Gaynor 'Flygirl' Schoeman

Is this what happens when the passion is gone and goals like competition and long distance flying no longer seem important?  How bizarre.  I never thought I would find myself in this position.  How can the events that took place at the All Africa (I was banned from Flyers Lodge and Dasklip Pass by Rob Manzoni for posting the results on my website against his wishes) and the furor that followed, extinguish the tiny spark that got me through the XC Open World Series?  Surely I am tougher than that?  It would seem not.

I think I might finally be realising that my flying career has ended.  Interesting..

I am a little sad, true.  I miss the camaraderie I once experienced with fellow paraglider pilots and the sense of achievement I felt after a good flight and low save.  I even experience a twinge when I read the names of pilots I know on competition registration lists around the world. But it is ok.   And that is a novel feeling. To have moved on without the feeling that I have lost a part of myself.

Rather, I feel privileged to have experienced the joy and learning experience that comes with flight these past 6 1/2 years.  They were good years, all of them, even the difficult ones.

But I write from the heart and my heart is no longer in flying....  and that is why there are no more personal stories of Free Flying Adventures . If I cannot write from my heart, they are not worth sharing.

I will dabble with airtime from time to time, I am sure - but I have no expectations of myself and there is nothing I feel I need to achieve. 

It is what it is.

Update 19 March 2008
The following was confirmed by Michael 'Spike' Coetzee - organiser of this hang gliding event:

'As you may or may not already know, our trike has been grounded for two reasons, one is pending the outcome of the investigation on the Airborne Edge that went down 3 weeks ago killing two people.

And the other is because we need to get our trikes motor overhauled before we are allowed to use it again.'

From Roel :

'1. Airborne grounded:
CAA's grounding came as a result of a Edge wing breaking up near Groblersdal. This is not the first incident of an Edge or Streak wing breaking up. '

On the 17th March:

According to Des Pansi who runs the De Aar Airfield/Flying Site, she was notified that the hang gliding competition has been cancelled because of a fatal microlight trike accident up north. The cause may have been a factory fault and so CAA has apparently grounded all trikes until the accident has been fully investigated.  I am trying to track the NOTAM down and will post it here when I find it.

This hang gliding competitions primary source of launching was aerotowing from behind a microlight trike and because of the grounding, the Hang gliding organisers are unable to use their own trike and so have cancelled the competition.

Over 100 people/pilots were going to attend including myself and two Polish friends Bartosz and Maya who are out here on a paragliding holiday for two weeks.  We were keen to be spectators and offer up ourselves as 'wind dummies'. Damn!

Oh, and it is raining again in De Aar......

The Exodus has begun and South African paragliding is taking a big hit.  We are losing Cross Country pilot extraordinaire - Greg Hamerton.

Greg and his wife Tracy are re-locating to gloomy, grey, wet and cold United Kingdom.  I am in mourning already.

Personalities play a big part in keeping paragliding alive and healthy in South Africa.  Greg pioneered new flying sites like Koringberg, the flatlands site that most influence my return to paragliding.  He arranged with the South African Tourism Board for the little town of Koringberg to sponsor our iWeathar wind station on the hill and he has maintained it and kept it going ever since - all in the spirit of encouraging free flight.

Because that is what Greg Hamerton does.

As an Author, Greg wrote the internationally acclaimed Fresh Air Site Guide , the Bible of where to fly in South Africa.  The Fresh Air Site Guide brings tourism to our small rural towns which have flying sites to offer. It is printed in both in both English and German and sold world wide. 

A regular contributor to the local Paragliding Forums, Greg tirelessly encourages people to get out there and fly.  Every Friday Greg sends out his Flycast to email subscribers, giving us weekend weather predictions and an idea which sites have the best chance of working.

Competing with Hammer on our local Overberg Paragliding Club XC log was fun.  He always let us sprint ahead of him, but in the final days he would go out there and fly some massive 'impossible' flight .. or three ..leaving us coughing and spluttering in his wake.

Gonna miss the competition.  Without Greg to show us what is possible, who will motivate us to fly routes we only dreamed of? Who will encourage us by example to be the pilot we aspire to be? We have lost a leader......

Greg showed us that the impossible is only an illusion created by our minds.  The reality is that anything is possible.  We know this because he did it, again and again.

Greg and Tracy  - we are so going to miss you!

For those who would like to say one last Goodbye, Greg has graciously invited us to the premier of his movie The Journey :

Duration: 60 min (brief introduction + 40 min movie + discussion)
Time : 7pm for 7.30pm (drinks and snacks provided)
Date Wednesday 2nd April 2008
Venue: Cape Storm, Wynberg Store, 45 Lester Road, Wynberg, Cape Town
Cost: It's FREE

Seating is limited to first come first served so please RSVP to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   and book your seats for the 2nd April

Flying out at Hermanus midday today.  Good wind strength, but there was a bit of west in it so the air was bumpy.  The burnt mountain was also generating a lot of punchy thermals which deflated part of the wing every few minutes.  I was test flying the Gradient Golden 2.  Nice ground handling.  Very responsive.  In the air I was a bit unnerved and so moved off the mountain and flew out to the Marine Hotel for my first landing there.  So much lift it was easy. Yes, I should have gone cross country.

Hiking back up the mountain I saw two gliders take off.  Turned out to be Annette and Pascal Lude on holiday from Switzerland.  They cruised west to the end of the ridge and then east and then toplanded while I huffed and puffed my way up the mountain.  It is pretty easy now that all the bush has burnt to the ground...  See February BLOG for burnt mountain pics.

Charlize was not on boat section of this shoot, but speaking with the Film Crew who were shooting with her in Jo-burg, it is amazing to witness the effect she had on them.
Words like: 'Demi-God, the tallest, strongest South African women you have ever seen', were used.
On screen, she has never appeared so to me.  I think I am one of the few who regards her as fairly ordinary.  What is it about Charlize that stops people in their tracks and leaves them frozen - staring.  The Crew said it was incredible to see the public reaction.  She certainly exuded power over the Crew and had a 'Don't mess with me, I have the power to do anything I want' aura.'
But there is also the other side.  Apparently Charlize has the unusual habit of not making eye contact - taking it to the extreme.  This makes working with her difficult.  Communication is not free flowing.  And this is what I  see in her films.  A person under siege....

Benjamin  -  just too hot!!!!

.....and the young girl is a model from Hungary flown in for the INTERSPORT swimwear shoot in Cape Town.