Paragliding is full of decisions. Generally, you've got to make them pretty quickly and with safety in mind - gliders don't come with an Undo button. Today was a different type of decision; a half-decent forecast for today or a better one for tomorrow? A local club's website gave today a 2 out of 4 and tomorrow a 4 out of 4. It would probably have been an easier decision if I had been doing more flying, but conditions have been very poor for the last 2 - 3 weeks. In the end, I worked today with the intention of flying tomorrow.
Today's forecast showed an early afternoon 'window' before showers or storms arrived. The clouds built slowly all afternoon and I didn't see any wings in the air after noon - looking at some wind data I suspect it was too strong to launch. Every 30 minutes or so I would stand out on my terrace and try to work out if I'd made the right choice.
Around 5.30 I stopped working and went for a short hike. It was a very pleasant evening stroll, with huge clouds in every direction and on occasional clap of thunder from the higher hills . I'm now typing after dark and the thunder and lightning show has started. I really hope they finish quickly - I'm hoping for decent flying tomorrow!
More pics of clouds -> http://picasaweb.google.com/DMMullin/StAndreClouds18April2010#
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