| Flight details: | AT LAST! My first XC of 2009, I really was beginning to wonder. Surprised but SO glad that most people and the BCC went to the Dyke today, I wouldn't have bothered coming out otherwise especially given Ian G's comments about the flying at Caburn yesterday.
We all thought that we'd blown it when the sea-breeze had not arrived by midday and several pilots overflew us from the Dyke. The convergence stayed tantalisingly close out front but Newhaven was reporting 6-9mph WSW up until midday and the normally reliable sea-breeze just wasn't forthcoming, not so surprising with the general westerly flow. Dave N and I were ready to give up and do the things we really ought to be doing so as soon as there was a window and the wind switched back from WNW to up the hill and he was off. It looked like something might be about to happen with the lift he got though so I waited just a few more minutes and god damn it (as Dave was thinking) if it didn't come on! A little bit of searching around found me over in the bowl only to find it west again but everyone seemed to be in the air now and going up. A scrabble back to the west face and then on out front and I was dragged into a beauty. Everyone else was pushing back to the hill from the beginning of the cycle and I just flew straight up past them on a peachy but tight climb. I expected and hoped that several would join me but only followed me below and I soon lost him. Bugger, alone again! Will I ever gaggle an XC?
Oh well onward and upward I went, looking back occasionally in the hope that somebody would follow but to no avail. Maybe nobody likes flying with me, maybe everybody hates... The ENE drift direction was a pleasant change from the norm but that sinking feeling arrived as is standard from Caburn and a flop over the back (side) seemed inevitable. The A27 wasn't far away so I pushed toward it and lined up to land near a farm. Not today sunshine! At about 375' according to my review of the tracklog (it seemed a LOT lower |
