Ivan, the blogging machine !

28/06/11, Ivan

Morning is clear with blue sky, some cirruses high up (I should ask for right spell, as they seems to be here every day). Forecast for light wind, so we should go places.

I start getting use to routine: up at 7, pack instruments, batteries and water, go to breakfast with WiFi, check the messages, carry very heavy bag to headquarters about 300 meters (gosh, I missed my Lightness harness so much!), find shade, wait, jump on bus, get up, find shade, get launch pack, wait, punch coordinates, check map, wait for lull, get in bus and go for swim in cold river...

That was scenario for yesterday. After that we went on bus tour, courtesy of comp organisers. Local trout farm, sulfur hospital, which make me consider to quite smoking, beginning of the river, which is also highest point of Potugal, almost 2000 meters. They build it up to make it to 2000 meters.

After 9 o'clock they organized a party in Monteigas, which is about 10 km from headquarters. I missed it, too much local cheese make me sleepy.

Midi is back, he carrying his back with great accuracy, just like me on bad day. After receiving great deal of advices on what to do and what not to do from bunch of us, he went to rest for few days. Hopefully he would be fine for world.

Time to make this 300 meters walk...

28/06/2011, Ivan

Back from flying. Long retrive with changing buses and waiting for people to fill up big bus. I was first on both buses of course. All gliders transported in green track. Not many pilots keen on separation from their gliders, but we don't have a choice...

Today 80 km task suppose to be with down wind last leg, but predicted wind was from other direction, so we were pushing into head wind all the way. At the end wind become stronger, thermals were trashed on flats, pilots were struggling to get 1600 meters. I don't think anyone made goal with leaders just getting over 50 km mark. I think Matts Eliasson and Michael Bass get over 50 km, Geoff, Dave and me got over 40 km. Would be interesting to see what scoring system would do to results.

One Hungarian pilot had accident on top of the ridge on the way to last turn point. Suspected spinal injury, doesn't look too bad, that's what they saying anyway.

Geoff got cascade with twists, stall the glider, sort it out and managed to catch up and overfly most of the field by taking back route over high ground. That's the way to do it!

My tracker was beeping every 10 seconds like bloody microwave. I couldn't switch it off, buttons doesn't work. It has mind of its own and I was seriously considering to drop it. It was really frustrating when we playing yo-yo on flats pretty low in brocken with head wind over 25 km/hour.

And I appreciate my old harness without seat board even more now! Wet shorts from consrant shifting from side to side, back and forward become every day reality. I was tired and sleep in the bus again after only 3 hour fght.

Now I sounds like Negative Dave. We are trying to convert him into Positive Dave by the end of this trip. He still refuse to use right terminology, like "extremelly ridge soarable" instead of "too windy". So hi is in denail so far, but we'll keep trying.

Portugal is slate country. Most of the houses, retaining walls, stairs, mountains, launches and even some of the roofs are made out of slate. On launches they luckily have shade cloth pinned down, so our lines are still in good shape.

Local people are very friendly, unlike flys. There are quite a number of them on ski slopes covered with white carpet. They just baking there under the morning sun and don't even trying to kiss you all at once, not like in Australia (I mean flys of course).

Locals are also very interested in politics. From what I understand, Portugal political system working pretty much like front loading washing machine in our accomodation: once you put detergent and your cloth in, it start pumping water and make all the right noises, but it doesn't turn or spin. And then you have to spend next tree hours trying to get you cloth back and wash it by hands...

29.06.2011, Ivan

Morning routine was dominated by yesterday's score news. Michael Bass done brilliant job on such hard day and come first, before our oun Matts Eliasson. Well done!

In first dosen we have now 4 Australian pilots, which is not bad at all. Other ways to look at it is all our pilots are in first dozen, or one third of the first dozen are Australian. Dave look at it slightly differently, he was beaten by pilot who been flying only just over year. We have to fix it, I mean turn him into positive Dave.

Would be nice to keep same placing during next comp:) Not likely though...

But if we'll raise few more Mikes in next five years, who knows, it might happens. Always good to have a dream.

Hungerian pilot is stable, no nerve damage, just fructure, so we expecting full recovery. Midy walking around, he should be all right for the World.

It is interesting to see discussion on acro maneuvers and comp gliders. I even might send some thoughts. Not sure how it wiil be taken but... Mike was laughing on Gavs email, he is appreciate support. Who doesn't?

Today we went up lower launch, wait untill thre o'clock and came back to spend the rest of the day next to river. It was noticeably colder day (of cource because I decided to leave my jumper at home) and extremely ridge soarable... Wind came down a bit as day progressed, but with cloud base of 2000 meters and only few thermals organisers canned it. Few people flew and even got up, but all agreed that with mountains around it was not safe for too many pilots in this comp.

Couple of Russian pilots decided not to wait for buses and went down by goat track. It would be about double size of Beechmont, but they negotiated it in 29 minutes. Considering that in this Slate Country there is no Australian Building Code, so when they buid these mountains, they put every piece of slate vertically. And it is sharp. Geoff's knee come second best against retaining wall other day. But Russians came down without scratch.

Tomorrow is final day of this comp, I still fiddling with my (sorry, it's actually Simon's) harness. Hopefully I should be good for Piedrahita.