| Flight details: | After last weekend's total lack of preparation, I was armed with video camera, GPS, phone and glider packing material. Looking at the traffic already soaring it was looking very scratchy indeed. The thought of a sled ride to the bottom was in my mind but I pushed it to the back and launched.
With minimal lift I scratched back and forth, gaining 20-30 feet then losing it again. After a few beats it was evident the modellers bowl seemed to be working best and I focussed most of my efforts at this end of the ridge.
Looking towards Truleigh I could see a hang glider very low heading to the bottom landing field. Beneath me, another hang glider was setting up for a bottom landing. I was determined not to go down and continued focussing on finding lift.
Surrounded by traffic kind of limits choices, but eventually I connected with something away from the hill at the modellers bowl end of the ridge. At first I skimmed through the edge of the thermal gaining a mental picture of where this illusive mass or rising air was. Circling around and pushing into it, I found more reliable lift and started orbiting, slowly climbing higher and higher and drifting back over the Dyke.
At 1400 the lift seemed to dissipate, so with the VG cranked on I ventured up wind as far as I dared. Looking down I could see more and more paraglider canopies being laid out and very few hang gliders in the air. I assumed the lift cycle was ending and the wind was dropping off. I decided it was time to land, preferably at the top and concluded I'd only get one opportunity before the sky was full of paragliders. That determination focussed me intensively and I landed perfectly in the Paddock.
Video uploading to: http://youtu.be/-Os_ia80BzE
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