landing, conditions were so poor at this stage.

Still, time was ticking and after considering all the possible options, cylinders were chopped short and the race to goal was changed for an Elapsed Time.

With the wind dummy barely able to maintain at ridge height in weak lift, we all looked out and wondered how this task would be possible apart from a 10km each-glide towards the first turn point.

No sun, no thermal activity and a weak valley breeze, but the race was on.
Taking off amongst one of the first pilots, I was lucky and happened to fly into a decent climb from no where just in front of launch. "S"-bending until it turned into a 1m/s up, I eased out each turn and patience played the game.

4 gliders ahead of me having climbed elsewhere, my decision was to go as soon as possible before conditions worsened. Maintaining a decent speed without losing too much height, the task was pretty much a three-thermal race.

Topping up on the spurs of each hill before taking the transition to the turn points was key to staying airborne.

After just over an hour, the heat of the day gave way to clearer warmer skies and the sun suddenly popped through the cirrus to heat the hills.  The second part of the race was faster as thermals punched through the moist air and wind guided us to each ridge to top up.

Playing safe, I took the last climb with two additional turns, allowing a few pilots from the back through who wanted to risk the ESS and Goal low.  One of them turned back after pushing forwards a couple of kilometres and getting stuck on a nil-lift ridge, the other, Robert Van d B, carried on, pushing forward in blips of lift, arriving in goal with some 40m to spare.  Risky, and too daring for me, but it paid off for him with a tidy result.

I came cruised into goal with 120m to spare but not my heart in my throat, others landed by the river bed unable to take a last climb.  Some waited on the Kobarid ridge for some decent thermals to kick in before finishing the race, which meant that over half the field got to goal.

My 11th place today, guaranteed an good overall result, but that was not to be known until later.  I love the suspense of an Elapsed Time!

So, the final results were posted just before 6pm.  My General 5th place was a fantastic surprise and one I am proud of.

Zilard first in the general, Robert van d B first belgian pilot, and the consistent and talented lady, Nicole Fedele, from Italy, first Woman with a great overall result in the General as well.

Please with my decision making which is getting better, and confidence to keep up the pace with the fastest,  my Icepeak Pro-7 does me proud. Woohoooo! Right up there, I'm a happy pilot :-)

Prize giving this evening and drinks, followed by a live rock band and dancing almost 'til dawn.

Thank you Belgians for a week that has ended with a lot of happy pilots and a successful finish to a comp which, at the start, did not look promising due to bad weather.

Safe journey home everyone - 'til next time.
*****

Belgian Open - Day 5 - Woohooo! Task!

Thursday 19th June

Finally we have a task!

A 47km optimised race to goal. Task committee initially chose an 87km but with the weather announcing 90% cloud cover until late afternoon, there was no option but to cut the K’s and go for the valid task option. The Belgians needed a 1000pt task with only 2 days to go, and to validate their championships, the winner needs a total of 1500pts.

Conditions didn’t look that promising even at the start, and the pace was  sensibly set to half bar by the leading gaggle.

In the beginning the lead gaggle moved slowly but cautiously, maintaining half- just below cloubase, in orer to guarantee a decent glide to the first turnpoint and its return to the ridge in Kobarid.  Finding a weak climb just behind the monument the leaders climbed out in weak lift and left at 1400m to connect with the back ridge and TP2;

From here, the pace speeded up a little, soaring the ridge, sqeezing out lift to clip TP3 and returning by the same route, taking a climb on the nose almost to base befor leaving on the long glide to the TP in the middle of the riverbed between Kobarid and Tolmin.

Gain, returning to the ridge, conditions had by them sharpened up a little, with sunshine making a guest appearance, the leaders pushed on a took a rough climb to glide to TP4 and back before blatting down the ridge towards goal.

The race was on. Those who took two more turns in the final climb cruised into goal with 150m to spare. Two were les fortunate and had to find last minute lift above the river bed which cost them time and several places.

Goal!

Robert Van de B (sorry for the spelling Robert), first Belgian pilot, Nicole Fedele first Lady.

I came in 7th overall and 2nd Lady.

Happy J

Rendez-vous 8am briefing tomorrow.

Belgian Open - Day 4 - ……Getting better all the time

Wednesday 18th June

The skies looked temptingly enticing but sadly, the truth revealed strong winds. no Task again today.

Surely, there can be nothing more frustrating for an organisation, than to have the weather screw up a years' planning!

Catching up on a backlog of emails this morning, I headed for the Adriatic Coast for a swim in the sea in the afternoon.  A visit to Portaroza on the 26mile Slovenian coastline gave me an insight into how beautiful the rest of this little corner of paradise was.  

The water was a cool 21° teamed with blissful warm sunshine. A couple of hours spent lazily soaking up the rays on a thick cream mattress on the beach accompanied by a huge tripled-flavoured ice cream (all good for the ballast!), before heading back to base via Lipiça, the Slovenia town well known worldwide amongst equestrians, for its breading of Lipizzana (white) horses. 

Beautiful stables and equestrianism to die for. For many years I have wanted to visit this place and see these stunning animals for myself.  Whether you are a horse lover or not, the establishment is well worth a visit, and if you don’t like four-legged friends, there is a swish looking golf course and an excellent restaurant/bar within the beautiful white post and railed grounds.

Sadly I was not back in Kobarid in time for the organised supper party this evening but I’ve had a great day discovering new places.

Pleeeeease, oh please let there be a task day tomorrow…

Belgian Open - Day 3 - Flyable everywhere but the Soça valley

Tuesday 17th June

Brieeeeeeeeefing! Guess what, Guys? No task.  Obviously someone finds my lack of faith disturbing. Or was that Darth Vader who said that to TomTom...

Free-flying in Italy today, despite the Bora wind Meduno would be more sheltered, so I decide to join the posse.

Aaah, Meduno.  My last trip there had been in May 2013 for the Italian Open, which after day 1 had been cancelled due to the torrential rain and flooding that continued throughout the week. Having been nick-named "MUDuno" because of this, I was glad to see that the Italian Flying Federation have since poured money into building a new landing field HQ with all mod-con facilities, and tarmacked the road to take off.  However, the latter meant that we had to walk the last 1.5km. Easier said than done with 15km of lead! Fortunately a kind Belgian fellow pilot offered to carry my rucksack to the top and looking at him in a sagging heap, insisted he needed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation! Eughhhh, NO! Tahhh! Instead as a fair trade, I said I would stop telling jokes about the Belgians (English equivalent is the Brits telling jokes about the Irish) as a fair trade….honest...

Gentle valley breeze coming up the face offered an easy launch. 50m above take-off we started to feel the Northerly, and by the time we had reached 1340m, the lift was broken and snotty. Climbing a further 200m before leaving the ridge to find calmer air in the flats, pushing south towards the bridge lift was in abundance.  Sucked up to 1700m in a steady climb albeit rough and choppy through sheer levels of valley and thermic conditions, I looked up to see some 30m above, wisps of cirrus above my head going in the opposite direction at a rate of knots!  Aaah.. time to come down.

Spiralling and chucking the drag chute, managed to lose 600m successfully, before finding a blue hole near the ruined fortress and dropping 6m/s in empty air almost to the ground.  Regardless of the lack of visual grace, I was glad to be on the ground.

Never flown the valley so fast, but with an Icepeak 7-Pro gobbling up the K's, one glide and you'd flown the triangle between take-off, South Bridge, and Terviso. Now I understand how the lead gaggles managed to fly so far, so fast and in one glide!

I can confirm that although flying in a Bora is possible, it is extremely unpleasant, and not an experience I will be repeating in a hurry. 

However, it was great to get airborne again after 5 days of doing everything else apart from what I can here to do.

Belgian Open - Day 2 - Pray to the Weather Gods

Monday 16th June

No task!

"Today Matthew, we will go rafting". 

An activity combining adventure, sport and team spirit, using a sturdy inflatable Zodiac and paddles to ride the white water rapids of the Soça river. As the weather is "damp", why not get damper!

Joining an group from the UK on an adventure tour of Slovenia, rendezvous at Evasion Action in Kobarid to meet our team leader, Kevin, a burly 20yr old Slov. mountain guide with thighs the size of my waist!

Kitted out with helmet, wetsuit, boots, lifejacket and windproof water jacket, we were briefed on what and what not to do: loop your feet under the foot straps in the boat, don't stick your arms out, and if you get tossed overboard, don't swim! A sound and informative briefing. I like it!

For all you "boffs" out there who aren't remotely interested in paragliding, a brief history of the Soca river: Running 138kms from North Eastern Italy and through the Western Slovenia Julien Alps, along some of the most beautiful and unspoilt surroundings of Eastern Europe. Born in the Trenta valley with an elevation of 2,874ft it spews on average some 172m3 of water per second before joining the Adriatic Sea near Monfalcone, Italy. It is a must-see for all mountain lovers and fishermen. Home to fresh trout to die for in abundance and water so pure you can cup your hands to drink along the banks at any point, it is topped up all year round by snow melt, fresh water springs and abundant rainfall. Pantone shades of opal green and turquoise ricochet off the limestone in all weather conditions creating a jewelled snake meandering through the valley, whose beauty can be seen from either riverbank , suspension bridge or from our paragliders. A true eye catcher for any nature lover or photographer.

So, back to our rafting adventure. After our briefing, we carried our boat to the water. Jumping in before the freezing water could soak its way through the wetsuit, we took to the rapids.

The first part of the course was a gentle introduction of what was to come. Serenely floating downstream on a tame current, sampling some mild rapids and boulder dodging, before the river narrowed, steepened and picked up speed.

Stopping halfway to take in the scenery and lob ourself recklessly off some boulders (I didn't, being the sensible type), I silently chuckled as I watched their brain-freezed faces reappearing from the icy water. Glutton for punishment if you as me. "Hmaaah hmaah…they must be british!"

From this point on, our decent was fast and furious. No rest for the wicked. The water slapped and curled up the side of the zodiac, tossing us one way and another. Our feet wedged under the ropes on the floor of the boat ensuring that we stayed in, rather out we paddled to keep as straight a heading as possible. Only just hearing Slov Kev's hoarse voice above the roar of the rapids, "Forward…. Backward….STOP….!" 

We continued to rumble through rapids and bounce off boulders for a further 3 miles before slowing into a shallow beach just under the Kobarid suspension bridge.  It was exhilarating to say the least. 

Hauling the boat onto the shore, we all looked further down the river which continued its snaking path, before disappearing round the corner towards Devil’s Drop.

“We don’t paddle down there”, said Kevin with a knowing smile. “Some professionals come here, but most of them will only go one time ….”  Thank you, for that, Kevin, and a special thanks to nature, for conveniently designing the inlet before we all descended into hell!

Rafting: not for the faint hearted due to the freezing cold water. 

Recommendations: Gentlemen, I'd leave the Speedo's at home!

Belgian Open - Day 1 - Sadly no task!

Sunday 15th June

Briefing at 09h00. No need to explain about the weather, but for those who have not been following, the Bora (North wind) has set in, together with thunder clouds and rain.

No surprise then, when Meet Director, Brett Janaway announced that the task today is cancelled due to to the damp weather and high winds. The direct translation of "damp" means rain, more rain and very very wet i.e. for those of you who are camping, now is the time to trade your tents for gondolas.  In Belgian, this means that the weather is looking so bad, there is little point in turning up tomorrow. Next briefing will be on Tuesday!

So, a trip to Venice, only two hours away was the obvious option and did not disappoint.   This beautiful romantic city, blessed with hazy sunshine, empty streets and a lazy Sunday atmosphere.

 

At the end of the day, I drove North to Gemona, to meet with South African friends John and Chris for their last night in Europe before returning home.  A delicious dinner of succulent steak and a great bottle of Red in exchange for the fabulous Brae's they have spoilt us with this past week.  Thank you Boys.

Later, with the car on auto pilot, Tom Tom and Tiguan meandered their way through the Julien Alps and mountain roads all the way back to Kobarid.

One last request before turning in for the night, if there is a God out there, any one will do, please let it stop raining in Kobarid. My washing needs to dry!

Belgian Open, Kobarid, Slovenia (Reg. Day)

Saturday 14 June

On the move again. Goodbye Camp Gabje, Tolmin, Hello Camp Koren, Kobarid.

The laden skies promised over development, thunderstorms and rain.  Time to pack up Betty before midday.

Lo and behold, at 13h34, the heaven’s opened, luckily just after arriving at Kobarid.

With the River Soça roaring some 40 metres below and finding shelter under the trees, Buxom Betty was wound up onto her chocks once again.

I must explain that the shade from the trees is a two-fold strategic move: to shelter us from the scorching temperatures we know that Slovenia can delivery (ref. this past week), but also to spare poor Betty from the perpetual dousing of downpours will are currently experiencing, and will be for the most part of this coming week.  I hate to be pessimistic, but unless Mark Luscombe can come up with anything to the contrary, we won't be tasking for a while…

The forecast is dire for the next few days and for those of you camping, I’d sell your tent and buy a canoe whilst you still have one to trade!

Luckily for me, I’ve had a terrific past three weeks of back-to-back comp flying: the PWC France, followed by the British Open, then the Polish Open, and now here for the Belgian Open, and so welcome a few days’ respite from the routine : Shower, Breakfast, Briefing, Shuttle, Task, Download, Shower, Supper, Results, Charge-Up, Sleep….. Shower, Breakfast, Briefing, Shuttle, Task, Download, Shower, Supper, Results, Charge-Up, Sleep….. Shower, Breakfast, Briefing, Shuttle, Task, Download, Shower, Supper, Results, Charge-Up, Sleep…...Zzzzzzz…..

Downloads between 5-8pm this evening went smoothly, no glitches and no queue. Brilliant! Red t-shirt, maps and pot of Slovenian honey as a welcome pack, and the MD seems optimistic for the week, which is great (don't know where he gets his weather forecast from - I'd like to see it!).  We will be using turnpoints in the Lijak, Tolmin and Kobarid flying areas.

It was lovely to see all the Belgian and foreign pilots in abundance and always a happy occasion to celebrating something.

Breifing will be at 09h00 tomorrow morning.  In the meantime,

manned with my brollie,

I take to the trolly of Slovenian food market fare.

A BBQ hearty to kick off the party, and Jacky brae-master’ll be there!

J

Bon appetit!