Massive overdevelopment once again.

Flygirl still flying like a palooka.

Amit had best flight of the day from Chia, going over the back and landing on the N110 near the Villafranca turnoff.  Not that any of us wanted to follow him.... A downpour of heavy rain and hail came out of the sky before we got to him with retrieve, but fortunately he took cover at a bus shelter. 

We enjoyed the rest of the day exploring Salamance town about 60kms away from Piedrahita where Steve had to fetch the competition shirts.  The air is hot and muggy and this OD'ing is really locking down the distance flying.

All I can say is that I am not peaking early for sure!!!  Really  hope I get my act together soon.

Today we flew a SE take off on the plateau between Pena Negra and Villa Franca, called Chia.  I hooked a couple of good thermals, but the sky was overdeveloping on fast forward and the wind strength increasing.  Still, would have flown for an extra half hour if I could stay up as it was lovely flying the plateau.  Lots of vultures in the air and beautiful scenery.

One pilot, thought he had hit bonanza when he took off towards the end and found it easy going staying in the air and gaining altitude.  He was flying downwind towards the thunder cells and going up beautifully heading for Piedrahita.  Then he realised that perhaps all was not well next to the big black cloud and tried to fly away, but found he was going up and backwards, sucked by the cloud.  Grabbed lines for big ears, but in his haste he pulled his 'D' lines instead and induced a stall - still going up.  Recovered, pulled big ears and stepped on the speedbar heading for the blue upwind and after what seemed ages for him, finally cleared the cloud suck and landed.

Meanwhile, four of us, Burkhard, Hans, Rene and I were sitting in the light rain waiting for retrieve listening to the loud thunder and watching the occasional lightning.  It hailed in Piedrahita.  This young girl was with out riding with her family and trotted past us where we landed.

Bee harvesting:  Steve Ham keeps bees and I was looking forward to watching how he does it.  We received notice that a Spanish family had a bee infestation in their bathroom blinds and asked Steve to come and get them out.  Unfortunately we arrived to find a very distressing bee massacre - they had sprayed the poor things with insecticide and the whole bathroom floor was dark with crawling struggling bodies.  There were still some bees flying around, but they were bewildered and harmless.

Dressed up in our bee outfits, Steve and Hans tried to save the few that were still alive and remove the damage honeycomb and we suspect, the dead queen.  They rigged a box outside the window with the honeycomb and some honey, hoping that the bees would make this their new home in the over the next few days, so that Steve could transport them to safety.  We shall see ..... it really was a sad sight.

On a high note, Steve has been successful in baiting other bees to a new hive and we are just waiting for a non flyable day to move them.  I am quite excited to see how this is done :-)  Being part of Steve and Puri's group means we get to take part in all these wonderful adventures!

Yesterday, Burkhard Martens from Germany accompanied the FlyPiedrahita group for an afternoon flight and showed us why we would benefit from reading his books on thermalling - www.thermikwolke.de

We had been grounded for most of the day with a strong gusty wind over the back of Pena Negra, helplessly watching a fantastic XC sky above us.  Magic cloud streets and we were unable to launch and fly them.  In the afternoon Burkhard joined us on his Boomerang and we took a trip to south take off called Lastra.  Wind was still strong and cross, but Burkhard laid out fast and took off immediately - his intention to fly back to Piedrahita.  He soared the left spine facing the SW wind, climbed slowly then eased back into wind right of take off and hooked a big thermal - the last real thermal of the day as it turned out.  He climbed to 3400m and went on glide over the mountain and back to Piedrahita.  The rest of us fumbled around front of take off and landed below.  It was a pretty flight, but yes, we would have rather accompanied Burkhard who was coolly waiting for us back at La Planera Bar!

Burkhard, like Rene Bormann, is taking part in the XC Open and German Open and this years competition is looking tough.

Theuns Koekemoer from South Africa arrived this evening. He is also competing in both comps.  Piedrahita is still in fiesta mode with concerts and bands playing in the square and in the bars. He showed some of the Germans in the group how to make the most of the wide selection of beers on offer in Piedrahita!

Steve and Rene Bormann flew to Avila , almost 60kms.  Several others crossed over the pass or flew to it.
Rene was a December 2006 Birdmen Paragliding client to South Africa - I recognised his Birdmen hat :-).
The following images were taken by Amit Kedmi from Israel - Thank you Amit!!

Great XC Day for the others who are going over the Pass towards Avila as we speak. It is hot and the wind changeable but seems West much of the time so their going should be good.

I unfortunately am still struggling to get back in the groove.  I felt incredibly awkward in the air today and did not fly well at all, landing on the slopes twice.  This sense of being disconnected from the air is disconcerting and very disappointing for me personally. I feel like an alien with no direction.

How can I fly well if I do not feel a part of the air and a part of my wing.....? I am an intuitive pilot and I am overriding that ability by trying to think too much.  My enjoyment is still missing and this lack of positive emotion is a concern.  It has been AWOL since end December and that is most likely the biggest issue here.  What other reason is there for me to fly other than for the love of it? 

I will change tactics tomorrow and just try to have fun and maybe that will help me to reconnect. 

So looking for the high note:

CONGRATULATIONS TO NEVIL HULETT who came third in a very hectic British Open in St Andre last week.  Nevil will be flying the XC Open here in Piedrahita as well as the German Open straight afterwards so there is a silver lining for South Africa :-)
St Andre Results Overall

Words and tracklog link from Nevil:-  ' Definitely the best (most enjoyable) comp task I have ever flown. Check out the awesome photos (click the photos and comments tab)  kindly provided by Bruce Goldsmith (current world champ).  'http://www.paraglidingforum.com/modules.php?name=leonardo&op=show_flight&flightID=127185

Today Steve Ham took his group back to Madrid and made ready to pick up the next group.  He and Puri really have such a good business in www.flypiedrahita.com offering a service where they enjoy repeat business from happy customers ever year - sometimes twice a year.

So with Steve away, Puri arranged a local paragliding friend, Roberto and his wife Amanda and their daughter Andrea to take me up to take off.  On the drive up at around 1.30pm we saw the first two gliders launch.  On launch itself I was concerned about the wind strength but there were lots of pilots there so I kitted up.  Watched a GIN Zoom launch and have to engage speedbar immediately over the road in front in order to stop from going backwards.  We watched his progress for a few minutes and about a 100m out front he took a big frontal, recovered easily but continued to head away from the mountain.

At this point I called it quits. I have no interest in being pinned on the ridge and having to engage speedbar in strong thermals to stop myself from going backwards.  An Ozone Addict 2 launched next.  He timed his launch better not waiting so long in the lull to pull up and he did not have to engage speebar immediately.  However, just in front of the road he too hit a strong  thermal and shot up, not going forwards.  The GIN Zoom was still heading out into the valley towards Piedrahita away from the mountain when he hit a boomer thermal.  It was wide and his slow turns saw him cork screwing into the sky.  By the time he topped out he was back on the ridge with the Addict and pushing forward in the strong wind again.

A lot of competition pilots have started arriving, but even they were packing away their gliders.  The conditions were just not worth it.  I got a lift back to Piedrahita with Roberto and Amanda and on occassion I check the sky but have not seen another glider launch.  This afternoon will probably offer another lovely flight and I am looking forward to that.  Steve will have arrived with his new group and be wanting to give them their first flight.

Two hang glider pilots did take to the sky late afternoon.

And what a smooth evening flight we paraglider pilots enjoyed.  I even took my first inflight images.  The wind was still strong on the traditional take off so we launched a fair way down the mountain, which was fine.

It is rumoured that the first two pilots who took off early around 1.30pm flew 85kms, direction was past Avila in a north wind so fair play to them.  They deserve it.

The new Fly Piedrahita group is mostly German, with an Israeli, two French, a Vietnamese and me, the South African.  By coincidence Amit knows Ioel Shem-Tov my Israeli-Iraqi-South African para-buddie - he says 'Hello' and will gmail you later.

This mornings airtime was good.  Just an hour, but action packed.  Would have been good for a circuit of the valley I think as the upper wind was different to the wind close to the ground.  Thermals were feisty, lots of weightlessness, did not like it much on the spine left of take off, but stuck it out for awhile before deciding that the repeated sudden loss of pressure in my wing was too much of a gamble close to the mountain and moved off in a line left of Piedrahita.

Vultures were flying with us again.  In my second thermal one released its ballast above me and I now have hard black sprays of vulture poo on the top of my canopy!  Shared this second thermal with Steve, Bill and Liz Sampson which was very pretty as we climbed over 2000m ASL. Working on airtime, feeling the thermals, finding my rhythm. 

Third thermal was left of Piedrahita at the foothils of the small ridge in the centre of the valley.  Getting to it meant taking a massive dive in altitude in long 5ms sink.  Steve was ahead and low.  I could see the wisps of thermal promise start to disintegrate - 'Oh dear, maybe I have made a mistake'.  But the huge sink was indicating that there was a big climb somewhere nearby so I started searching for it, going left and right.  Jackpot!  Going up at 5ms second with the land falling away fast I really felt that the vario was under reading :-) It was my first 5ms climb in 7.5 months afterall.  It was a hectic ride.  The thermals the past few days have been multi-cored but today they were brittle and hard and self preservation dictated that it was best to find a strong narrow chimney and turn tightly within to avoid getting smacked all over the place. Liz flew away, Steve was far out front and low and so it was just Bill on his Gin Rebel and myself coring tightly.  The wisps of white came back, clouds were forming above us and soon we reached cloudbase at around 2500m ASL - what a rough ride.

As we headed out NW and pilots started landing, reports came in that wind was strong on the ground - NE 15kms and increasing.  I did not think that was a problem.   I was high, the wind strength was far less and now smooth and I was flying in a southerly influenced wind doing a comfortable 45kms.  The continued reports were starting to psyche me out though as I could hear the increased tension in the voices reporting on the building wind strength.  On an XC Open Comp day I would have happily continued over the low ridge into the flats roughly in the direction of the lake in the distance, but I don't fully trust my own judgement yet.  Turned back to spiral down next to Steve and landed - vertically.  Wind was 30kms on the ground!  Colin is British and had been reporting the wind speed in miles per hour. I had misheard 15mph for 15kms per hour - double the wind speed!

I could have killed my glider safely with 'C' risers but decided to test my Quick Release Karabiner Manouevre. As usual one karabiner released cleanly and the other stuck but this was fine.  Steve was unhappy that I released the brakes to squeeze the pins though.  I need to find a way to release the pins without letting go of the brakes.  Sounds simple, but I find the action awkward and have duffed it in the past and been unable to release either of the Karabiners, so I tried something new today which worked, but I do understand his concern about releasing the brakes, especially since I did it high.  If I had had a surge I would not have been able to arrest it.

But all in all, a good day and my flying fluidity is improving.

Afternoon valley release: 

We went up for an early evening flight.  Plenty of gliders took to the smooth evening air.  The De Gredos mountains were kissed in golden sunlight and it was beautiful.  We followed Steve to the Corrals, everyone doing a ridge run except me.  I flew the very bottom of the foothills, found plenty of thermals but was obviously slower than the others, who were often below ridge height (except for Steve) but able to make better speed due to the constant ridge lift.  Still, I came in over the Corrals behind the others, collected my waypoint and headed back out into the flats in the direction of Piedrahita.  The others ran back to just before take off and then tried to make it to the low ridge south of Piedrahita.  Colin and Steve made it comfortably.  A number of us just made it to the foothills before turning back for the guarranteed landing at the new official landing field next to Steve and Puri's house in town.  Why spoil the day with a long walk.

On a side note:
Something I am having to adjust to is that my elation at being in the air after such a long layoff is absent.  It is almost as if I am cut off from my emotions. When I hook a thermal and climb high I feel satisfaction.  When the air is rough close to ground I test it a little longer and if I decide that I am gambling I move off, not so much from real fear but rather a logical decision actioned. When I see my friends the vultures, I feel a welcoming partnership, but the pure joy and elation of the reunion is missing....  Clinical is too harsh a word.  Functional perhaps better describes it.  Not something that people want to hear I know, but this is where I am.  I take off, I fly, I assess.  Perhaps as Earl suggests, I am thinking too much.  It is a strange place.  It might make me a better pilot, but being cut off from my emotions like this is a concern for me.... Perhaps it is just that I am being super careful and analytical as I flex my wings and the joy and the passion will return once I am fully back in the swing of things.

Blister on my toe, sore legs and raw shoulders.  7km walk up towards Pena Nega take off yesterday (it's 15km to the top) with a 20kg pack in hot sun.  Cars passed by but strangely no-one stopped to offer a lift.  Thank goodness some Spanish pilots Gary and Jose who passed by earlier in an over full car came back down especially to fetch me.

My first flight was disappointing.  I am off my game, my scratching abilities very rusty and clumsy.  Did not even make the designated landing field and had another long walk out.

Massive over development coming from behind take off yesterday with most people getting more than enough lift and at least an hours flying.  All except me!!! 

Steve cautioned pilots, but I would have loved to have flown for another hour if I could as it was blue with little puffys to the NW and that is where I would have headed.  Heard later there were massive hail stones falling 30kms away in the direction of Avila in the black sky.

Weather changes quickly here which is what concerned Steve.  However it changed in our favour and by 7.30 pm in the evening the big clouds had moved off and we were on our way back up to take off for a sunset flight, Steve Ham giving me a lift up as one of his clients elected not to fly again.  Pena Negra is 1909m ASL so wind feels and looks strong but lacks density so we could launch safely.  I watched the others head out towards Piedrahita racing the setting sun.  As they cleared the spine to the right, the valley wind swept them to the left and slowed their forward speed as well and many did not make the desigated area.  Forewarned, I flew further upwind to the right, found plenty of lift, hit full speed bar as I cleared the protection of the spine and was still going up but only marginally.  Air smooth so was great to practice using speedbar.  Three of us made the designated landing in town and I had enough height to do a little spiral as well which made me feel better about the days flying.

Saturday today and I have moved from the hostel to Steve's place so getting a lift up to take off today is a whole lot easier - thank goodness.

Flygirl on Pena Negra take off - Thanks Jeff for spotting butterfly & my folks for buying it

I never saw the crash and only heard about it when my Mum called me on the bus to Piedrahita. I had bought a Spanish SIM immediately on arrival at the bus station and sent a message to my Gran and Mom that I had arrived safely so both had a way to contact me.  Thank goodness I did that otherwise they would have stressed.

The 3G connection is not working so I am relying on Wi-Fi which is pretty good here in Piedrahita anyway.

First days flying:
Its hot, really fantastically HOT!!!!!

First take off after Steve Hams group had me landing on the road a few meters below take off. Never ran fast enough and did not clear it.

Ate an orange, drank lots of water, contemplated life, wind increased and it was..Take two.

This time I did clear the road, only to find that I had a rigging error that was putting pressure on my quick release karabiners.  A sure sign of not flying regularly these past 7.5 months.  I was carfeul, did not rush and I still got it wrong.  I have a complicated system involving a front mounted reserve on my Sup Air Altirando harness with Quick Release Karabiners and it always requires serious attention each time I kit up.  Went straight out to land having to fly through the thermals and ignore the birds that were darting everywhere.  AAARRRHHHH!

On landing I sorted out the error immediately then started the long walk up. About a kilometer later, I was picked up by a Spanish couple on holiday who wanted to do a Tandem.  Introduced them to Steve for that and then I was off again.

Take Three
This time my flight lasted 40 mins and it was great.  Light thermals, variable wind.  Two vultures showed me a lift line and I thought I had hit jackpot out over the flats over Piedrahita.   I landed about 10 mins later with a steady down tone :-( ...... Ja well.

It was my longest flight time-wise and distance wise since last year (not very far so not telling you the kms:-) but I am happy.  Kind Spanish man gave me a lift back to town :-)

Arrived safely in Madrid this morning, but missed the 08h30 bus to Piedrahita and so will have to wait until late afternoon for the next one. 

Doing all the usual:
Spanish SIM card - my number for the next month is +663685371.

This I bought at the Sur bus station from kiosk Local 5. The owner Ramesh speaks fluent English and sorts everything out including the free 12 Euro airtime.  You must take your passport. 

Vodafone unfortunately were unable to sort my 3G internet connection with the same Spanish SIM - some configuration problem with my computer they tell me - modem works in SA but not in Spain and requires technical know how which was not available.

The Center across from the Sur Bus Station, Hipercor, does have free wireless though and sitting in the airconditioned comfort of the cafeteria is a whole lot better than the overcrowded bus station, even if you know where the secret public lounge is.

Ever wished you were somewhere else...right now?

Apparently no-one was washed overboard and the rescue boat survived, although you got to ask yourself - what was it doing there in the first place?  These photo's were sent to my Mom and Dad by one of their delivery skippers. Said to have been taken at Mtunzini.

Mom, Dad and I went to celebrate our three birthdays at La Petite Ferme in Franschhoek today as I will be away in Spain.
The meal was delicious, the ambiance wonderful - we had a lovely day.

Please remember that the Draw for the Raffle is on Monday 18 August at 5.30pm on the Sea Princess in the V&A, at Quay 5. For those who can make it, the prizes are transferable and so you will be able to swop after the Draw if all parties are agreeable.  But you need to be there to do this!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Dad!

Such a tough guy who loves flowers and gardening :-)

My Dad taught me the meaning of never giving up, even when life's lessons are, on occassion, very hard.

I forget sometimes, but through his example, he reminds me to keep getting up and moving forward.

His favourite sayings: 'It is what it is.'   'It's not over 'til its over.'

With Love from your proud daughter

Gaynor

Thank you to Kevin Storie of Blue Gravity who was the only dealer who went out of his way to help me find a replacement Vario/GPS. I was hoping for another Flytec5020 or Brauniger version but not a single dealer I spoke to in the Western Cape, KwaZulu Natal or Gauteng has one in stock, not even one for their own use, let alone a demo unit -  a result of our poor economy, atrocious import duties and exchange rate.  It is crippling the local paragliding equipment dealers.

Anyway, Kev put me in touch with Elzabe Van Wyk  in Pretoria who has agreed to loan me her Competino for the Spanish competitions.  This is quite a big deal and I would like to thank Elzabe very much for helping out a fellow Flygirl!

During the course of the conversation with Kevin I heard a baby crying in the background.  Kev and Maryna Strydom had a baby born to them 14 days ago :-)  Congratulations!!!!! 

My Flytec 5020 is on the blink and has to be sent back to Switzerland for repairs.  This is my competition GPS and Vario combo.  I know that it is unlikely as this is a very special piece of expensive equipment (R9 000), but if someone has a spare that I can borrow until I get back on the 16 September, this would help a great deal as it is a required piece of equipment.  I have a backup Garmin 76csx and Pete Salomons has kindly offered me a spare Flytec 4005 vario and Tobias Gress his wristwatch GPS.  Something I am familiar with would be first prize though.

Have not been able to write much.  This bacteria / viral infection of my airways has taken much of my strength, breath and almost all of my brain cells.  On Saturday I started a 10 day course of antibiotics etc when it showed signs of invading my lungs and at last this nasty is being wrestled from my body.  Has left me exhausted though.

My first images with my new Leica camera. I am looking forward to a beautiful relationship with my new camera and hope to do it justice as I improve with each captured moment.  Heartfelt thanks to my sponsor - LEICA.

The last flyable day before I go to Spain and the film crew want the weekend off.  Bummer!  The week ahead looks bad for flying close to Cape Town and so my two minutes of fame are put on hold :-). Maybe when I get back mid September.

But looking for the silver lining, it does mean I have time to brand my glider with my new sponsors logo and maybe give them some airtime in the future.

Sponsor, did I say?

Yes :-)

Not a financial sponsor but an incredible sponsor nonetheless who had me close to tears yesterday.

About 10 days ago my car window was smashed and my prize camera stolen. Flygirl without a camera is a very sorry sight.  It was not insured and I could not replace it. (I had just cancelled the insurance a month before because I could not even pay rent).  Can you imagine Flygirl at a competition or event without a camera?  Unthinkable, I know.

So who is my sponsor?

LEICA

I have been a customer of Cameraland for the past 22 years.  I have bought almost all my cameras from them.  They gave me great prices and service and I never expected anything else in return.  But I was desperate.  With no-one else to turn to, I went to them and asked if it was at all possible that they speak to my previous camera's importers on my behalf with a view to sponsoring a replacement camera.

They went two steps further.  Cameraland is strongly linked to the Leica importer.  They share the same building.  Within half an hour, the importer of Leica put into my hands the most high end camera I have ever owned, valued at three times the price of my previous camera.

A Leica V-Lux 1 10 Meg camera.

Stephen had to put it in my hands because I was too afraid to pick it up.  I could not believe they were giving me this beautiful camera - plus accessories....!

Women's Day came a day early for this Flygirl.  Thank you Leica!

                                                                                                                        This means so much to me......

Picked up a nice South African Adventure Escapades Blog link today - they are running the Raffle Story which is great - Thanks Gary!

Home Page for Adventure Escapades Pretty cool articles and pics!

Permanent link to Flygirl Article

Feel pretty awful today - can barely talk intelligently.  Might have to postpone filming.  Not good to fly so under the weather.  This allergic reaction/virus is hammering my body.

Filming schedule has been changed to Thursday afternoon - 3pm onwards.  Not sure if we will get into the air.  Will call it closer to the time.  Maybe Sir Lowry's Pass, maybe Lions Head.  Forecast changeable.

It is for an hour long Women's Magazine show on SABC3 Saturday, called 'The Power Within' and I have been asked to participate as Flygirl in a small segment for 'My Space'  which introduces women to various activities they can take part in to have time away from life's pressures. We know all about that, don't we :-)

Such a beautiful day today and I am girl down with an allergic reaction to mould, me thinks.  Throat swollen, blistered and angry red and so painful to swallow. My joints are aching so much I keep movements to a minimum and carrying this thing called a head under my arms as my eyes burn in their sockets. Head feels hot, 'thick' and headachy and my skin is painful to the touch.  Yup, miserable!

And there are so many things to do on a day like this!

This evening Anura Vineyards are having a wine tasting at The Cockpit with CIVAIR and The Waterfront Boat Company on Quay 5 at the V&A.

The Glen Paragliding Club is having a relaxed informal social at their club house, The Glen Country Club between Clifton and Camps Bay, next to La Med Restaurant. Members and non-members alike are invited.  This will be a great day to watch the sun set into the Atlantic over a 'cold one' and perhaps a few will fly down from Lions Head.

I hope to make the Glen's social if this misery passes during the day.

I am slowly recovering from an adventurous weekend with a cup of tea.

It started out with a flight from Sir Lowry's Pass that had me landing, standing out of my harness on half speedbar, inducing a 'C' Riser collapse and turn at half a meter above the ground to 'kill' the glider.

Followed by a lovely Sunday trekking around Clanwilliam, Biedouw Valley and Wupperthal followed by another of my famous 'Lets take a short cut at sunset through the mountains' adventures.........  Sigh....got home at 11pm last night after some high adventures. Please, the only word I want to hear when someone suggests a 'short cut' at sunset and I am involved is NO!!!

We survived the adventure and my sister tells me the family are all 'invigorated' this morning :-)  Wish I was a fly on the jungle gym at the childrens school this morning :-)

And yes the flowers are starting to bloom. Give it two more weeks and the flower trails will be simply breath taking!

It is a little strange not having my Sony H5 camera.  I keep reaching for it....not least when I saw the strongest rainbow colours I have ever seen out here in Stellenbosch on the Devonvale Golf and Wine Estate. Olympian Sailor, Dominique Provoyeur has opened her home to me whilst she is away racing for South Africa in the Beijing Olympics this month.

Groot Kanonkop (Simonsberg) is part of my view - the mountain I once loved to fly alone.....so many adventures ago.

I do have a little dinky toy camera that is good for people shots,but not landscapes and paragliding photo's.  That is why when others send me beautiful photo's of life in South Africa I just have to share them ... and pilots see the world from such a unique perspective.

These images of Table Bay and the V&A by Night are courtesy Paul Kruger, pilot and supporter who I met at the Cape Town Flying Club situated at Cape Town International Airport, where I was selling Raffle Tickets.

This is why I love to fly - the view from up high....

Who did I bump into this evening at Devonvale?  Who is strumming his guitar and crooning to the audience as I type this note?  None other than our Overberg Paragliding Chairman - JO VAN NIEKERK!

Small world these paraglider pilots occupy :-) 

Devonvale is a function venue and hosting the launch of The Capey - a new property magazine tonight.  Everyone is having a fine time - dressed to the nines and there is a Raffle and Auction to raise funds for the Chris Burger Fund.  This is a fund that aids seriously injured rugby players, I think specifically at school level.  They work towards providing training for coaches to help prevent injuries as well as provide specialised wheel chairs.

Jo is providing background mood music.  For those who would like to book Jo and Dave for an evening of enjoyable guitar sounds, Jo can be reached on 082 464 2765.