Yesterday was the last day of the Hang Gliding competition here in Ager. Unfortunately the British Team did not manage to climb to third place :-(
Wendy and I went to the last night presenation and party. In true Spanish style it did not start early! The presentation was not until past midnight then the party started. Much free beerand sangria flowed and we wobbled home about 5am! Spent most of the day recovering...
Saturday, 24 July 2010
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
21st in Ager Spain
Went for a fly today. Got a lift with some French pilots from a school and flew for a couple of hours. It was windy and not great!
The hang gliding pilots competing in the european championships had another task today and the British had a bit of a bad one - they have droped to 4th from 3rd :-(
Dave Sheilds (Shedsy) is having a nightmare comp after breaking his glider doing loops on the practice day and lobbing his reserve parachute. The glider was damaged and he is flying another he has bought but it dosen't perform :-(
Weather looks poor for tomorow but better for Friday (last day of the comp).
Fingers crossed for the Brits X
The hang gliding pilots competing in the european championships had another task today and the British had a bit of a bad one - they have droped to 4th from 3rd :-(
Dave Sheilds (Shedsy) is having a nightmare comp after breaking his glider doing loops on the practice day and lobbing his reserve parachute. The glider was damaged and he is flying another he has bought but it dosen't perform :-(
Weather looks poor for tomorow but better for Friday (last day of the comp).
Fingers crossed for the Brits X
Monday, 19 July 2010
WiFi at last!!!
Sorry to all my blog readers for the lack of content recently – Wi-Fi has been difficult to find and time has been short. I have a lot to write about so here goes!
Travel from the Greek PWC (Paragliding World Cup) in Drama to the Italian PWC in San Potito
We left Drama and drove west along the new highway that has recently been built but not yet completed. This is good news as the toll booths are not yet installed as it cost nothing! Result! We went to near Mount Olympus to visit some of Wendy’s friends; Stellios and Claudia. They run Olympic Wings, a company which run paragliding holidays in the area as well as other trips for walking etc. This is where Wendy learnt to fly and the chance to re visit some of the sites she flew could not be missed. We camped in a site on the edge of the sea. It was beautiful and the sea was cool and refreshing after a day’s activities. Thoroughly recommended! There are great sites facing every wind direction and great views. A beach landing is also possible.
It was a chance to sample the best of the food available; lots of grilled meats, kebabs, stunning Greek salads with feta cheese and superb tomatoes. It is such a shame we cannot get decent tomatoes in the UK, these were deep red and ripe, fleshy and tasty. Nothing like the unripe watery tasteless ones sold in the UK!
From there we continued back to the port for the ferry. What a contrast to the first ferry experience! This one was poor, nowhere near the same facilities as the first and full of choking fumes for the first few hours of the trip. We had to leave the campervan in the middle of the night and go out on deck to get some breathable air!
We arrived in Brindisi in Italy the following morning and resumed our travels. A long drive through stunning scenery saw us arrive in San Potito, the site of the second European PWC. Again we ended up staying at the camping provided by the organisation – another football field! The facilities were pretty basic but free. Again the local food was good and cheap but the weather did not play ball.
The first task was stopped early as the leaders flew between two massive cumulus congestus which has formed. As there was another cumulus which had formed behind us had turned into a cumin (storm cloud) with lightening and rain I decided not to follow. This cost me points and I was unable to pull back enough from this to get a good position in the overall scores. From 7 days available for flying we only achieved two tasks. The second was a good task and I crossed the line ahead of the other Brits and less than 2 mins behind the leader. Not a fantastic result overall but top half in a world cup is not too shabby!
The real shame about the competition was the local organisation. We were herded around like sheep with no effort made to keep us informed as to what was happening. One day when we had a cancelled task and pilots were scattered all over the valley needing retrieving. There was a total lack of organisation and no control. We were asked again and again by different people for our pilot numbers – the way the organisation keep track of pilots – but the information went nowhere! We all waited in several busses for an hour and a lot of pilots were pretty unhappy about the situation. I believe if there had been some kind of incident which needed the coordination of the organisation this would not have ended happily. Not good. People in the know who had attended many PWC’s before rated this as the poorest. It was such a shame as the staff from the PWC (not the locals) were ignored even though they had excellent proven systems for safety and retrieve in operation. These were not utilised by the local organisation who took it upon themselves to do things ‘their way’.
San Potito has the potential for amazing flying but I cannot recommend it as a destination for competitions due to the local organisation. Stay clear.
One of the cancelled days we took a drive to Pompeii. It was superb and well worth a visit. Go there if you ever get the chance.
From San potato we did some sightseeing visiting Rome and Florence. Both are great destinations and the camp sites in the area are all well geared up for tourists. The travel infrastructure is easy, cheap and good.
Then back on the road again. We drove from Florence to Ager in Spain with an overnight stay. I am currently in the campsite typing away as paragliders float overhead. The landing field is right next to the camp site. A Bar, restaurant, swimming pool and free Wi-Fi make the location perfect. There is a hang gliding competition on at the moment. It is the second week of the European Championships! I am looking forward to finding the British team and saying hello. The Team are currently in 3rd place!
Travel from the Greek PWC (Paragliding World Cup) in Drama to the Italian PWC in San Potito
We left Drama and drove west along the new highway that has recently been built but not yet completed. This is good news as the toll booths are not yet installed as it cost nothing! Result! We went to near Mount Olympus to visit some of Wendy’s friends; Stellios and Claudia. They run Olympic Wings, a company which run paragliding holidays in the area as well as other trips for walking etc. This is where Wendy learnt to fly and the chance to re visit some of the sites she flew could not be missed. We camped in a site on the edge of the sea. It was beautiful and the sea was cool and refreshing after a day’s activities. Thoroughly recommended! There are great sites facing every wind direction and great views. A beach landing is also possible.
It was a chance to sample the best of the food available; lots of grilled meats, kebabs, stunning Greek salads with feta cheese and superb tomatoes. It is such a shame we cannot get decent tomatoes in the UK, these were deep red and ripe, fleshy and tasty. Nothing like the unripe watery tasteless ones sold in the UK!
From there we continued back to the port for the ferry. What a contrast to the first ferry experience! This one was poor, nowhere near the same facilities as the first and full of choking fumes for the first few hours of the trip. We had to leave the campervan in the middle of the night and go out on deck to get some breathable air!
We arrived in Brindisi in Italy the following morning and resumed our travels. A long drive through stunning scenery saw us arrive in San Potito, the site of the second European PWC. Again we ended up staying at the camping provided by the organisation – another football field! The facilities were pretty basic but free. Again the local food was good and cheap but the weather did not play ball.
The first task was stopped early as the leaders flew between two massive cumulus congestus which has formed. As there was another cumulus which had formed behind us had turned into a cumin (storm cloud) with lightening and rain I decided not to follow. This cost me points and I was unable to pull back enough from this to get a good position in the overall scores. From 7 days available for flying we only achieved two tasks. The second was a good task and I crossed the line ahead of the other Brits and less than 2 mins behind the leader. Not a fantastic result overall but top half in a world cup is not too shabby!
The real shame about the competition was the local organisation. We were herded around like sheep with no effort made to keep us informed as to what was happening. One day when we had a cancelled task and pilots were scattered all over the valley needing retrieving. There was a total lack of organisation and no control. We were asked again and again by different people for our pilot numbers – the way the organisation keep track of pilots – but the information went nowhere! We all waited in several busses for an hour and a lot of pilots were pretty unhappy about the situation. I believe if there had been some kind of incident which needed the coordination of the organisation this would not have ended happily. Not good. People in the know who had attended many PWC’s before rated this as the poorest. It was such a shame as the staff from the PWC (not the locals) were ignored even though they had excellent proven systems for safety and retrieve in operation. These were not utilised by the local organisation who took it upon themselves to do things ‘their way’.
San Potito has the potential for amazing flying but I cannot recommend it as a destination for competitions due to the local organisation. Stay clear.
One of the cancelled days we took a drive to Pompeii. It was superb and well worth a visit. Go there if you ever get the chance.
From San potato we did some sightseeing visiting Rome and Florence. Both are great destinations and the camp sites in the area are all well geared up for tourists. The travel infrastructure is easy, cheap and good.
Then back on the road again. We drove from Florence to Ager in Spain with an overnight stay. I am currently in the campsite typing away as paragliders float overhead. The landing field is right next to the camp site. A Bar, restaurant, swimming pool and free Wi-Fi make the location perfect. There is a hang gliding competition on at the moment. It is the second week of the European Championships! I am looking forward to finding the British team and saying hello. The Team are currently in 3rd place!
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Quick message
Just snatching time to write, we are in San Potito for the Italian PWC. Weather has been poor, lots of storms every day.
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Waiting for ferry
We are at the port waiting for the ferry enjoying the sunshine and a last beer!
Looking back at the competition it was a mixed bag for the Brits;
Jamie Messenger flew a blinder, getting goal every day that anyone made it and Finishing a fantastic 2nd place,
Mark Hayman flew extremely well but not quite as fast as Jamie, finishing a fantastic 9th
I managed 29th in only my 2nd PWC with a 10th place one day
Tom Payne flew well but was unlucky with the 'Drama Dice' roll!
Craig Morgan had a nightmare, landing early then bashing his leg on take off on the last task. A trip to hospital for stitches was required but he should be back for the Italian competition next week.
As a nation the Brits finished 4th in the national rankings which is good considering the few numbers of British pilots competing compared to the alpine nations we beat!!!!!!
Looking back at the competition it was a mixed bag for the Brits;
Jamie Messenger flew a blinder, getting goal every day that anyone made it and Finishing a fantastic 2nd place,
Mark Hayman flew extremely well but not quite as fast as Jamie, finishing a fantastic 9th
I managed 29th in only my 2nd PWC with a 10th place one day
Tom Payne flew well but was unlucky with the 'Drama Dice' roll!
Craig Morgan had a nightmare, landing early then bashing his leg on take off on the last task. A trip to hospital for stitches was required but he should be back for the Italian competition next week.
As a nation the Brits finished 4th in the national rankings which is good considering the few numbers of British pilots competing compared to the alpine nations we beat!!!!!!
Chilling
We are camping next to the sea near Mt Olympus, chilling, swimming and a bit of flying thanks to Stellios from Olympic Wings. There are loads of flying sites here facing all wind directions and compared to Drama this is a metropolis!
Will catch an overnight ferry tonight to Brindisi in Italy then drive to SAN POTITO SANNITICO tomorrow.
The information on the website for the location is rubbish so it will be an adventure finding it! Anyone know where the camping is?
Will catch an overnight ferry tonight to Brindisi in Italy then drive to SAN POTITO SANNITICO tomorrow.
The information on the website for the location is rubbish so it will be an adventure finding it! Anyone know where the camping is?
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Sat 26th - last task
ANOTHER day of rolling the dice! I had an awful start, the gaggle I was with pushed nearer to the start before the race, trying to get into a good position. It did not work and we ended up lower scrabbling for altitude whilst another gaggle sat at cloud base in the flat lands. Woops!
After a lot of tentative thermalling we ended up with altitude to get the first turnpoint in the flats. Then a glide to the next turnpoint with a good strong climb saw us at base and in pursuit.
We saw the leaders at the next turnpoint and flew over them as they were heading back towards goal. The 'Drama Dice' came into play - lots of shade, no thermals and a glide to the deck. Woops.
I thought that would drop me way down the rankings but thankfully I only lost 9 places!
Result - 29th overall! Not too shabby in this level of competition.
So Sunday we will think about heading off. We are planning to go to near Mount Olympus for some flying and beach time then we have a ferry to Italy on Tuesday night. Then it is the Italian PWC the following week.
After a lot of tentative thermalling we ended up with altitude to get the first turnpoint in the flats. Then a glide to the next turnpoint with a good strong climb saw us at base and in pursuit.
We saw the leaders at the next turnpoint and flew over them as they were heading back towards goal. The 'Drama Dice' came into play - lots of shade, no thermals and a glide to the deck. Woops.
I thought that would drop me way down the rankings but thankfully I only lost 9 places!
Result - 29th overall! Not too shabby in this level of competition.
So Sunday we will think about heading off. We are planning to go to near Mount Olympus for some flying and beach time then we have a ferry to Italy on Tuesday night. Then it is the Italian PWC the following week.
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