| Flight details: | Saturday at the BCC - the weater looks lovely, and the clouds start a poppin' early. Briefing at 10am (while the 'Southern Slackers' earned their name by having a late brekky. Still, ain't complainin' - we're actually in the final, as we ought to be every year, and we raise 6 members for it, surely a record in recent times.
At first conditions are disappointing, and it's a real struggle to get any decent height. Eventually, a few dribble off into the distance, and I top land to chill out, and work out why I can't even get to 500 above. Take off again, and spend 1/2 an hour eking height out, but having to come back to the hill to avoid the sailplane launch. Then out of the blue, a corker arrives, and takes me and A N Other to base in a 5-up. Head off towards the blue, and emerge from the side of a cloud. glide off to the other side of Church Stretton, and spot where thermals ought to be. I'm not there, so I glide towards the magic spot, as do several others. someone on an Aircross U-sport (Mark Leavesley as it turns out) starts turning, and I join him for a ride to base again. Great stuff. I cruise at base for a while, then head for Wenlock Edge, and the expected thermal - it's in sun, facing wind, up slope, and what? A half up. Several others now join me, and we slowly go up. the thermal dissipates, and I lose it, and make the biggest mistake of the flight. Suddenly everyone who was climbing up to me has found a much better core, and is above me. They remained there for the rest of the flight. After that it was zeros all the way, for the next hour and a half, cursing as the obvious thermal sources always gave me a thermal, but not a decent one to get more than a fwe hundred feet higher. I eventually drifted towards Bridgnorth, and was taking picture's of the town (very pretty, by the way), and lost too much concentration. After a few attempts at low saves, landed on a grassy field, to be gievn a cup of tea and a ride to town. Was then forced to drink beer in a r |
