Summertime arrives

Over the last few days the weather has improved at St Andre. Although clouds have built up in the afternoon, there have been no storms and it has been possible to fly through the afternoon. I've been getting some reasonable flights, including a nice evening one.

Saturday's forecast was reasonably good and there were quite a few pilots on launch when I drove up with Bjorn. We watched pilots launch and generally struggle; we launched at the end of the bunch and headed N. Bjorn headed through some lift I turned in and that was it - I lost contact with him about 5 minutes after launching.

I got reasonably high before continuing N and flew over some pilots at the Antennae and felt very superior. But then I got my come-uppance as I struggled for lift and ended up joining them. After messing around for 10 minutes I flew back to the Antennae to get high again. The wind was strengthening from the W all the time and the thermals were leaning back a lot.

At this point I probably should have headed East (no-one seemed to be making good progress to the N) and tried to get back to St Andre by Argens - that way I would have made some decent use of the W wind. But I continued heading N and then struggled for lift on the ridge above Lambruisse and had to commit to one side or the other. Staying on the W side of the ridge would have been more logical. But if I sank out, I would end up landing in the same area as the day before and didn't fancy that. So I headed over on the lee side of the ridge, still hoping to pick up a thermal. But I barely got a beep and I ended up landing at Thorame Basse; two pilots from Nice were there and I was able to share their retrieve.

Back in St Andre, I had time to watch Germany destroy Argentina (a figure of speech, it was only a football game), then walk up the hill to collect my car, and then watch Spain versus Paraguay.

Pics -> http://picasaweb.google.com/DMMullin/StAndre03July2010Sel#
Tracklog -> http://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/348677

My son will be visiting me for the next couple of weeks and I won't be flying very much (if at all) when he is here. But I'm glad we seem to be finally getting some reasonably flying conditions.