Àger Open 2009 and Pre-European Championship
| Nations | Task One | Task Two | Task Three | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Task Four | Task Five | Task Six | The Brits |
| Women |
|---|
Tweets from Jamie1254011716|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1254010495|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1254009368|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1254009328|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1254009304|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1254008234|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1253989035|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1253921976|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1253921141|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1253830445|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1253815875|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1253649209|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1253574486|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1253493818|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1253493391|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1253493034|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1253492938|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1253492484|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1253488443|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 1253479928|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover |
Jonny DurrantMorning Glory Vid from Austria.1256547060|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Here is a short video from the main Red Bull headquarters in Austria.
Thursday Night Live Quiz1256380680|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Interview on Thursday Night Live.1256379900|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Nikon Morning Glory Video ineterviewing Mark Watson1255595820|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Canungra Classic Day 41254865740|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today was tricky to pick the right hill to launch from to get the whole field off. Beechmont was the call, so we raced up to launch and set up in light winds. A 95.5km task was called with two turnpoints and a goal at Lake Moogerah. It was a hard day to get up and many pilots bombed out on thier first flights. I was as low as I have ever been today at Beechmont and got back up. Lake Moogerah Goal Field.The top 8 pilots in front of me did not launch in the push as many were bombing out. I took of
Competition Results1254773040|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Here is a link to the comp webpage which has the latest SCORES.
Canungra Classic day 31254771240|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today was an early start with briefing on the hill at 9:30 a 77km task was called with 3 turnpoints. I had organised for the Red Bull girls to come out and energise the pilots before the flight. Energising before setting up.After some Red Bull I took off and climbed out to base. Cloudbase was only about 4,000fy early but soon lifted as we headed west. I was not ready for the first start and was in position and started on the 2nd clock. My cheer squad on launch.I flew for 2 thermals headwind and
2009 Canungra Classic Day 21254689820|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Here is a quick video of today's task.
Sunrise Interview1254398040|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today is a busy day for me and hang gliding in Australia. I just returned from doing an interview with Koshie and Nat from Sunrise on channel 7.Here us a link to watch the live show and interview with me.. SUNRISE INTERVIEWI am now off to do something with Wide World of Sports for this sunday.I will also be live on Fox sports tonight...
Morning Glory Vid1254304500|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Some more Photos from Inciteimages.comThis is the first cloud that I was towed into by Leeroy in the Dragonfly. I could not resist the temtation to do some loops once I gained my confidence flying the Glory.High speed trying to keep up with the Glory.This is a short Video that they call a VNR which was released yesterday to mainstream TV. It goes for 10 mins and is not really edited and is more for TV to take parts of and use on Tv.You still get a sneak preview of some of the footage that was ta
UN F...ING Believable1253532360|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Well after having my dream come true yesterday I woke up this morning and looked straight on my computer for the weather.I saw the biggest line of Morning Glory on it's way towards us. I knew we had to be fast as it was close and with it's size it was moving fast. We raced out to the salt flats and on the way we drove into fog.This is the best sign you can have for a Morning Glory. All the big ones they have ever seen start with fog and lots of humidity. Leeroy was unable to takeoff for sometime
Morning Glory..1253446860|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Well how do I start.. I woke up this morning with a good feeling the weather was feeling humid and and different from other days.We arrived at the salt flats at 5am and was set up and ready by 5:30am. Once the first light appeared we could see a huge cloud coming for us.. I was so excited and we had to wait for about 45-1hr before we towed up. Once I started towing towards the coast line to get the cloud it was breath taking. I was speachless in the air and once I released I had the flight of my
Film Crew Arrives.1253103540|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Well all the film crew arrived yesterday including a big helicopter with a cineflex camera on the front. We had a meeting last night to discuss all the logistics that can occur with Morning Glory and how we will shoot the Glory.Red Bull camp as first light arrives.We had crew call at 5am this morning and I was up at 4;30am checking the weather. I uploaded the infared satelite pic and I could see a Morning Glory stretching about 800kms wide. There was lots of excitement so we raced out to the sal
First Morning Glory.1252921680|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Well after arriving last night to late to set up the Dragonfly we thought we would wake up anyway to see if there was a Glory..I could see a dak line on the horizon so we all jumped out of bed and raced out to the salt flats to have a look. Sure enough there was a big Morning Glory coming right for us.. The sunrise Glory..With no dragonfly we were unsure what to do. Leeroy was keen to roll out the ground tow setup and pull me into the glory that way..I ummed and ahhhed a bit before returning to
In search of the Morning Glory.1252786860|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover I have been busy preparing for the last 2 weeks for our Morning Glory adventure. I left this morning from home after spending less than 1 week there since arriving back from Brasil.I left with a Dragonfly, Leeroy and my father and we are going to be joined by the Red Bull team at Burketown for our Morning Glory Adventure.We just drove for 16 hrs today arriving in Longreach with just over half the distanced travelled of the 2222 km journey.Stay tuned for updates as soon as the Morning Glory comes
Sports TV1251370680|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover This was an interview I did for Sports TV before the comp in Rio.It starts on the hang gliding at 2mins 30 seconds..
Brasilia Presentation.1251085680|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover They had a live band in the Esplanada with lots of people,drinks and food. For the final Results of the competition CLICK HERE RESULTS.The Open class winners.Moyes had a great Results taking out 1st, 3rd and 5th place. Dustin and I finished nearly 500 points in front of 3rd place. Pedro matos who has not competed in 6 years flew his new fully carbon Litespeed RS 4 into 3rd place overall. Pedro aslo took out Brasilian Champion after so many years away from the sport.Brasilian Champions. Pedro an
Brasilia day 71251084360|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today was looking much better on the wind front so we raced off to launch. We set up and there were small cu's poping behind launch on the platau. They set an almost straight line with 2 turnpoints to Brasilia.My glider on launch with the wind blowing straight up.Just as launch opened you could see that it was starting to build up and we still had 1 hr before the start. It was very light conditions on launch and the first few scratched for a little while. I dove off when they started to climb a
Brasilia day 61251084180|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Well the wind was not looking good before we made the long drive to launch. Once arrving it was quite clear that we would not be flying again today as we could not takeoff.This wind is going down in the history books as it is so rare to have this wind at this time of the year. The clouds looked amazing but when we arrived back it had already overdeveloped and Brasilia saw its first rain in 3 months.One day to go.
Brasilia day 51250822160|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Well the cold front is arriving here today and after a 1.5hr drive to launch to check the conditions it was decided to have rest day. The wind was quite strong at times from over the back and there is only one takeoff here in Brasilia. Everyone waiting on launch for a decision to be made.I have done now about 12 competitions here and I think I have only ever seen it cancelled once before for this same reason. Im not sure what the weather will do the next couple of days but we could have the same
Brasilia day 41250754780|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover After a long task yesterday and cirrus cloud covering the sun they set a 113km task with 3 turnpoints. No one wanted to be the first to takeoff as the wind was very cross and light with few cycles coming through.Haroldo the comp Director.Eduardo was the first to go and he scratched for awhile before hitting a good thermal in front of launch. Everyone started to launch and climb out below him. I ended up on top of the stack and at a low altitude I dove over the back onto the platau for a dust de
Brasilia day 31250684580|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Having internet problems here in Brasil so the updates are a little slow.139km task with 4 turnpoints a later start due to the Ambulance not being at takeoff and less clouds.I started good was alone for the first 60kms then met up with Nene and flew with him for the rest of the task. We were in front of everyone and the day was running out due to the late start.We left a light climb at the forest hoping to get one more thermal before the day shut down but it never happened and we landed in a sma
Brasilia day 21250681880|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today was looking like another great day so they called a 135km task with two turnpoints and goal in the Esplanada. I had a great start headed off down the ridge for the 1st turnpoint 35kms away.Everyday Tv crews are at takeoff and in the goal.The gaggle went more into the valley and ran down the clouds. I got stuck a couple of times on the ridge and when I reached the turnpoint the gaggle was high above me. I just decided to relax and get high before I tried to chase the gaggle down.We were now
Brasilia Day 11250502300|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today was the first day of the Brazilian Nationals with 70 pilots in the comp we were in for a good week of flying. Brasilia was off to its usal weather with puffy clouds filling the sky as far as you could see.They set a short 101km task with 2 turnpoints bringing us into the Esplanada for the most majical goal in the World. I started in the valley up high with Dustin and a few others and raced off down the ridge to the Waterfall.I was leading out and finding good thermals with Dustin, then we
|
Ager Open Official Blogofficial results TASK 6 - overall provisional results 8th day 7th day 6th day results task 4 / overall 5th day results task 3 / overall 4th day 3rd day results task 2 / overall 2nd day results task 1 1st day burocracyyyy ager today welcome |
Corinna´s SkyMore pics from Sao Paulo Grand Prix1256210700|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover More photos for you to share that incredible event, the race of the year, as Matt predicted, where everything was decided. An incredible privilege for me to have been able to participate "backstage", to meet the athletes and their fantastic teams. Im still over the moon that Sebastian´s team mate, Aussie Mark Webber, won the race, and I was allowed to hold his trophy and what was left of the champagne. Who do I have to bribe that we get these magnum bottles for our worlds as well?
I am dreaming.... (Sao Paulo, Timezone UTC – 2)1255958760|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover ... and I won´t open my eyes so this incredible dream can continue. I had a Lufthansa work trip to Sao Paulo yesterday, and since we arrived early on Sunday morning, I had wondered if there was a tiny chance to get to Interlagos to see my first Formula 1 Grand Prix live. Matt, my friend from the Red Bull Air Race, is also working at F1 and had informed the Red Bull organizing crew here about my intention.When we arrived at our crew hotel in the morning, it was obvious that a lot of the F1 teams
Jonny flies the Morning Glory in Australia1254691740|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover This incredible rolling cloud is very difficult to catch, and after a long time of preparation, Jonny and his team created some amazing flying footage, you can watch some of it here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMdyT-rIXaoAlso for more fantastic photos and the report have a look at Jonny´s blogCurrently our "flying video reporter" had just flown his first task in the Canungra Classic comp up in Queensland, from his home site Beechmont out to Lake Moogerah. I love that place because it offers
Orlando, Timezone GMT -41254106860|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover 25 minutes until briefing starts... this time my standby call was really with very short notice and I had to race to the airport to make it on the flight to – Orlando! What a lucky choice, two nights in Florida. Jamie is still in Arizona at the Santa Cruz flats comp (Kraig won, with Robin Hamilton in 2nd place), so I couldnt meet her.But our captain is an aviation enthusiast and already mentioned going to „Fantasy of flight“ in the briefing, and sure I was interested in going there. Our tw
Mysterious Castle flights1253654700|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today I went to Tegelberg, the place of the next Women´s World Championships in May 2010. Together with Mini from Red Bull Germany we checked out some locations for special flights to create an exciting flying movie before the worlds start so we can get the media interested in the event. The scenery is amazing and there are lots of possibilities of pictures that have never been seen before, so it was a very creative day. Just imagine flying across the castle yard between the towers of Neuschwan
Cover of USHPA Magazine!1252847580|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover I am currently on the cover of the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association´s magazine, flying above Greifenburg and Emberger Alm! They sent me a few copies to Germany and I am very honoured to be on the US magazine, as 3x world champion Kari Castle from the US used to be my major competitor! To me, this is not just about a high quality photograph, but it shows sportsmanships and an open mind to present the German world champion on the cover of a US magazine, specially as I´ve ne
New projects1251490020|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Most comps of the summer season are over, congrats to Jonny Durand who won the Brasilia Race, and to Natalia Petrova who is Russian Championette again. At the moment, some young pilots are finishing a comp for new xc pilots in Greifenburg in Austria, but the next comp to watch out for will be the Canungra Classic in Australia. Wish I could go!At the same time, beginning October, the Free Flight Hang- and Paragliding Exhibition takes place at Tegelberg in the south of Germany. Depending on my wor
Results Red Bull Air Race, Slovenian / Italian Open1251025260|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover US-pilot Mike Goulian (photo) won his first Red Bull Air Race in Budapest after a stunning finish, with Paul Bohnhomme 2nd, Kirby Chambliss 3rd, Hannes Arch 4th and a great success for newcomer Matthias Dolderer in 5th place. Have a look at my video-interviews with Hannes and Matthias here! Hannes is in 2nd place now and Paul in 1st, but there are two races to come, in Porto and Barcelona. With only 1 point behind Paul, Hannes has a great chance to overtake the British pilot again- let´s keep o
Slovenian Open, Italian Nationals and Red Bull Air Race1250761620|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover After two tasks in Tolmin, Slovenia, Primoz Gricar leads the comp ahead of Tom and Gerolf. In Italy, of course the National Team takes all top places, Christian, Alex, Elio, Davide! They already flew 3 tasks in Parma.Meanwhile, in Budapest Hannes Arch is still leading the Red Bull Air Race Worldchampionship. Today will be an important day for Hannes to earn more points to keep his title - by the way, he is also the organizer of the Red Bull XAlps and one of the top pg acro guys in the world. Gre
Flights from Tegelberg!1250436780|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover This is my friend Rebi, I taught her hanggliding in April at Wasserkuppe. She already flies paragliders so it was easy to convert her. And now she did her first high flights from Tegelberg and nearly finished all of them to get the licence for hanggliding too! Im very proud of her!Also, they had a great comp at Monte Cucco and Alex Ploner won in the end, just a few points ahead of Primoz Gricar from Slovenia/Germany. The organizer made sure that down to 10th place, pilots got prizemoney and thus
Loops above Munich1249680060|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Standing on the balcony, I couldnt believe what I just saw. Two gliders in the center, a few hundred meters away from my flat, just around the German Museum area, which is pretty much Munich downtown! Then one of them pulled a couple of beautiful loops before they headed off towards Englischer Garten. I wonder who that was - and Im sorry that I cant pick them up ;) so nice to see some flying again!While they flew 118 km task in Laragne (results), the guys in Italy had a 100km task. Primoz was fi
Results from Cucco and Laragne1249575060|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover This photo was taken at Cucco North take off, but the guys went to Monte Gemmo at Tre Pizzi for take off yesterday. Many people landed around the first turnpoint already, after only 15 km, that is why the day wasnt worth too many points, even though 7 people made it to goal, with Alex winning the day, Gerd 2nd, Davide Guiducci 3rd and Primoz 4th. Carole Tobler and Christa shared the first place in womens ranking. Results of task 1 here.In Laragne, three pilots made goal, Koos winning and German
1. Task in Laragne, 1. task at Cucco1249506600|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Seems like they flew a 70km task in Laragne yesterday with Dutch pilot Koos probably having won the day. Also they had a first task at Monte Cucco, 82 km with world champion Alex and German pilot Gerd Dönhuber first in goal, as Curt Warren reports on Twitter. Curt could not compete, as his team Tom and Jörg have already headed off to Austria to compete at "Best of Diedams" which starts on Friday (Curt is leaving for Australia on Sunday so he had to send his flying gear back to Austria with Tom
Monte Cucco Trophy1249408080|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover No task yet at the Monte Cucco Trophy, the pre pre worlds. First day was cancelled due to strong wind, yesterday a front rushed through, today it is still raining. Hopefully tomorrow they can fly a first task. The last day will be Saturday, so they have 4 possible tasks. From our German team, Regina, Christa, Nikola, Jörg and "German newcomer of the year" Gerd Dönhuber are in the comp - he finished 3rd in the French Nationals in St Hilaire! Also nearly the whole Italian nationalteam including
More comps at the same time1248983820|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover At the moment, there are several comps in Europe. Furthest north 19 pilots are competing in Altes Lager, 60 km south of Berlin, at the German Flatlands. They already flew 3 tasks in four days, Lukas Bader is leading, Yulia Kucherenko from Russia is 2nd !!! and her Russian friend Artur Dzamikov 3rd. I know quite a few good flatland pilots up there, so Yulia is doing a great job, good luck for the last task tomorrow! Tonight a cold front will hit and move through, but the sandy soil dries very qui
1248097020|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover After a 65 km task on the final day, it was close to the very last second, because the top 4 guys were all within 20 points! Not many people there, and Jonny landing short.Young Blay Olmos who had already won Forbes this year won the pre Europeans on his Litespeed, followed by Swiss Martin Harri and British Carl Wallbank, all on Moyes.Also big congrats to the top woman in this comp. Kathleen Rigg finished 13th overall after six tasks, she was the 2nd best British pilot in the comp and showed tha
Ager Day 5: 126 km around 4 turnpoints1247696280|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today our whole Team Timezone made goal! Primoz came in 2nd just after Jonny Durand who probably won the day (results are not published yet), Jörg came in 5th, Tim and I nearly crossed the line together.A great fun flight after a cloud covered morning. It had rained during the night, so cloudbase was below take off when we arrived, but got up to 3000m during the course of the day on our task around 4 turnpoints. We had quite a lot of tailwind on some legs, and a significant headwind on other le
Ager Day 4: 70 km dogleg1247605620|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today we waited until noon to go up the mountain because it looked like overdevelopment. At 1.30 pm we finally started setting up, and a task around 4 turnpoints and 70 km/h was set. All a bit of a hassle to get ready with such short notice.Even though the wind was a little off to the East, take off was ok. I took the first start at 15.15 but after the 2nd turnpoint waited a long time before jumping over the back of the ridge. With only 2000m of height, it just looked to overwhelming, the big ga
Ager Day 3: Cancelled due to Levante1247515260|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover When we arrived on Montsec today, the southeasterly wind kept picking up. A task of 130 km was set, but the Spanish local pilots warned me of dangerous take off conditions and very rough air that would not take us up very high. Not too inviting.Joerg is on the safety committee so I told him about the opinion of the locals and he managed to stop the first comp pilot from trying to take off. Soon enough the wind picked up even more, Jörg measured up to 48 km/h, the maximum to fly a task here is 3
Ager Day 2: 132 km1247435220|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today we flew another task, a long 132 dogleg flight around 3 turnpoints. The weather prediction sounded wonderful, base at 2700 m at 2 pm, but when we were in the air it was worse than yesterday, climbs only up to 2000m. Primoz, Tim, Monique and I waited for a long time and only started at 3.15 pm, Monique even later! Not so promising to start that late and know it is not yet a fast day...Big difficulty in the beginning: a crossing with no places to land for some time. Soon the climbs were get
Day 1, Task 1: 65 km1247346180|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Gone are the days of green (thanks to Christian Langbehn for this Greifenburg photo), here it is dry, the straw fields are harvested already (except for our goal field ;)), Camo said he feels really good to fly here, it is like home (Australia). All dry, red soil.The weather forecast was poor, but the conditions improved and a short 65 km task took us around to the south into the hills and flat area, as cloudbase was rather low (when there were clouds, most of the time it was blue).I took the fi
The day before the Pre-Euros start1247247060|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today we went to see the goal landing field, some bomb out fields, up to take off, and got prepared for the start. I felt like a rest after two weeks of hard work, so I decided not to fly and be rested tomorrow. Up on take off Ive met Aussie hero Jonny Durand, the vice World Champion from Laragne and a fellow team Red Bull mate. Also Blenky and Camo stayed here to make this crowd more international and less "only European".Headquarter here is very spacious, and the internet connection works well
Ager: Pre-European Championships1247178360|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover When we were on final into Barcelona airport today, it was pouring with rain. Walking out of the A321, the next crew was waiting for taking over the plane for the flight back, and I was very happy and surprised to see Walter Schurr as the captain! I told him I just arrived to fly the Pre-Europeans in Ager, and he just said, "what, you want to fly in this weather?!"Well the thunder, lightening and rain wouldnt stop for the next 100km... Just at Lleida, about 50km from Ager, the skies opened up
Philly on the 4th of July1247006520|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover When I went to work on Saturday, it was a nice surprise to meet Uli Strasser at the gate to our flight to Frankfurt. Uli won last years paragliding German XC Championships and is already in 2nd place again this year. He was on the way to help building a "government palace" in Tashkent, as he called it. Sounds like adventure tour to me.I was on the way to Philadelphia for the first time, and only realized during briefing that we were going to THE spot for the celebrations of July 4th, with lots o
New World Champion: Alex Ploner!1246658100|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Looks like Alex Ploner from Italy is the new hang gliding World Champion! After six rounds in Laragne/France he overtook three times World Champion, the Austrian Manfred Ruhmer, on the last day. Congratulations to Alex, I´m very happy to see a friend win the big title. Alex belongs to our "Team Timezone" and we already planned a photo and film flying adventure for September in his home, the Dolomites! That is, if Alex hasn´t moved to Hollywood by then...Also Chapeau to the Italian team for wi
|
Ager: Pre-European Championships
The 2009 Pre-Europeans took place in July at Ager, Spain, as a practice event prior to next year's actual Europeans. Of the 120 competitors the Brits were well represented as both individual pilots and Team GB, some using the week as practice for the UK Nationals taking place at Ager directly afterwards.
Our transport arrangements worked out brilliantly. We collected Steve Penfold and Bruce Kavanagh at Lleida train station, making our car full of optimistic pilots and Army Team driver Mark Wilson. Following a shambolic safety brief on the Friday evening, Saturday morning dawned clearish with a cracking inversion. Joy.
Day 1.
A rigging order had been declared but the pilots hadn't been correctly informed of this and no comp representative was available at launch to calm ruffled feathers. So imagine everyone's joy when a second rigging order was called. This functioned fairly well and at 1330 a task brief was called. The forecast was described by a local as 'ugly', which means different things to different nationalities. The task was a 68km race via four turnpoints with goal at Agulo. Turnpoints 1 and 2 were fairly easy to get but 3 and 4 involved crossing the valley out front quite low and working scratchy lift at times. Overall task winner was Gerolf Heinrichs; first Brit was Carl Wallbank with only one point between them. Craig Dolwin twisted his ankle on landing and hobbled to the derigging area, where he was was ministered to by nice paramedics and sent off to rest, ice, compression and elevation in his apartment.
Day 2.
Yesterdays rigging confusion was absent, and despite an initial inversion the organisers assured us that conditions would be excellent. The task was a 132km race via three turnpoints to goal at Vilamitjana. The sky was very busy with all 117 pilots at the far end of Montsec ridge lurking at the 16km entry start prior to jumping the gap toward to Turnpoint 1. As the day progressed the climbs improved and base lifted to 2,300m. It was a technically difficult task and local knowledge of winds and valleys made all the difference, as the land over the back towards Turnpoints 2 and 3 was not very hospitable. Over a third of the field made goal, with Blay Olmos Jr. the task winner and Carl Wallbank again best Brit, and Kathleen Rigg coming a very creditable 5th. I managed 33km and landed in a field that I hope I never see again.
Day 3.
The task was cancelled due to strong surface winds and 'dangerous' conditions. Our driver Mark decided this would be an excellent opportunity to run down the 9.5-mile road from take-off, with promises that we would collect him en route. Our derigging took longer than planned and he'd nearly made it to the bottom when we picked up one driver, slightly thirsty and very hot. Several cars stopped on the way giving him much needed water, but another GB car offered encouragement in the form of verbal abuse!
Day 4.
Thunderstorms had been forecast and an air of apathy descended on the campsite. The organisers declined to comment until 1200 when a rumour spread that a briefing with gliders on roof racks would take place at launch at 1300. Task 3 was called with five minutes notice, a 74km race via four turnpoints. There was instant pandemonium as 117 pilots tried to get set up and get airborne before the forecast thunderstorms and 1800 goal deadline. Some pilots were not even in the sky when the first start opened. As the afternoon progressed the climbs improved and 80 pilots made goal including me. Hurrah! Task winner was again the mighty Gerolf Heinrichs; first Brit Richard Lovelace in 8th place.
Day 5.
Having achieved greatness (in a minor way) the day before I was all about getting up the hill and getting on. The rigging order had changed again but I realised this was because I had moved up 20 places, although I doubt leading Brit Carl Wallbank felt threatened. The task was 129km via four turnpoints into goal at Vilamitjana. The task brief included a warning of areas with no available landings (always encouraging). Kathleen said to me, 'Just get high and stay high,' and as she was in 14th place overall this seemed good advice. The first three turnpoints covered the greatest distance but the last two legs were more challenging. The 13km final glide defeated me and I landed 10km short, but with a personal best of 113km. Task winner was Jonny Durand and best Brit Dave Shields in 14th place. A great day: amazing country and fantastic vultures at 9,500ft.
Day 6.
Initially the task was 160km but after protests it was changed to 140km via two turnpoints to a goal at Benabarre. It was definitely a day to be away with the first start. It was a challenging task but with an ill-considered goal field, though pilots were given the option to land elsewhere within the cylinder. Current Women's World Champion Corinna Schwiegershausen had an unfortunate tree landing and sustained various bumps and bruises including a good knock to the head and a broken ankle. For the most however the main gripe was the time-intensive retrieves, some not arriving back at Ager till gone midnight. Task winner was Balazs Ujhelyi and best Brit again Carl Wallbank in 12th place.
Day 7.
Despite initial faffage by the organisers the day was finally cancelled at 1200 due to strong winds. Tim Hudson (meet director for the UK Nationals) had just arrived and the Comps Panel decided to make best use of the conditions and lock themselves in a room for the fun that is a committee meeting. Some people, eh? Mark and I drove down to the lake and went cliff jumping, sunbathing and generally not flying. A well-deserved day of rest: fabulous.
Day 8.
A short (69km) task was called out into the flatlands to avoid strong north-westerly winds, a so-called cats cradle via five turnpoints to a goal at Balaguer. Conditions were rough with a crosswind at launch, but as Kathleen was heard telling someone, 'Turbulence equals fun!' I waited my turn, dodged three dust-devils and finally launched quite late on. Low in between the first three turnpoints, the Agulo bottom field exercised its magical powers again and I landed. 16 pilots made goal in the difficult conditions with Gerolf again the winner with a fast time of 1:31, and Richard Lovelace, Carl Wallbank and Bruce Kavanagh close behind with less than 20 points between them.
Tired, and mostly happy having flown six tasks in eight days, the British pilots were now looking forward to the UK Nationals due to start the next day. Congratulations must go to Carl Wallbank in 3rd place, and of course to Kathleen Rigg in 13th who flew consistently well and with quiet determination. The campsite filled with British pilots keen to hear of the conditions and local flying, while the organisers held the prizegiving in town with a free bar (always dangerous). The Europeans will be taking place here on July 5th-17th next year. The organisers have learnt some lessons regarding administration and the retrieve drivers have learnt that a 13km straight distance can still lead to a 1:30 min retrieve. And the pilots? Well, personally I can't wait for next year.
Report by Jenny Buck
| File name | File type | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|
| M1.zip | Zip archive data | 2.65 MB | Info |
| M2.zip | Zip archive data | 3.85 MB | Info |
| M3.zip | Zip archive data | 2.4 MB | Info |
| M4.zip | Zip archive data | 3.79 MB | Info |
| M5.zip | Zip archive data | 3.73 MB | Info |
