To say that I am exhausted would be an understatement. A few years ago, I remember doing 9 tasks in a row at the Flytec Championships in Florida. Conditions at that time were better and the tasks were a little shorter. This is the World Championships. This is where we go long and the wankers don't make it.
It is a humbling experience. After doing well at the Flytec this spring, I hoped to do well here. What I failed to realize is that every country brings their best. Some of the best aren't even here. The caliber of pilot is amazing.
3 days ago, they called a rest day. This was in the rules. It was also put to a vote, but it was a set up. The task committee set a 285km task on the day the vote was to be held. With people knowing they would not get back home until after midnight, it was a sure thing that we would have a rest day.
2 days ago, a "non" paragliding task was called with two turnpoints and a last leg into the wind. No one made it. Some were very close. I was behind at the start do to some poor planning. I left the start 6 minutes late but figured I could catch the stragglers. I did and then some.
Getting downwind of the first turnpoint, I flew 7 kms straight upwind to tag it. It wasn't a big deal as there was a marked thermal downwind of the turnpoint on course line. At this point, I was slowing down. The climbs weren't a problem, it was some high cloud that was shading the ground and cooling things off.
The next thermal got me to well over 3000 m (11,000 ft) and I went on glide. There was a group climbing on the edge of the shade and I went straight for them. It was the lead gaggle. Attila, Gerolf, Michi, Brett. I actually arrived higher than the top of the stack. I did 3 circles and realized that there thermal was dead. Everybody moved on. The group split. The shade was running NW to SE (course line was NNE). Half of us went NW completely off course line, while the other half went into the shade.
The sun did not work, neither did the shade. The shade however got people to the turnpoint and past while the people who went to the sun either missed the turnpoint or just got it.
Yesterday.... What a major screw up. Somehow I ended being one of the last few people to launch. There is a rule that says you can line up on launch 15 minutes before it opens. I moved out into the line at 7 minutes before... not early enough. I was still on the ground 20 minutes before the first start opened.
I got a crappy little climb over the airport that got me to 1800m. From there, about 5 of us went on glide to toward the start circle. It was a long glide and we finally found a climb at 1050m, basically 1000 ft off the deck. The climb was slow, but got us back to 1900m. But at this point, we were 1.6kms outside the start.
So I left the thermal and headed back into the 20 km headwind. Got the start on time, but after turning around, I was down to 999m before finding a climb. That is 600ft.
From then on, I was alone and the going was slow. I was afraid the day was soft, so I took every climb I could get. Half way down the course, I realized that the day was actually strong and picked up the pace.
Did a 27km final glide and kept having to speed up as the numbers got better and better. I ended up being one of the last few guys in goal. 5 Canadians made it. One didn't make it due to logistical issues.
I think the comp is over. Here is what we woke up to:
I was on the ground 2 hours before most people. No thermal to be found. I had some bad luck and ended up being in some transition air. Basically, the air mass was drying out and the cu's stopped popping. The heat needed time to regenerate. I, unfortunately, was low to the ground when this occurred.
It is a funny thing to be angry that I only flew 210kms today. For a lot of people, that would be a personal best. I am sure that many people who made goal had a personal best today. I applaud them.
Here is another video I took today out on course line. Check out the clouds! This was just as I left cloud base moving on to the next thermal.
After missing goal for the first 3 days, it was finally nice to get there. I am still not happy as I was really slow. I got stuck in a blue hole for about 20 minutes. This was after having a bad start and working hard to catch the lead gaggle. Going low was faster for the first half of the course. The second half was better up high. But when you are already low, it is hard to get high with no lift.
About 50 kms from goal, I was worried about landing. I was down to 1000 ft over the ground and was desperate for lift. I went into patient mode and took any kind of lift that came my way. It was a long hard slog to get out of the hole I was in, but soon enough I was at cloud base and nearly on final.
One more 1000 ft climb and I had the numbers to make it in. I must say that Ross is flying really well. In Florida he was gaggle adverse, but seems to have settled in quite well here. At one point, I said to everyone on the team that the start gaggle looked like a swarm of wasps. It is funny that the staggered starts and starts circles are supposed to make things safer. When there are 50 guys in the same thermal, it feels a little freaky.
I took a lot of video today, but it was all crappy. So shaky. I will try again tomorrow and see if I can post something. Here is a picture of my focus mask that I got at WalMart for $5!
Short again. What is frustrating is that people I was with, within 100ft made it in while I hit the deck.
63 kms short of goal. Landed in a cotton field:
The task that was called today was even longer than yesterday. 183km or 115 miles. Once I was out on course, the day seemed better than the previous day. I decided to take the first start as yesterday, I was late and ran out of time. I landed about 30 minutes earlier today. It was weird. At about 70 kms from goal, everything went soft. Instead of going into survival mode, I raced off to a gaggle climbing in the distance. I didn't realize that the ground we were over was 600 ft higher than we started so my margin was smaller than I had thought.
One low save at 100ft and then 10 minutes later I was eating dust in the cotton field.
Great day for a lot of people. Me, I was on the ground when the first start ticked over. I had to re-launch. It worked out somewhat in the end as I flew 122kms of the 143km task. A little short, but it could have been much worse as I could have landed just north of the airport.
Brett was in. Ross got in as well. Scott was 5km short. Both Mark and Jon landed near the start.
Another summer, another competition. This time, however, it is the pinnacle of our sport. The World Championships.
We are in Big Spring, Texas. It is basically in the middle of nowhere. 40 minutes East of Midland and 4 hours west of Dallas.
Last Friday, Brett came over to my place and we short packed our gliders.
Canadian team logo:
Packing the gliders:
Our rental car with the gliders loaded at the Dallas Airport:
So I went for a flight to day (practice day) to make sure that all my gear is sorted. Everything is fine. For the first time, I set up my gear to be able to take some in air photos. Unfortunately, the camera was on video mode. Here is a short little clip that show the airport that we take off at. It is only 6 seconds long:
