| Flight details: | Signs of seabreeze just behind pub over goalcourse (low scraggly clouds) so I knew I had to get airborne. Cirrus and cu shading everything. Flapping corvids showed a weak climb, so went for it. Birds found a better climb, hooked it, up we go! That was to be the only thermal to get away in, unfair for everyone on launch, but I was surprised nobody else ran off in zero wind to join the thermal. Carlo, Simon, Craig and I set off towards the next cloud near Newtimber.
I was able to climb a bit up the front of the cloud, to maximise height. Still very early so I wasn't in any hurry, the game was just to stay up.
Carlo saw some good clouds ahead and rushed off into a large shaded area near Brighton stadium. Simon and I held back, flying slowly to stay in sunny area. A good decision: Carlo landed on hills soon after, in sea air. I veered back towards Ditchling ridge to regain the seabreeze convergence, which was near the top of the ridge now, climbed with Simon again in a rowdy climb.
Passing Lewes we got up to base (4700!) which gave me a moment checking airspace 4500 ceiling just north of Ringmer. We tried to push inland, but the NW wind became even more N as we neared Hailsham, and the climbs there were weak, which forced us towards the coast more than we wanted to. After getting near base at Hailsham the seabreeze front fizzled out, all clouds collapsed near the coast on the line I thought I'd be able to follow. Carlo has warned me about the seabreeze here before - it rushes across the Pevensey flats very quickly. I should have been more determined to push upwind/crosswind from Lewes, to get to the hilly area at Heathfield, where the clouds continued to work through the afternoon.
After getting around the Hertmonceux lazer danger area (bad planning, it forced me closer to coast), I had dropped into the S sea air, so I headed inland as far as I could hoping to pick up a climb off the rising ground from Ninfield. Got a few scraps but not enough to get up in. No |
