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 |
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Tweets from JamieError processing the feed "http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/19145087.rss". The feed can not be accessed or contains errors. |
Jonny DurrantBogong Cup day 31264367280|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Here is a quick video from Day 3 of Bogong Cup. Unfortunately the internet was so slow that I could not upload videos until now.Snow in summer.
Red Bull Documentary1264151460|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover This is it the moment you have all been waiting for the Red Bull Glorious Days documentary will be aired this sunday.Sunday 24th January, 2010 Channel 9 or Win.Red Bull Glorious Days NSW and VIC - 1.30pm (leading into the cricket)QLD - 12.30pmSA - 1.00pmIt is on at prime time so hopefully there will be lots of Aussies watching it. Spread the word to all your friends and family and make sure you tape it cause you will want to see it again..
Bogong Cup day 71264150140|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Well the weather just continues to make us rest up for our next comp at manilla. The winds continue to stay strong and the forecast for tomorrow is looking average too.This may go down as one of the worst comps as far as weather goes flying a mere 1 day out of 7 so far.However some pilots have actually flown 4 days fighting the strong winds and turbelence. Some of us enjoyed wake boarding around the lake in Mt beauty yesterday afternoon. We then had a great dinner at the Cricket club in town and
Bogong Cup day 41263933960|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today was looking like the first day we were going to fly. They decided on Mt Emu for the takeoff so we raced up there and set up.The task was a 103kms with 3 turnpoints before returning back down the valley to goal at Mt Beauty Airstrip.I pushed on launch and got off and climbed out with Trent to 6,500ft asl. I quickly raced off down the ridge to try and make the second start. I got drilled 2 minutes before the start and was forced to stay back and do the last start with most everyone else. I h
Bogong Cup 2010 Day 11263652200|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover There is a great turn out of pilots this year with around 60 pilots entered. There are about 12 West Australians which is great to see. BriefingToday the briefing was on hold until 11am when the task committee decided that the conditions were to strong for us to even go up the hill to look.The day was cancelled and many pilots went and did different things to pass the day by.The Trophies..
Forbes day 91263420600|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Well another hard task call with different weather forecast predicted. The task was a 169km dogleg to the North East.We had stable northerly winds near the start gate and then we hit a SW wind with clouds around 10,000ft.We quickly made the turnpoint of 65kms before turning and heading north towards goal. The clouds stopped and we ended up back into the blue stable airmass which proved to difficult for anyone to make goal.I flew for 6 hrs again and landed 22kms from goal coming in 5th for the da
Forbes Day 81263162180|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover The task was a 185km out and return task with a 20kph SW wind. It was a very easy run to the turnpoint tailwind but took many hours to get beck into the wind.Blay will win the day in just over 4 hrs and Balazs will be second with Gerolf 3rd.I got stuck a couple of times and ended up being about 20 mins slower and will place 6th for the day.Attila was nearly 1 hr slower than me and now Balazs will move into 2nd place with attila close behind in 3rd.I will now have a 400 point lead going into the
Forbes Day 71263080040|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Another great day at Forbes with a 141km zig zag task. 40 pilots made goal and the winner was from the 2nd start completing the task in 2hrs 12 mins.I did well starting on the 1st clock with Blay and was first into goal and place second for the day in 2hrs 17 mins. It was a fantastic day out in Forbes with 1,000fpm climbs and cloudbase around 9,000ftasl.Zac went down today at the 1st turnpoint which means I will move into 1st place and Attila will move to 2nd with Zac still in 3rd.Balazs and Ger
Forbes Day 61262988000|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover With moderate NE winds and the forecast for it to back off we set a 130km triangle task. I launched early and flew around for 1.5 hrs before I eventually started at 2:20pm.Attila and Blay had done the first start and I decided to hang back as I saw Zac and many others were not there. I had an average start and just followed the gaggle to the turnpoint and slowly worked my way to the top.We all arounded the first turnpoint and I raced off in front marking thermals for Zac, gerolf and Jeff. They k
Forbes Day 51262905800|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover With quite a good weather forecast we set a 149km triangle course. There was a mandatory start for the top 20 pilots at 2:20pm.I launched early and climbed straight out to 7,000ft with Flocky. After leaving the tow field I found that the lift was very weak and could not get above 5,000ft.I ended up having a good start compared to many others but was still only 5,000ft and glided off with Carl,Attila and Zac. We had 2 thermals together before Carl and attila went to a small ridge 9kms upwind of c
Forbes Day 41262818920|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover With lighter winds predicted the task committee came up with a 122km out and return task. We started much earlier today with the last start being at 2pm.Briefing.I launched early and spent 2 hrs flying before I even started the task. I had a reasonable start and soon found myslef out in front with Carl, Balazs and Gerolf.Gerolf went downwind and in the blue and us 3 went more upwind through the blue hole. We had a reasonable run and arived at the turnpoint at 10,000ft before turning and heading
Forbes Day 31262734140|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today was looking just that little bit to good with clouds starting early in the morning. A short 141km task was set to Borrowa in hopes that we would get a task in before it overdeveloped.I did the first start with Attila,Carl,Blinky and a few others. I managed to get out in front with Attila after 70kms before hitting some rain. I was actually making a video and thought Attila was above me climbing still and when I got high he was gone.I thought he may have gone straight through the rain think
Forbes Day 21262639820|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Day winners from Task 1 Zac $250, Lucas $150 and Atilla $100 thanks to the Computer store in town.Today was looking good with clouds starting early and streeting to the horizon. The task committee came up with a 194km dogleg task to Bookham on the Hume highway.I towed quite late again and was not in position for the first start so I made sure that I was there for the 2nd start 20 mins later. I was with Blay and quite a few others but they were more to our east and had a much better start than us
Forbes Day 11262554860|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Day 1 ResultsToday was looking quite difficult and it was the usal story of Day 1 blues. There was a last minute task change due to overdevelopment near the goal.I waited untill last to tow up as it was not looking so great and I did not want to get blown through the start gate. It was a great plan but soon after I found myself in the situation I was trying to avoid.I managed to do the 2nd start gate but started well below the main gaggle but I knew I could not hang out for another start. I left
New years..1262337900|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Can you believe that this was only at 9pm..Here is a young couple we disturbed on our walk to see the fireworks on North Bondi. Turns out they are hang glider pilots from QLD. The crew at a good friends house party in Bronte.
Stanwell Park Test Flying.1262274180|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover After 10 hrs of driving in the rain to Sydney Ant and I built my new Glider. We got some sleep then drove down to Stanwell park for some test flying. Ant decided to test fly my old RS3.5 and I was flying my brand new toy. There were 3 Canungra boys having their first flights down here. Ant, Scotty and sean all had great flights and Joel mananged to wash his glider in the salt water..He tells us that he landed just short but we think otherwise as he carrys his glider back wet.We flew for about 3
A boys day out.1261327860|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today it was Ant's 30th Birthday party so 16 of us out to play 18 holes of golf. It was a great day of fun with lots of drinking and swinging. Im sure who actually won cause we did not get to finish the full course.The crew getting ready to Tee off.Some of us even went swiming..What do you mean Dave was swimming!After golf we continued the party at Ant's house near Canungra. It was a great night and many of us learned that you should never play darts against Ant's father.Dave, Morgan and Ant pa
1261123560|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Setting up at Flying Fox..Climbing out over launch. looking north east towards the Gold Coast.Flocky climbing out over Lamington National Park.The Famous Mt Warning.Looking out to Byron Bay beach.Looking north towards Queensland.
An amazing day out flying.1261086960|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today the wind had swung around to the NNE so it was off to Flying Fox Launch. I will write more tomorrow but for now here is a quick video from today.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZMNmhguggg
Beach flying1260356040|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today was blowing North again which makes it rough and average to fly from Tambo. After checking some weather observations it was decided on a trip to the beach.One of the biggest problems we have here is that we can never get a strong East wind. This is the direction we need to make it soarable on our dunes.You can see how our beach raps around to the north when you go south to Coolangatta. You will see the river mouth on bottom right which is where I was flying.We have been looking at differen
1259864760|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover I woke up at 5am hoping for a record day but saw no clouds so I kept sleeping. I kept waking up every half hour looking out my bedroom window and saw nothing but blue skies and a south wind blowing.Jonas and I eventually went to takeoff at 9am and setup with a few others. Big Jon and Judy came up a little later and I helped him setup before I launched.Jonas was first off and was up and soaring the Tim launched and also was climbing.I ran off and glided all the way down the ridge to the North Eas
Gulgong Classic Day 6 and 71258968720|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover The weather was a little to good on friday with temps of 45 degrees it took less than 1 hr to have thunderstorms. The day was cancelled and with similar weather forecast but with more wind it was time to party.We had quite a big night on friday as we knew we were not going to be flying on saturday. Saturday we waited for some signs of wind and before to long it was gusting over 25knts.We had a quick awards ceremony before making a 870km journey home. I arived home at 9pm and will now relax for a
Gulgong Classic Day 51258668720|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today was looking worse than yesterday but there was a chance it would improve later in the day. We decided on making a later task with the conditions and set a short 103km task down into the Beautiful Glen Alice. I was the first one to open the hangar doors and pull my glider out with my harness still attached from the day before. It sure is nice not having to set up in the 39 degree heat that we've been having.I launched first and climbed out in a 600fpm climb to 8,700ft asl. I guess the day w
Gulgong Classic Day 41258584600|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today was looking quite good with light winds a 6,000ft blue day with moderate climbs. We decided on a 130km triangle task taking us out the west and back to the airfield.The window opened at 12:15pm and no was launching becuase it looked stable, so at 12:45 I decided to tow. I was first up and pinned off at 1,000ft agl and climbed up in a 4-500fpm climb. Everyone was now lining up and starting tow as the start window opened in at 1:45pm. I ended up heading out to the edge of the start and start
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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 SkyMunich: ISPO and Red Bull Athlete´s dinner1265684520|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Another big day for me today. Most my sponsors are at the biggest sports exhibition of Europe, the Ispo in Munich. Regina and I went around to see them, trying various new gadgets on the way to the different locations. Always a good place to see innovations, but also to meet old friends.In the evening, Red Bull invited their sponsored athletes for dinner - a fantastic occasion to meet extreme artists of various sports. Snowboarding, mountain biking, free skiing, skateboarding, marathon running,
Back in summer: Caracas, Timezone UTC -4.301265479320|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover So nice to be back in a warm climate, even if only for 22 hours! The work trip to Caracas meant a lot of running up and down the A340-600, but it is very rewarding to be in this "pais rico". Makes me think of my south american hanggliding friends - I really hope I will meet a lot of them at Monte Cucco at the preworlds in Italy this summer.I went swimming this morning and had the whole big pool on my own, great training for the flying muscles. The beaches are packed today, as the families are ou
Castle Kaltenberg: How the Prince won our hearts1265139180|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today our national team was invited by the honorary patron of the World Hang Gliding Championship 2010 at Tegelberg, Prince Luitpold of Bavaria. He is a direct descendant of the last king of Bavaria, Ludwig III. Regina and Ute picked me up in Munich and together we drove to Geltendorf, about 40 minutes west of Munich. At 10 o clock we met Monique and Benno at the castle Kaltenberg, home of the royal family and also the king Ludwig castle brewery. We were a little nervous, as none of us has ever
Back in ice age, Timezone UTC + 11265025000|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Hey I just found my car again! Not so easy when you were away for nearly four weeks and they all look the same - white! You lucky basterds down under, we have huge amounts of snow here, in case you are too hot, you can have buckets full of ice from us... the roads are really icy too and Im glad that my friend Regina will come to pick me up tomorrow to go to an audience with His Royal Highness Prince Luitpold of Bavaria - yes, we even won a real Prince as a supporter for the World Hanggliding Cha
Australia Day1264546380|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover At 9 this morning, the flying girls met for breakfast at Brighton le Sands. It was great to have some time with Jorj, Kathryn and Jamie, I wish we could do that more often. That´s one good thing about the competitions- you get to spend some time in the same place, no matter which continent you call home!After breakfast, Jamie and I had the silly idea to drive over to Bronte Beach to see Jonny and the guys at Bill´s place. Not good thinking, as it was Australia day, and Sydneysiders had congreg
Home1264408620|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Back in Sydney, I was welcomed again in Vicki´s and Greg´s house in Coogee where I had stayed for quite some time while I was working for Moyes. It has always been a great privilege for me to have been able to live in what is for me the nicest city in the world, and to have been welcomed with open arms by the unique Moyes hospitality.Great weather, close flying sites, crazy birds, funny traffic lights that sound like crazy birds, interesting festivals (right now it´s Sydney Festival again), b
Back in Sydney1264335540|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover I just arrived fine in Sydney after a pleasant drive up from Mt Beauty with Davis and Belinda. It was great to meet up with Curt at Stanwell - they were flying in a beautiful smooth breeze today - and a wonderful surprise to meet "DJ Rudy" Gotez from Mexico, he is working with Curt, doing tandems and instructions, one of the best Mexican pilots and a good friend.On the pictures you see a dead brown snake - there were quite a lot of snakes around this year, then our group from the trip to Mount B
Bogong Cup last day: 113 km around 3 turnpoints1264262640|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Finally another task, and quite a big and demanding one too. Most of the day we flew with blue skies, up to Gundowring, over to clear spot at Mystic launch, then up north again to Dederang and to the airstrip. I was in the air for 4,5 hrs and had a lot of fun racing along with Olli most of the day. Late about 10 pilots made goal, Rohan Holtkamp won the day, overall winner is Jonny Durand, B-grade won Glen "Junior" McFarlane (Glen McLeods younger lookalike).I came in 6th of the day and was first
Bogong Cup Day 6: cancelled by pilots!1264122240|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover The forecast was for strong winds at our flying levels again, so we postpones briefing to noon. Nevertheless, Davis decided to send us up to Emu. When we arrived, the upper level winds hadn´t started mixing in, so most of us started settung up our gliders.The wind on take off was off to the right, a slight nw direction mixing in, showing a rotor in our little gap between the gum trees. Rohan wanted to set another task to Khancoban, while Lukas didnt regard these conditions as taskable at all. W
Bogong Cup Day 5: Lenticular clouds1263971220|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover After yesterday´s flight in quite strong wind conditions, the forecast for today was not too promising and very early we could see lenticular development. Strong high level winds of 50 knots might sooner or later mix into the lower layers. Briefing was postponed to see if the winds were easing off, but as they kept being stronger than yesterday, Davis made a safety decision and cancelled the day, we didnt even go up to Emu. I was very glad about that and I had voted not to go up in the safety c
Bogong Cup Task 1: 99 km around 3 tp1263898560|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Today we finally had flyable weather. As cloudbase was low and the wind still quite strong from westerly directions, the task committee set a 78 km task around 3 turnpoints in the Kiewa Valley.After a good take off, I was lucky to be nice and high at the last start gate. The air was rough and bumpy, but with my little full carbon Litespeed, I felt safe and had fun climbing out with Jonny Durand. He left me just before the first turnpoint at Gundowring, as I had decided to fly a bit more conserva
Bogong Cup Day 4: Mt Emu1263861240|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover So finally we get started, after another rest day yesterday with strong wind and a lot of rain. There is still a bit of wind around, so we might fly a one way task from Mt Emu to Khancoban, which would be quite a long retrieve, so we will be back late tonight.
Bogong Cup Day 2: cancelled1263706260|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover While it was too windy in the mountains yesterday, we experienced a really strong wind of over 50 km/h in the flatlands today. Comp organizer Phil Schroeder and Meteo-support Oli Barthelmes were right with their prediction, sooner or later the flatland wind would turn into our valley and make it difficult to find taskable air. Im glad that they cancelled the day, as it is howling outside at the moment. The clouds broke up, but the wind kicked right in.Tonight Phil set up a movie night and Jonny
Bogong Cup Day 1: cancelled, too windy1263679500|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover On the photo with Oli, you see Jonny Durand who just won the Forbes competition.We had the initial briefing yesterday at Mt Beauty holiday centre. As the winds were quite strong from the north, we postponed briefing to 11. Then the day was cancelled, as the wind was still too strong to set a flyable task. Usually this weather means strong turbulence and broken lift, so I was happy with the decision.The wind speed dropped down and Davis was positive yesterday that we will fly today, probably from
Training Day: Mystic1263593580|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Yesterday we had northerly winds, so Tony and I drove over to Bright, and Oli took us up to Mystic launch. Toni´s glider had been ripped apart by a dust devil in Forbes, so he had to testfly his new sail just like I had to try the Litespeed 3.5 s Moyes sent me for the comp.We were ready early, I had a little Red Bull shot - such useful small things! - and launched at midday.I was lucky - a thermal took me right up to cloudbase. Up there the wind was 20 km/h north and I could even soar up the cl
No place like cloudbase - Mt Beauty Timezone UTC +111263185640|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Oli took me up in the sailplane yesterday, winching up at Mt Beauty airstrip. It looked stable when we took off, but Oli managed to stay in the air, we eventually broke through 3 inversions and found cloudbase at 4000m. A great reward for the suffering in 42 C on the ground.The 4 hour "walk" took us all the way to Falls Creek, Mount Hotham and Feathertop. The first time I saw that part of the Victorian Alps. Very scenic. And it was fun working together with Oli to find the fastest thermals and t
Down under, Timezone UTC + 111263070560|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover I finally managed to escape the tons of snow and arrived in Bright after a smooth long flight to Melbourne. Even better - also my luggage arrived! It´s a bit of a temperature change, when I left Munich we had - 15 C, now in Bright we get a few really hot days with more than 40 C! As it is in the mountains, it cools down nicely during the night, but during the day it is full on summer.Oli flew to Corryong two days ago and just flew back yesterday to Mt Beauty airstrip - a great effort, since he
December adventures1262267820|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover I was lucky in December - a change of schedule usually means flights like Ashgabad or Teheran. This time, they sent me to Bangkok. Great place to find beautiful flowers for my mother and other friends. Usually I never get there, so I was happy to be able to explore a new place - and to eat loads of superspicy Thai curry ;)Coming back, I was again lucky that I had Christmas off for the first time since I started working for Lufthansa - my parents had water in the cellar of their house, as a pipe
China again: Nanjing, Timezone: UTC + 81260457500|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover And again, no chance to update my blog while I was in Nanjing, China. This city is not as big and not as modern as the well known metropoles of China, but it is nice to see some history and traditional places. Even if they are re-built like the Konfuzius temple on the photos, as it was completely destroyed before.Nanjing has a dark history of destruction, not only by Japanese, but also by British and American bombing. About 400000 Chinese people dwere killed in the Nanjing massacre.I was surpris
Shanghai Surprise - Timezone: UTC + 81260456840|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover After returning from Mexico, I went to China for the first time. It was a lot of fun on board when my colleagues taught me the basics of Chinese - the right intonation! I was surprised to see that the structure of the language is quite basic and I could communicate drinks and food successfully to the Chinese speaking passengers who seemed to have a lot of fun with my efforts.The city of Shanghai is stunning - so many modern sky scrapers with really interesting architecture, so many people everyw
More pictures from Playa1258918860|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover Actually these photos were taken in Tulum. We saw the Papantly flyers there - they keep turning around the pole while the ropes on their feet get longer and they eventually get down to the ground.The highlight at the pyramids of Tulum weren´t actually the buildings for me, but the Iguanas, lots of little dragons were sitting everywhere and smiling at us. If you ever go to visit Tulum, go early - bezillions of large tourist groups are being moved through from about 10 am! And also be prepared fo
Ueli1258423380|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover I had wanted to write about my current trip to Playa del Carmen, my Spanish course, meeting adorable Mexican people, learning how to cook tortillas and snorkelling, but but these everyday tidbits sound so unimportant compared to the sad news I learnt last Friday. Another lovely guy joined the heavenly league. I have known Ueli Gegenschatz for many years, I adored his acro team and base jump actions, and I loved his modest, straightforward Swiss temperament, his witty jokes, his enthusiasm about
More 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
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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 |
