All four seasons in one day :-)

The sail from Hout Bay started with a beat into an uncomfortable chop that had me throwing up over the side!!!  I don't know if I have ever thrown up before from seasickness..... First came the Cafe Latte, followed by the Eggs Benedict. Ugh!!!

Jarred was our instructor for the day, Dirk from Belgium was the trainee skipper and Lance and I his Crew. One of the challenges I know I will be facing on this South Atlantic Cape to Bahia race is being a Team Player.  I am by nature, a loner.  I am used to doing my own thing, when, how and where I want.  Racing on a 42ft monohull with 5 other sailors, shared rotation bunks and zero privacy means I don't have that luxury - not for close on three weeks.  We are literally going to be in each others faces and I have to adapt and accept my new role as a Team Player.  There is no other option.  I can't get off mid-Atlantic and neither can anyone else.  What an awesome challenge.  I am going to learn something new :-).

But back to yesterday. The sail from Hout Bay to Cape Town took several hours.  We all bonded well which our instructor was pleased about.  It helps that my new sailor friends were all really interesting people and we had a common interest in travel and wanting to improve upon our sailing skills.

Turns out Lance is also going on the Cape to Bahia aboard his Dad's catamaran Zeal-o-Cat.  I had applied for a crewing position aboard the yacht, but unfortunately all places were taken.  Lance is young but has travelled the world on cargo ships.  I think he said he had visited over 60 countries already.

Dirk is from Belgium and owns a restaurant there called Beluga.  A holiday for him is always an adventure.  For his month in South Africa, Dirk decided to get his sailing certificates and is doing a series of courses with Ocean Star Sailing Academy.  Dirk also owns a house in Salvador - my destination in Brazil.  What amazing good fortune!!!  Out of the blue he said' I have a house in Salvador.  You can stay there if you wish'.  How incredible is that?  I had only met Dirk a couple of hours before, but this is how travellers are.  People from all over the world stay at his house and it is right next to the beach and has a dog called Chico who has its own umbrella on the beach.

Jarred, our instructor, is twenty years old.  He has been training new sailors for the past eight months.  His intention was to get all his sailing certificates, gather some experience working for The Waterfront Boat Company and one day, head off into the ocean blue himself.  Sailing is an incredible way to see the world and he will make a wonderful charter skipper in the Caribbean, Mediterranean or wherever the wanderlust takes him.  He is patient, thoughtful, easy going and competent.

So why would I put myself on a yacht in wet, uncomfortable conditions for three weeks? 

Because it is an adventure of course!  I love nature and there is nothing like being in the middle of the Atlantic, working with the forces of nature, driving yourself to exhaustion, and yet ..... being infused with the energy that is all around you.  Pure, raw, energy.  At sea, you make a mistake and it could cost someone their life, or your own.  You are living in the present. And you feel alive because of that heightened state of awareness.

Sometimes..fate smiles upon us :-)

The Department of Home Affairs said for me to expect my new passport on about the 22nd December.  In a panic over the need to get my Australian visa I went to Home Affairs today and asked if it was possible to get it sooner.  I sank to my knees in thanks when they said it was ready for collection - now.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, Department of Home Affairs!!!!

You know you are flowing in the right direction when everything is working for you and helping you along your journey.  And in this case, Everything is a great big thing called The Universe...

I went straight from Home Affairs to the visa handlers with my brand new passport, filled in the necessary forms, supplied the required photograph and forked out R1260.  They said it was cutting it fine, but I should have my passport back by the end of the month, hopefully before Christmas.  I was so grateful.  And I am so excited!!!

Tomorrow I sail from Hout Bay to Cape Town aboard a 34ft Holiday sailing yacht called Freestyle.  Freestyle belongs to Ocean Star Sailing Academy, one of my tourism sponsors for the 2008 XC Open in Piedrahita Spain.  I explained that I needed to brush up on my sail trimming and could the skipper work me alongside those who were doing the sailing course.  Such supportive people, they said yes and I climb aboard tomorrow for some 'wet and wild' :-)

I am constantly amazed at how much support I get from the marine and tourism industry especially from the Waterfront Boat Company and Ocean Star Sailing Academy who are always willing to help me. It does my heart good to know that there are people like this out there.

Today I went to visit Harry, the skipper of 8 Seconds, the Leisure 42 I am hoping to crew on during the South Atlantic Race to Brazil.  It is behind schedule with regards to maintenance work - the spray painting and nonskid not finished, the windows in the process of being replaced and the rigging to be attended to.  This means that I won't know for a few weeks whether I am accepted as a crew member because we cannot sail together until the paint work is complete and dried hard.  We are hoping very much to race next Wednesday and there is the 4 day Crocs Summer Regatta coming up 13- 16 December, but my anxiety levels are high with only one month to departure on 3rd January 2009... I need to look for another boat just in case...

I normally guard against hope to protect myself from disappointment which I often feel far too acutely, but in this, I can only think of sailing... I must go or at least try very hard to, and so, to give myself the best chance possible, I will be sailing on similar boats over the next 2 weeks to refresh my sailing skills and sharpen up.  I know there are far better sailors than me looking to find crewing positions on this race - the list is dauntingly long....  All I can do is my best and put myself and my intentions out there - the rest is up to the Universe, at which point I must accept the result as being for the best even if it is not what I want it to be.

Another concern is the fact the Australian Consulate now requires 20-30 working days to process visas (R1260) due to the high volume of South Africans traveling to that country.  This is for the second leg of my journey from Brazil to Australia and the XC Open in Manilla.  December is worse with shortage of staff and I have literally run out of time.  To make things more anxious is the fact that I have had to apply for a new passport which is a major concern as it still has not been returned to me... So much to do and so little time.. as always.

How can I explain my need to be Free?  The horror of those who would try to control me, shackle me and deny me my freedom to be who I am this past year has assaulted my senses beyond explanation.  Surprisingly, I don't think anyone in paragliding understands the effect of having ones wings clipped in such a brutal and long term fashion.  There was a time when my Dad would accuse me of running away.  Throughout my life, when the weight of chains become too much for me to bare, I throw them off as I am doing now.  Bless him... he does not say this now.  After a life time of rebellion, my family finally accept and understand that my freedom to live my life free of outside restraints is the only situation I can accept for myself and if I cannot have it here, I will find it elsewhere.

Am I running...?  Yes, you bet I am running. As fast as I can.  This past year has been an incredibly unhappy one, a year almost wasted and I would not repeat it.  The sea has always been my balm and I will return to it.  I need to feel the salt on my skin and the dampness of my hair, the sharp sting of seaspray upon the rawness of my face.  To hear the hssss of the hull as it slips through the water on my watch in the dark of night and the shouts of sailors as they trim the sails ... to feel the power of the Ocean through the helm and my feet and see the stars as I once did as a child, a vastness so great, perspective once more returned....

I will be Free.

In De Aar, at the Pre-XC Open World Series, the Organisers of the competition confirmed Flygirl as a member of their newly formed Media Team. 

This is something I am very proud to be a part of.  I love writing and taking photo's, collecting stories of pilot experiences and recording events.  This all comes naturally to me and I hope in time to add a professional touch to my unique brand of journalism.

In 2009 I will be combining the XC Open World Series with other forms of adventure travel.

Next week I start trials for a position on a racing yacht that is taking part in the South Atlantic Race - Cape to Bahia (Brazil) on the 3rd of January. Although I have never raced before, I have spent much of my life at sea and done two Trans Atlantics already on cruising boats. I hope that over the next few weeks I can brush up on the skills needed to be part of a racing team.  This will be an adventure of note.  Hard sailing in close confines with a boat full of people and no privacy. The race will take about 3 weeks.

From there I fly directly to Australia for the XC Open World Series.  If finances allow, I will spend the summer in Australia, flying the local competition circuit and reporting back on FLYGIRL. My thoughts are to travel the path less traveled and explore parts of Australia that most people do not get to experience.  I have met so many people from that country and know of many, so many South Africans who have settled there... I would like to see where they work and what they do when they go out to play.  I want to see new things, live a life without a past, walk in another dimension.  I want to fill my life over the next year with new encounters.

Not sure what May, June and July has in store for me...

In August and September I will be back in Europe for the XC Open competitions in Bulgaria and Spain.  I look forward to meeting up with new friends once again.  By then I hope to have learned to sit awhile without being busy.

October, November and December, it is back to South America.  I am drawn to this continent and may find myself there sooner than expected, such is my impatience.  I want to travel further into the Amazon jungle by river boats, climb Machu Pichu, the ancient city of the Incas, I would like to visit Quixada and if there is a nice calm day or two, fly with the XCeara Norde Este boys and girls in November.  I could happily spend a few weeks just traveling and writing about their exploits, with a scattering of my own flights keeping it real.

Then there is Mexico.  Everyone says you have to go to Mexico.  After a year of traveling, this might me the place to stop and rest and talk with a Mexican Fisherman whilst dangling my feet in the ocean.

2009 .... a year of travel ... adventure ... and writing.

Blocking emotions right now.  Just two more days...

Losing a pilot in this XC Open is something that hurts deep down inside.  This is my playground...and a 'child' has been hurt.  And died.

So this will be my last November Blog post for a week.  My sponsors logo's have been applied and it is time..... The Pre-XC Open in De Aar starts on the 15th November 2008 and German pilots Bruno, Dirk and I leave for said destination at 3am in time to free-fly Friday 14 November.

For the week ahead, I will be writing out of the Competition section of FLYGIRL, reporting back daily on what is happening in  De Aar at the Pre-XC Open.

Pete Wallenda of Wallendair has sponsored me the use of a Swing Astral 5 for this competition.  I cannot brand this new glider as it is only on loan with the provision that I win :-)  I look forward to the challenge.  For reasons we shall remain 'mum' about at present, Des Pansi will be flying 'like a bat out of hell' (or a Chihuahua on the loose, if you prefer)  which is good for both our psyches. Both of us are hungry for distance.

Des set the SA Ladies distance record of 186kms flying a Swing Astral 5 so no excuses from me - I expect nothing less of myself.

My Swing Astral 5 Team Mate, Cyril Mazibuko, is now flying Des's Astral 5 so I will be following Cyril - his glider already knows the way :-) 

Cyril's glider, harness and entrance fee to this competition are sponsored by Des and Arnold of FLYDEAAR.

My Leica V-Lux 1 camera is sponsored by Leica.

For 2009, I will be experimenting with travel writing to raise money to fly the entire XC Open World Series.  From a paragliding perspective, I enjoy reporting back on international competitions and taking photographs.  I would like to do this on a more professional basis.  During this XC Open in De Aar, I will testing my 'journalistic' capabilities and writing an article on Cyril Mazibuko's adventures.  This is his first XC Open competition and I think he will be very suited to it.   The fact that we are team mates means I get to spend time with him on those long retrieves and I will be in a position to take lots of photo's!

What are we ladies chasing?  Personal Bests of course!

Ladies top 14 flights from De Aar:

A busy weekend :-)

Kite surfing Saturday in Langebaan with Craig, Lesley and Andreas.  I am starting to get up on the board a little more easily and covering better distance, all of 40 m before massively wiping out :-).  So although not a kite surfer yet, each day is an improvement. I have great kite location awareness when all is going 'pear shaped' and generally manage to keep the kite flying whilst being dragged backwards, which I am chuffed about.  Just need better kite location awareness now when I am up on the board and surfing!

Ear took a bit of an impact on the water on one such wipe out, causing extreme inner ear pain.  Lost my balance for several minutes and was wobbling on my feet as Craig helped me ashore, but no long term damage.  My enthusiasm was dented however and I did not go out again that day, content to watch Andreas, Craig and Lesley kite surf amongst the others at Shark Bay instead. Took a few nice photo's.

Paragliding from Koringberg on Sunday with Martin Dockrill from the UK.  After clearing with Rami from Langebaan ATC, giving our routing and being advised that 4 Hawks were coming in from the North at some point during the day, Martin took off on his Axis Vega.  I took a little longer as German pilots were wanting coordinates SMS'd to them of where we were flying and then I followed him into the sky.

Really nice air. Wind direction ESE then SE and S.  I was flying the Swing Astral 5, our first time in thermic air.  Martin got sucked a little into the wind channel between Koringberg and Piketberg.  He would get low, climb high, push forward, get low, climb high, push forward, get low...  Being more familiar with this site, I pushed east immediately from take off and headed for the N7 along all the usual trigger points.  Nice flying.  At one point I tripped over a magic core and shot through a hole in the inversion which was at 1400-1500m ASL.  Pop!  And it was cold :-).  Could see Table Mountain, the Ocean and Langebaan Lagoon.

No big distance, about 20kms each, Martin finding big sink at the quarry after heroic scratching at the Berg River, getting up onto the Piketberg mountain, nice and high only to hit massive sink again all the way to the ground just past the quarry.  I also found big sink a little east of where Martin landed exasperated by my lack of commitment to go left or right.  Came into landing shortly afterwards with a sudden increase in fpeed into wind as I was drawn into a frisky thermal just past the Piketberg to Porterville road.  Hate that when it happens, you just know kak is going to follow. Was not a nice moment for me after such a lovely flight.  Could have climbed back up if I was more hardened by frequent flying, but this was my first flight in the summer flats and yes, I am still 'soft' :-) but hey, I got to fly when everyone else had written the day off, so there!

Flying the Astral 5.  After today, I reckon its good for me in De Aar if Wallendair will loan it to me for the competition.  I can't afford to buy a new glider and when Aerodyne never came through with their promise of a proto FEEL, Pete Wallenda, our Swing dealer stepped in and came to my rescue.  He has been really good about me test flying this wing.  I was not sure what to expect of the Astral 5 in thermic conditions, but I was pleased with the way it handled itself today, especially in that low thermal. The Astral 5 really wanted to low save, all it needed was a pilot who was equal to the challenge.  We bounced around a bit and took a few little collapses close to the ground which I was not at all pleased about - but that was more to do with my lack of height above ground than the wing.  At that point I was in a PLF position and I just wanted to land safely.  Yes, I know, I should have being trying to get up and in hind sight, it might have been a whole lot more fun, but what is done is done. As far as the glider is concerned, I feel surprisingly comfortable on speedbar in thermic air which is important and I liked the way the Astral 5 handled the asymmetric 'klaps' -  never changing direction at any time and the dreaded front tuck I felt was coming so close to the ground never materialised. I landed safely in 34 degree heat to be picked up by Hein shortly afterwards.  Thanks :-)  So ja, Tickbird, Tiger, Dr Freeze, SOLboy, and Ioel - I hope you latter pilots enjoyed your DIY kite surfing lessons today :-)

Thanks to Swiftsoft Weather service which was more accurate than Windguru today, forecasting a lovely flying day.  Spot on.

Afterwards, I went to Porterville to take photo's of two more accommodation establishments which have joined FLYGIRL.  Very nice options too :-) but more about them during the week.

Koringberg Flying Site:  On a sad note, Koringberg will no longer be offering camping facilities on a full time basis.  They have had so many group bookings, its harvest time on the farm and they are exhausted. The kids are leaving the nest end of the year and Theubes and Bregda just can't do it all alone.  The take off needs cleaning up as the bushes have grown, so when next you go there to fly, perhaps pack few chopping implements and contribute to keeping this site open.  Greg and Tracy are not here to do this for us anymore....

Happy Birthday Willie :-)

Willy has been the sunshine in my life this past year.  He made contact through FLYGIRL towards the end of last year expressing an interest in the sport and had lots of questions. In December/January he came to Cape Town to visit his Mom and I introduced him to ground handling with my wing and that was it - he was hooked.  Willy is now a qualified paraglider pilot in Pretoria and very involved in the community there.

Willy shares his progress with me regularly - ground handling his training wing, his first flight, his first 10kms, the agony of missing out on that 100km flight and so on.  He is a very special young man whose enthusiasm infused my own when it was ailing.

This image is of Willy   -   at   work   -   at a bank!      Things are a changing in South Africa :-)

My Decision regarding the Porterville Pre-World banning - under SAHPA-NOTAMS-SCHOOLS.

All information pertaining will be uploaded over the next few days.

The arrival of Ericsson 4 on the 2nd November in Cape Town.
Images courtesy of Jeff Ayliff who is covering the Volvo Ocean Race for Prime Media.
Sailing fever has me in its grip. I am hunting a berth on a yacht to Brazil for the South Atlantic Race  - Cape to Bahia 03 January 2009

Link courtesy of Karel Koster - Protea/Springbok paragliding pilot.

KDK has had an adventurous year since the 2007 Worlds.

Francois Portmann photography.

Volvo Ocean Race.  Ericsson 4 arrived early Sunday morning.  My family and I were there to see the arrival of il Mostro Puma at around 7.30pm accompanied by fireworks at the V&A. Puma sailing Blog

Snuck out for a flight at Sir Lowry's Pass this morning before it was forecast to blow out.  Barry was there with clients from Europe as well as pilots from South Africa. He launched three of the pilots flying an Advance Omega 7, Axis Venus and an Advance Epsilon and then the rest of us waited awhile as the wind became a bit strong for comfortable launching.  I was one of those fully kitted.  Watched as the internationals headed off for Hanskop, but after one disappeared into a cloud and experienced some turbulence on the ridge, they all turned back and headed off in the direction of Gordon's Bay instead.  The five of us still on the ground noticed a reasonable lessening of wind for about 10 minutes and Barry and I agreed it was good to go.

Flying the Swing Astral 5, I was a bit heavy on the breaks first pull up and killed the glider.  Only launched this new glider in light winds so far and had expected it to race into the sky.  It did not. Second pull up was sweet - nice and measured. I am liking this glider more and more. I decided to try for Hanskop, but soon canned that idea too.  Air was smooth but strong, 5kms forward speed off the mountain.  I prefer more, so flew around on half speed bar out front where I am most comfortable.  Going to Gordon's Bay beach would have meant hugging the ridge to stay in the narrow lift band on that section, which I chose not to.  The Omega was just below ridge height most of the way and the Epsilon and Venus had landed.

In the mean time, Barry, Gene, Jaco Wolmarans and the other pilot were unable to take off, the wind having increased on take off and now gusting. Half an hour gale hanging on my own was very comfortable and I got to hit full speed bar on the Astral a few times which it turns out is a real pleasure to apply.  Barry instructed me to do big ears on landing :-))) I am having to prove my competency in order to compete in the Pre-Worlds at Porterville which is amusing to all but those of us involved in the admin.

'..we magnetise into our lives whatever we hold in our thought..'

What is it like to be connected, to smile with synchronicity, to feel at One..?

Synchronicity and connectedness are like the ebb and flow of the tide in my life.   It is so much bigger..inconceivably vast.  I have missed your company, old friend....

Several weeks ago, a fellow pilot mentioned Johnathan Livingston Seagull as being his favorite book.  Curious I bought the book and read it.  Right time, right place - the words have influenced my life and I hope they will for a long time to come.

Then yesterday, a stranger to me gave my Mom a book and said:  This is my Gift to You.  Give this to your Daughter.

The books' name:  - Illusions - The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach, same author as Johnathan.

I did not know he had written a second book... I started reading Illusions this morning and if I was not already familiar with synchronicity I may have been shocked.  Dream words written these past days in private, were loaded with phrases from this book, and yet I don't think I have ever read it.  It is all out there - waiting to be let in, all you have to do, all I had to do, was open the window.  The Collective Consciousness.

What else do we magnetise into our lives?