Rats in Nanakuli

Four Rat Race hopefuls (Greg, Alex, Ray, and I) and visitor Peter (CA) hiked up Nanakuli midday Saturday. The sky was hazy, but had some clouds in it, too. When Alex, Ray, and Peter launched, winds on the Nanakuli side of ridge (SE facing) were 6-20, with very long cycles in the 14-18 mph range. The early launchers were soon specks high above with both strong ridge and thermals to work. I was afraid it would pick up more and hastily took off in what I perceived to a be a long light cycle. It sure was a long low cycle -- lasting until the lift switched around to the dump side! Poor Greg!

I soon joined Alex and Ray for some turning practice in the 3000-4000 ft stratosphere. It was great with the three of us near together -- sometimes in the same core, sometimes not, who's got the best core? which way to turn, what radius to take, try to match radius with your fellow glider? leave your weak lift for what they've got? At one point, Alex came over to join me in a nice thermal I was trying to figure out. He was soon rocketing up directly below me. I've read (Pagen) that ascent rate is higher at the bottom of the thermal. Seeing is believing! I barely made it out of his way in time.

Greg, OTOH, had to give up on the town side, and move over to the dump side, where, while it was clearly blowing up the face in the 15 mph range, it failed to provide the lift needed to send him up to our domain. Meanwhile, Alex, Ray, and I were finding perplexing conditions in the air. We all landed safely on the beach in some pretty strong winds which were very soon fickle with their direction. (I was flushed, they chose to land.) Also during this time, Leo and Scrappy had hiked up to a higher launch, only to later decide it best to hike down. Seems like a wise choice.

It was a great day for those of us who made it up, and the possibilities were well worth the effort in trying, for those who didn't, I think. Nanakuli gives and takes, but when it gives, it gives big!

Mishap at Makapuu

A bunch of us had really great flights at Makapuu today, and one of us had a very bad flight. Pete, Don, Fireman, Gangster Ray, Yasser (Canada/Bulgaria), Gerardo (Argentina), Jetflap, and Doug flew for hours in great north conditions. Some of us flew to Greenwalls and Yasser flew to Kaneohe. Then Ben (HK) bombed out from Crazy Man and bounced off a rock into the surf, cracking his pelvis. He spent the evening at Castle but he is on his way back to his house tonight. Let's wish him a speedy recovery. And let's try to be more careful out there, especially with our visitors!

What I think...

Lately, I have heard several different comments about Pete’s “incident.”

I would like to give my point of view. But before I do, I need to explain how I have felt the club treats Pete. Since Pete brought me into the Paragliding community almost three years, I have noticed several things. The first is that I was welcomed with open arms. I met some of the club members once or twice and I was invited to a fly-in while Pete was having adventures in New Zealand.

Another thing I noticed was that Pete has a tendency to get more “s—t” then most pilots. I know he has a reputation as a renegade. However since we have been dating, I have noticed he is making better decisions about flying. There have been many times he has told me, “I went to ‘X’ place and it was too strong”, or “I hiked up and the conditions weren’t good, etc.” He made comments to me about kiting at Sandy’s or Kualoa Beach Park during the day. These are major improvements from when he was a new pilot.

I have had the privilege to be one of Pete’s passengers many times. I have never ONCE felt that he was not in control or unsafe. Yes, there have been some tough launches, launches that have been blown, but what pilot, tandem or solo can say that hasn’t happened to them. I know how seriously Pete takes giving tandem flights. He wants to share the experience with everyone he knows; however he won’t do it if the conditions aren’t appropriate.

Regarding the rules about tandems that the club and USHGA have put in place, I have noticed that they have been violated many times by many different pilots. It seems to me that Pete is the only person in the club that is having the USHGA rules strictly enforced upon him. In fact, most of my tandem flights were with T1 pilots, before I became a P1. I think if this situation happened to any other T1 pilot the club wouldn’t have made it as much of a fiasco as they have, which goes back to how club members treat Pete. Many of the pilots who have been the most vocal, have themselves broken the rules over and over and over.

On several occasions, I have felt that the club holds Pete to different standard because his nickname is “Suicide”. Yes, he has most likely earned that name, however he has changed as a pilot and his skills have improved. With regard to the rules that the club has put in place, for instance P3 and above launching from Crazy Man, that isn’t being enforced in any way. Within a week the rule was broken, probably earlier. If the club is going to pull in the reins some, then I also feel that T3 pilots shouldn’t ask T1’s to take people. There is a laundry list of “issues” that I could address (e.g., who should be teaching whom, is it ok for a T1 to fly friends and family but not pay passengers, is it ok for a T1 to fly pay passengers as long as “so and so” has asked them to do so, etc.)

With this “incident” I feel that there were some very good decisions made. Passenger AND pilot were safe with no damage done to either. Pete was also able to land the wing on a postage stamp, a difficult task as a solo pilot let alone as a tandem. He was calm during the entire “situation”, so much so the passenger didn’t know anything was “wrong”. That doesn’t make it OK. But, give credit where credit’s due.

I know my opinion is biased; however am able to see both points of view.

If there is going to be a standard it should apply to EVERYONE, no matter his or her expertise. I am not trying to accomplish anything with this post; I am a USHGA and HPA member and I just wanted my voice to be heard.

Broken Record

Kahuku... I make it by there every once in a while. It’s a refreshing break when work takes me there. Usually it’s a long twisting drive no matter which direction you come. Bummer if you’re stuck behind a bus! This time I got there a little differently.

For a week the cloud base had been holding high over the Koolaus. Unfortunately, the wind was just a little too strong to take advantage of the situation. On Monday, January 6th of ‘06, that all changed.

In the afternoon, the wind finally came down a notch. I threw my stuff in the car and I blazed over to Makapu’u. As I walked up to Crazyman’s, I ran across Fireman Dave. He was standing there, surrounded by a family of tourists, getting worked hard for a ride and a “Di$count”. As I walked by, he backed away and asked “down range?” I gave him a nod and said “Oh yeah”. That’s all it took, we were on the same page. Daylight was going fast, and there was no time to stand around and pontificate about some sort of plan. While he went back to excuse himself from the bargaining tourists, I continued on my way to launch. Jetflap Jeff was there and getting ready to layout. He told me that he was going to grab a “short flight”. I checked the wind and thought it a bit light and decided to head up to Tomato Juice.

On my way up to Juice, Jeff was up and flying. As I got to the top of launch, Dave was just pulling away with a clean escape from Manic Depressions. After he benched up, I could hear him on the radio already going to work on Jeff. “What are your plans? Want to go down range?” After a bit of prodding, Jeff gave in.

The wind was just a little light at Juice. My first attempt at launching was thwarted by a shorter than expected cycle. By the time I got things clear and ready for a second attempt, I heard Dave and Jeff talking. They were up at the hang launch and starting their way down range. After a long wait, a nice even cycle came through. I was up and it was only 4:55 pm.

The lift was smooth and very consistent. I did one quick figure eight on the Hang Ridge and headed down range. I caught up to the guys at the end of Green Wall. The air was cold and very hazy from the big surf. The best part though, was the cloud base, it was nice and high at about 4,000 ft. I spent the majority of my trip comfortably cruising down range at about 3,000 to 3,500 ft. not having to dodge a single cloud the entire way. This allowed me to soak in the awesome, and very rare, simultaneous views of Town and the Windward side.

Around Likelike, Raimar got in touch with us via radio. He had flown Kahana earlier and was now hanging out at a friend’s house. He was incredibly gracious and offered to pick us up at the Hygienic store and take us back to Makapu’u. Little did he know what he was in for! Conditions were so perfect, there was no way Dave and I could call it quits. Even if the sun was getting a little low. As we pressed on, Jeff continued his “short flight”, quietly flying Tail End Charlie. After reviewing some of the pictures I took, I could see why Jeff might have been so quiet. He was as close to OTB as one could get, without actually doing it! Take a look, you’ll see.

Coming through Waikane, Dave and I talked about which way we were going to go. We decided that in the interest of time, it would be best to go the back way. Approaching the point of no return, I still had good altitude over the ridge. So I charged on in to Buga Buga Land. With only a small bounce here and some minor sink there I was able to maintain a comfortable altitude. I radioed back to Dave and asked if he was coming. He mentioned to me that he just tried to turn back towards Makapu’u to check the head wind, and was only able to make 4 mph. He concluded by saying, “I guess I’m coming”. Jeff followed suit.

Conditions allowed me an amazingly clean and uneventful transition through the back of Kualoa and Kahana. As I pulled into Green Valley I gave Alex a call (this was before his cell phone fell in the toilet). I told him, “Turn on your radio and look out the window, cause we’re coming over.” When he came on the radio you could hear the surprise in his voice. It was nice that he was home. He quickly began to pass on some notes from previous XC flights, some of which ended up in less than desirable LZs. I was quizzing him as to the exact location of his house, when he smartly showed me where he lived. “Can you see me?” he was flashing the high beams on his car. That’s when Dave brought up a good point. He reminded us that in the waning light, power lines tend to disappear.

Continuing on, past Alex’s 'hood, he told me that he was packing the kids in the car and going to give chase. At about that time, I lost sight of Dave and Jeff. They were still working their way through Green Valley. Then my radio decided it had enough and went to sleep, figures.

Passing Sacred Falls, I watched the ridgeline fall away as I entered into La'ie. Now on glide, I started to scan the distance for possible LZs. BYU was just up ahead. There were a plethora of places to land around there. My altitude was bleeding off slower than anticipated and I easily breezed past the beautifully lit campus. Looking ahead, I saw that there were a couple open fields along the highway. When I reached them, I still had more than enough altitude. So I crossed the highway and headed towards a bay. Upon arrival, I noticed that the beach was missing. It had been swallowed up by the high tide. Where to now? Fortunately, I spotted one more possibility. It appeared to be a long pasture nestled against the shoreline. It was borderline make-able. I went for it.

As I flew closer, the place began to look a little cleaner than a pasture. What the?... wow, a golf course! Cool, that will make a great LZ… but the only golf course I know up here is… finally it dawned on me. You got to be joking! Kahuku Golf Course? I had to laugh. Not only did I never expect to launch from Makapu’u one day and land at Kahuku, especially that late in the afternoon. But I had just been there the week before with Alex. We were going to fly the North Shore but it was raining. While we waited for it to pass, he gave Don, Leo and me a tour of the dunes. Little did I know, I was actually scouting out a future LZ for myself that day.

When I came in over the course, I flew past the high dune and picked a spot on one of the fairways. I ended up touching down in the middle of the 7th fairway, the one nearest the beach in front of the clubhouse. I called Alex on the phone, he and the kids were on their way to pick me up. Over time and in passing, I have heard the locations of previous XC land outs, but since I’m not that familiar with the area. I had no idea where they were. So needless to say, I was quite surprised by the news when Alex informed me that this was the farthest anyone had landed out. To mark the occasion, he took my picture at the pro shop.

He also told me that Dave and Jeff landed back at Gunstock Ranch, which equalled Troy’s previous record. They were waiting there with Raimar to give me a ride back. Just for kicks, he zeroed out the trip odometer in his car for the ride back to meet them. When we got there, it read 1.0 mile.

I would like to thank Alex and Raimar for all the groundwork and of course, my partner in crime, Fireman Dave. Truly an amazing flight!

Flight Stats
Depart Makapu’u: 4:56 pm
Arrive Kahuku: 6:53 pm
Max Altitude: 3,700 ft.
Point-to-Point Distance Traveled: 31 miles

Fear Control Techniques, tips and suggestions

The file attached has a compilation of paragliding related fear control techniques, tips and suggestions from pilots from all over the world. It was compiled in an easy to read way, available in PDF format. It is a 16 page document.

See attached.

CONTROLING FEAR

Aloha Friday - let's go partygliding!

Let's make the beginning of the weekend a paragliding event!

The forecast is looking good and we can use the full moon to hang out longer at the LZ, so why not bring your favorite aloha shirt and wing to work and go straight to a flying site right after pau work! I’ll have the grill handy, so have some cash to tip in for dinner (guests, family members, co-workers, cats and dogs are welcome).

To check on the sun and moon visit http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.html
Also, bring a flashlight, glow-stick, candle, tiki-torch or even a match to join the party! Any suggestions? Feel free to give me a call (779-9013) or post it here.

See you there (wherever it may be. Hopefully at Makapuu, but it could be at Kahana. We will post it here)

Quentin's Fire Sale

Yo, Ray just came up with a list of gear he's getting rid of on Ebay.

Here it is:

GPS Garmin Vista

4020 Flytec Vario

Speed bar generic

Spreaders UP

Speed bar new

Paragliding Flight Suit (very used)

Charlie helmet XL? (used)

Pro Design Jam harness XL (very used)

Pro Design Jam harness XL (very used)

UP Sherpa Tandem Color Red Black (New)

Airwave Sport I Blue / white L (used)

Airwave Magic L red / white (used)

Logic L red / white (used)

Call Ray for more info.

Light Headed (Lack of oxygen??!!??!?!?)

Epic day (2nd in a row) for flying a paraglider in Oahu... (Note: yesterday I flew from Kahana to Kualoa and back in a 3 hour flight. Marathon Mark followed by Fireman Dave and Jeff Jetflap broke the island distance record for XC flights.) The day started after work, at 11:00 am when I called Doug on the phone and he sounded like he was sick, he said "Guys are bombing at Makapuu but Mark is checking Koko. Let’s meet over there!" What??!! Light and variable and Doug is talking about passing on a Nanakuli day? He must be sick! He was already home (after work) and Koko is much closer than Nanakuli... but it wasn't very difficult to convince him to drive back west, Thank God he was not sick! We dropped a car at Waikele (KFC) and headed to our favorite flying spot.

Alex, Don, Bob and visiting pilot Ben decided to join us. By the time we hiked to the top the rest of the gang arrived. The clouds were covering much of the valley and mountains, so we took our time, set up some new streamers and waited for some good cycles. It was a bit cold up there, which is a good sign! The cycles were not very long but the time in between them was (not good). Doug went first in a strong cycle but wasn't going up much, so I waited a little longer...(later he said he thought he would have to top land at low launch and hike again!).

After he got above me I picked a good cycle and launched. I was soon going straight up! By the way, after launch climbing at Haleakala we heard a long and spooky thunder.... All it takes is ONE thermal..... This one took me to 3500ft and from there I had my personal best flight ever at Nanakuli. I've been to some very beautiful places with my paraglider, like California and Brazil, but this was even better than the Koolau green wall! Thermals were quite abundant and I followed Doug to Puu Kaala, flying over 1000 feet over the highest point of Oahu! The vario was screaming at me, making my smile even bigger as we climb at 1200fpm.

On glide to Makaha I had a huge collapse, some 60% or more, but at 4 grand it is not so scary! Doug got pretty high and started to head back to Kaala. With 4200 feet I lost about a 1000 on glide to get there. I tried to use a few thermals to get higher, but it didn't work and I got separated from Doug. I got a little worried until the vario was beeping again, close to the ridge at Kaala, closer than my regular comfort zone for places I've never been before... but here the thermals were cooking and that was what I had to do.... sure enough I had 5000 ft again! Doug was already at Nanakuli by now and I was just taking my time and using every thermal to stay above 4000 most of the time! There were no more clouds in the sky, but the small ones being created and showing us where to go.

Doug was already going over the back of the valley towards Aiea. When I got back to Nanakuli, he called me on the radio getting my attention to a huge dust devil towards north shore pineapple fields. After almost three hours of flight I decided I had enough and flew around the valley and landed at the beach, close to the MacDonald’s where the rest of the gang was hanging out. Doug reached cloud base twice over the flats flying over my house in Pearlridge and back to his car in Waikele. At Chili's Waikele we had a delicious margarita and I figured out it is not lack of oxygen, but I'm just walking on the clouds! Cameras were left behind, but the images of this flight will mark my memories forever. Here in my house I'm still trying to figure out how to put my feet on the ground and get my light headed feeling to burst.

A Series of Bad Decisions

I knew better. I should have listened to my gut; it was telling me this was a bad idea.
But no . . . I decided to fly anyway: Bad Decision Numba One.

Perhaps, it was an over-estimation of my ability. Perhaps, I was just trying to be like the “Big Boys.” Perhaps, I just wanted the “Big Boys” to see me as an equal.

It felt rather light at Crazy Man. Ray had just launched his XS Gangster and had some difficulty finding lift.

I launched anyway: Bad Decision Numba Two.

There was lift. Ray was getting plenty of altitude now . . . he just had to work for it in the little sweet-spot over by Lazy Man.

I turned right. I wasn’t gaining altitude; in fact, I was losing some. I figured there would be some near Lazy Man. This was my third tandem of the day . . . there had been lift there during the first two flights . . . surly there would be lift there now.
I decided to press on: Bad Decision Numba Tree.

I started to sink faster. I was nearly to the sweet-spot . . . I was sure there would be lift.
I decided to scratch in close: Bad Decision Numba Four.

There was no lift; only sink. I had pushed too far to make it back to the beach safely.

The only alternate LZ was a postage-stamp-sized outcropping of rocks directly below Lazy Man: Nasty place to land a solo glider; nastier still with a full-sized tandem. It took a bit of active piloting to make it look like I meant it. Additionally, I had to continuously reassure my passenger, in a tone of voice that seemed sincere . . . “We’re fine. No problem. We’re just gonna set down right here . . .”

I landed safely. The passenger was safe. The pilot was safe. The wing was undamaged.

As I unhooked the passenger, the surf grabbed my wing and pulled it into the Pacific. (Seems like a fitting punishment.) I sent the passenger hiking back up the cliff while I dragged my wing out of the surf. During this time, my cell phone dove into a tide pool – Suicide’s phone committed suicide -- don't you just love the irony? (Seems like a fitting punishment.)

If you’ve ever carried a wet wing, you know its HEAVY. A wet tandem wing is HEAVIER. It was a long, tiring, thirsty hike back up to the road. (Seems like a fitting punishment.)

I am humiliated; disgusted; and I feel terrible about the whole thing. (Seems like a fitting punishment.)

I knew better than to make that flight, but I did it anyway. I know I am not the only person ever to make a series of bad decisions, but this time it was not just me at risk.

I know everyone will have an opinion about this and will wish to offer their commentary. PLEASE DON’T.

Anything you would say, I have already said it . . . the recording is playing over and over in my head . . . it will be for a long time to come.

I thank God that the only injury was to my pride.

So . . . unless you wish to offer words of encouragement (e.g., “Yeah, I’ve dipped my wing before”; “Your not the only paraglider pilot to make that mistake”; “We still love you”; or “Glad your OK.”), please . . .

See you in the air
Peter

The Dumbest Thing I've Ever Done

Submitted by Dayshift

When it comes to paragliding, I've always considered myself a chickenhawk. Even before my first solo, I vowed never to be the subject of a high wind accident story. No aerobatics or bullet thermal soaring would be in my future, I predicted. My friends know me as a chickenhawk first hand. I've done the walk of shame from every launch I've visited, most of those at least twice! So, after 5 years of safe flying what do I do? I break my leg on a favourite launch in a 5 knot wind. How embarassing.

The sad tale begins as our hero climbs to Kahana low launch with Tim and Don. Just as we get to position Ken does a very nice take off at high launch. That's funny, I thought. Seems windy enough down here.Then the featherweight Tim demonstrates a perfect space shuttle launch in a 12 knot breeze going almost vertically and slightly laterally, almost knocking my head with his boots. Beautiful. Perfect conditions. The ever polite Don asks if I want to launch first. I accept since I haven't flown Kahana for 3 months, and may need help "rearranging" in case of a blown take off.

I'm now strapped in, checklist complete and try to build a wall. The leading edge of my wing flops forward, hanging limply. I almost ask Don if it feels too light, but don't bother when a slight wisp of a breeze touches the cells and flips them back. A quick pull, and the wing slowly goes overhead with no C lines needed. The wing seems a bit "baggy" and sluggish, but I quickly turn and launch.....straight into a tree. The drag slows me down cosiderably for 2 seconds, then I'm flying forward for another 2 seconds, then things begin to go wrong. An uncommanded right turn, straight towards the hill, and I'm descending fast. The hill is covered with trees and bushes. I land hard between two of them. Ow. That hurt, but I radio an " I'm OK." Then I try to untangle my wing when I discover it's a wee bit painful to stand on my left leg. Don helps, and then Alex climbs up to fly my wing down. I hobble down the hill using a stick as a crutch, then drive to the hospital.

What can be learned from this accident? A lot. This very familiar site is a high wind launch zone that I've used over 50 times. My familiarity bred complacency. Just because the wind was 12-15 when I got there, didn't mean it was going to stay that way. I've rejected take offs for high winds before. So why didn't I reject for low wind? Another reason may be lack of currency. Having not flown this site for many months, I should have sat down, watched everyone for a while and contemplated my impending flight.

What could I have done differently once I hit the tree? Full brakes. I would have mushed into the trees ahead, since I was already at a very slow speed. Paragliding is very forgiving of errors and neglect, but not of pure boneheadedness. My 8 second ride would be very respectable in a rodeo, but not in aviation.

After a last minute scan for approaching weather, there's only three things to check before pulling up your wing: Obstacles (people, trees) immediately in front of you, wind direction, and wind speed. Simple isn't it? It is. That's why I'm feeling so stupid right now.

Meeting and Party at 6 pm on Saturday, Feb. 4th

Update: the club will provide meat for the BBQ this time, so please just bring your favorite refreshments and sides or pupus to share. Thanks!

It's that time again! All of our local pilots and friends are encouraged to join us for our first quarterly meeting and party of the year. After a brief discussion of issues facing our flying community, we will enjoy our usual BBQ pot-luck feast and celebration, along with some new videos. Only two weeks from now, at Bob's shop in Halawa. Please contact me with any questions or agenda suggestions. See you all there!

There's No Place Like Home

Don and Marathon spent the afternoon in a heroic struggle to launch into the super cross conditions at the north ridge at Kahana, but it was just too cross from the NNW and they never made it off. Meanwhile Doug arrived and hiked up Anti-Kahana with a friend who wanted to try a tandem flight. Just as I arrived, on my way home with the kids after school, Doug was laying out to launch into what looked like a very northerly flow up there, straight towards the gap of the Crouching Lion. As Don and Marathon watched from the north ridge, and I looked on from the beach, we were soon rewarded with a surprising and unprecedented spectacle.

We saw Doug inflate the wing, and I thought it was kind of strange that I could clearly see someone standing by the wing, but I figured there must be a third person up there. Then the glider lumbered up into the sky, and right away it started taking all kinds of asymmetric and frontal collapses. That was bad enough, but about that time it was becoming clear that Doug had no passenger. His silhouette was too small, and the glider was recovering very slowly from the whacks, as if it were barely loaded.

The glider was still going up like a hot air balloon, but it was sort of lurching around in the turbulent air. Finally Doug rises out of the trashy air, and his passenger gets on the radio and tells us that Doug had just been trying to flake out the glider to prepare for launching when he was picked up like the Wizard of Oz. Doug's passenger wondered if Doug might be coming back to get him, but it didn't really look likely to us, especially considering how nasty the air was near the launch ridge.

Doug soared the trees a bit and then brought that empty jumbo jet in for a nice slow landing. Too bad his friend didn't have any ruby slippers - he could have avoided the hike down.

North Shore Neverland

Wow, what a great day! You just never know with these shearline forecasts. The signs were promising, but for a few hours after we arrived it looked like it would just be too strong and rainy. It was gusting up to 30 mph on the beach and the rain was sideways. We were all ready to call it a day, but then Mad Dog dug in his heels and swore it was worth waiting for, so we stuck around for a few more hours.

Then to our delight the shearline passed right by, the sky got all nice and blue, and the wind filled in just as sweet as could be. Marathon Mark sprinkled pixie dust on us all and we hiked up the hill with songs in our hearts.

Russell and Sandy launched first, and dazzled us with some slick new acro moves performed right there in front of launch. If only the Red Bull talent scouts were there to see that!

Then Bob wheeled Nightshift and McStalker up the hill in a wheelbarrow, and got them launched off of there without a hitch. Man, were those guys happy. And what a good thing Bob was there with his wheelbarrow - I'm glad I thought to call him this time!

Leo and Don and Ray decided to try a triple tandem on Ray's Funky, which I thought was a really cool idea, and they pulled it off with style and made it look easy.

Finally I launched into a perfect cycle and took a thermal all the way to Haleiwa and back - my longest flight ever from there!

And after all that, when we thought it just couldn't get any better, Doug showed up, not on launch, but in the air, apparently having flown over all the way from Nanakuli - he heard us on the radio and figured it was worth a try for a new XC route.

Then I woke up, started the car and drove back home in the pouring rain. You just never know with these shearline forecasts.

Calm Under Pressure

After scratching and struggling in weak thermals the day before, we were lured out to Makapuu once again by the clear skies yesterday in hopes of a long awaited XC flight. Maybe the high pressure would abate so we could core some thermals and fly downrange. But our hopes deceived us: the thermals were once again sparse and weak. The high pressure is keeping the air a bit too calm for our liking. At least there was more ridge lift today.

Don and Mad Dog and Marathon frolicked around Cactus with touch-and-go approaches and top-landings. The conditions were perfect for it - medium strength and straight in.

After a while the sea breeze turned way east, and a bunch of us managed to soar the lighthouse ridge up and down for hours. It was my first time doing that - it's kind of spooky because there's nowhere to land if you get low. But yesterday the lift was huge over there and I never worried about getting low. From my high vantage point I watched Marathon Mark down low buzzing the lighthouse over and over like a moth around a flame. But thankfully he managed not to get burned.

Russell tried numerous approaches to join us while we were over there, but when it's that east it can be challenging. I remember many days when I was the only one who couldn't figure out how to penetrate the headwind to get over there. Keep working on it Russell - I know you can make it work. Sometimes it helps to go with a pack so you can see which approach is most efficient.

We also had visitor Pierre from Florida (and originally Utah) out there, and Alan from Indiana.

I took more than 80 photos but I pared them down to a more reasonable 15 for uploading to Flickr. I can't wait to get back over to that ridge and take some more. Maybe next time I'll launch over there!