British Open - Day Two

The results from yesterday were up in the morning; half the field made goal. Out of 110 pilots who flew, I came 79th – around what I expected. At a competition, I’ve learned to focus on my flying rather than my results. On a good day at a high standard comp, almost everyone has a great flight. I’d rather place last and have a great flight than score well with a so-so flight. And any flight here is pretty good once you get above the high ridges …

Today, the forecast was good but called for a stronger west wind. A long 80K task was called, with around 8 turnpoints, mostly on the relatively flat valleys to the west. All the pilots were struggling to visualize the task and the general consensus was just ‘to go where the GPS told you’. Easier said than done…

I took off towards the back of the group with around 10 pilots. Launch is relatively open and flat and the thermals kick off in front of launch, so decent cycles are rare and a group of pilots generally launches together. An immediate right turn is needed to avoid a cable car, so the first few moments of flight can be rather exciting. We didn’t get any lift off launch and slowly sunk out. Some pilots stuck to the slope, but I moved out front and found a ratty thermal that improved with height. A small group of pilots slotted in below me and we climbed up over the nearby peak – the Dormillouse.

The pilots that had launched earlier had got really high over the start, but we were struggling to get more than a 1000ft above the summit, around 3 or 4 km from the start. I delayed my start in order to climb a bit higher and things went reasonably well but it meant I was flying almost alone. Out to the start, back to the mountain, build back some altitude and head to the second turn-point. I could see a decent sized gaggle over it and expected to tag it and join the gaggle at around mid-height.

Unfortunately, the gaggle flew off just before I got to the turn-point. I followed but it was a bit disorganized as everyone was looking for lift. I joined it at the bottom, turning in weak lift as we all drifted away from the third turn-point. This was a tough choice; the climb wasn’t worth the drift but we were a bit low to expect to find some better lift. It might have been possible to drift back towards some high ground and eventually get up and make forward progress, but it seemed pretty indirect. So I headed back on course and the bottom few pilots did likewise and we ended up landing a few minutes later. I don’t know if the rest of the gaggle escaped or they just drifted further away before sinking out.

I wasn’t in any rush, so I started walking back to the village, St. Jean de Montclar. After maybe 30 minutes a car stopped and offered me a lift. It was the mayor of St. Jean and his wife; they asked lots of questions about flying. They were very happy to have the paragliding competition in their village. Although St. Jean offers great flying, it isn’t as fashionable as sites further north in the Alps - everyone was very glad of the extra business.

Thirty pilots or so made goal; I was 75th for the day. A lot of pilots landed around where I landed – the leg from the 2nd to 3rd turnpoint was over the flats and into the wind and (with the benefit of hindsight) was always going to be a tricky one.

Tracklog -> http://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/250701