From Port Talbot to Port erville

[AndyH]

Day 12 :- Wind was a strong westerly today, so we were whisked off to the coast by Rob Manzoni to fly at Strandfontein.A bit light on arrival, but after a short wait it strengthened and had a bit of north in it, but some of us gave it a go, after a smooth flight in laminar air I landed on the beach and packed up and left the others to it.

[AndyH]

Day 11 :- After a few days of no flying due to incorrect wind speed and direction, we were all glad to get back to launch for another flight. So off I went hoping for that great flight.....sadly it wasn't to be and landed next to the track after 5kms feeling very p***** off, but luckily I managed to get a very quick retrieve back to TO for a second attempt, as long as the window was still open by the time I got there. When I did get there the window was just beginning to close as the wind had already began to back to the south, and not only that, the thermals were now fiercly ripping along Daskklip TO making launching extremely tricky, but after a very bad first flight I was determined to salvage something out of today, so waited for a lull, pulled on my 'A's, and was lifted rapidly as a huge thermal came through causing a 50% asymmetric , which dumped me straight back on launch gently thankfully, because my wing was recovering as I was sinking, so decided to go now that my wing was flying again, but this time a thermal ripped through from the south, causing a huge asymmetric to the opposite side which caught me completely off balance and sent me off to the north....but unfortunately I wasn't in the air, I was on the ground having the finest dragging of my life, through boulders, stones, rocks and fynbos, and every one of them hurt....thank goodness for helmets......eventually my wing became tangled in some fynbos bringing my dragging to a relieving end. I got up and immediately felt pain in my left ribs, left arm and legs, and noticed that after my 30 meter dragging my trousers were ripped to shreds, and amazingly no bones seemed to be broken, so a few of the guys rushed through the rocky outcrops to come and help me out, and they too couldn't believe that I was on my feet. I was back on TO in double quick time, and now I was really p***** off because I was in pain after already having a s*** flight, so checked my reserve handle, waited for the lull at the very end of todays launching window and managed to get away.....yeeeaaaahhhh. Once aloft conditions were great......well, great for Porterville......and as the wind had gone so south I was making ground very quickly, and was nearing Bumpy Ridge before I knew it, I now had to make a decision between landing for 18kms, or pushing on for another 10kms across 'No Mans Land'(called this because there is no road for means of retrieve for 10kms, which leaves you with a minimum of a 5kms walk-out in 40odd degrees if you bomb out......I tried that somewhere else the other day and it nearly killed me). By now my legs had started hurting a bit more and crossing my legs was also very painful, so I decided to take a quick look at my trousers in the areas of the pain, it was now that I could see the blood soaking through my trousers in various places which displayed why I was unable to cross my legs comfortably. Should I land, or should I continue, I knew that if I continued and bombed out a  long walk-out would have been impossible, but if I made it to the other side of No Mans Land I would have managed my greatest flight to date and set a new personal best of 28.5kms, so in true fashion I carried on....and after 1hr made it to the 'Pass' for the first time and landed feeling ecstatic, especially after flying exactly where Nick had suffered his problems a week ago, and set a new personal best......now my ribs were hurting badly. The thing I learned today is to time my launches, too early and I struggle to stay up........too late and I injure myself.

[Rhun Llwyd]

"slumped over the store box and directed Marcus using my finger and very few words"
 
sorry andy but i laughed out loud reading that! what an experience and an achievement. glad all are well and half surviving.
 
hwyl
 
rhun

[AndyH]

Day 7 :- The weather forecast showed a reasonable north wester so today was going to be a fly south day, which started off very nicely as skillfully used a every bit of lift I could to get above TO height after a really bad start, and after 6kms I had managed to get myself to 3000'ATO with the Flyers Lodge looking within reach, so went in search of my next source of lift, and yet again found myself suddenly below the ridge height working any bit of lift I came across.Whilst working the lift I turned into wind on one occassion and noticed that I was no longer going forward, so checked my gps and this also confirmed that I was going backwards, so decided to land immediately, and also saw that Steve was trying to do the same.This descent happened to be the most unpleasant that I had ever endured, going backwards and being hit by 6m/s thermals isn't my idea of enjoyment, not to mention heading in reverse towards a large dam.......oh [censored], how am I going to get out of this mess, my only option was to turn downwind of the lift and find the sink behind it, which is easier than it sounds when your flying in an area at the base of a hill that is renowned for triggering thermals, I somehow managed and landed a few hundred yards away from Steve, and only a few meters short of the dam, after 15kms......time to kiss the ground. I met up with Steve below a large tree in the early afternoon heat, and with no sign of our retrieve it was decided that Steve would stay with the gliders whilst I walked out to the main road that passes through Porterville where I could meet up with the retrieve driver Marcus. So off I set on my little African adventure from the base of the ridge to the main road in the glorious African weather, but during my pleasant walk the road just didn't seem to be getting closer as quickly as I expected it to, the heat was also increasing and becoming unbearable, just like my water, and I was beginning to wish that I had brough my hat. After an hour I had radio contact with Marcus and informed him that I would appear through the forest to the south of town in about 20mins, and he said he'd go there and wait.My route was then obstructed by a power station which I had to walk around, which delayed my ETA with the retrieve by another 15mins, by now every minute was beginning to mater as I began to feel more and more exhausted with the immense heat during the hottest part of the day. With a km or so left I again recieved radio contact with Marcus who asked 'Andy...come in ...are you still alive', and my reply was 'Yeah just about.......i'll be another 10mins....stay there'.When I finally reached the forest the shade was an amazing experience, and reaching the road was an even more wonderful experience...........but where was Marcus, I was unable to contact him on the radio, and was also unable to walk any further in the extreme heat, and it was whilst standing in the shade on the side of the road that the shock started to set in, at first I could feel my heart beat increasing inside my head, I then began to shake uncontrollably, and started thinking of death, I knew I was in a bad way and needed help quickly before I keeled over and passed out on the side of the road, my water was luke warm and tasted foul.....there was only one thing left to do to save my life, and that was to thumb for a lift into town whilst holding my hands in a praying position so that the passing drivers were able to see that I was in a desperate near death state, thankfully this worked and the first car that went passed stopped to pick me up.......I was still in a state of shock and feeling worse by the minute despite getting a lift......after a short drive down a dip only a few hundred meters from where I had been picked up I noticed Marcus sitting in the Landrover, so I banged on the window of the pickup truck that was behind the driver and told him to stop and radiod Marcus to tell him that I had just passed him and that I was being dropped off, the driver of the truck stopped in the shade, dropped me off and said with a smile on his face 'It's hot here isn't it', I didn't really have a sense of homour to laugh, but I think I managed a smile. I got straight into the Landrover put my feet up on the dashboard and slumped over the store box and directed Marcus using my finger and very few words. On reaching the tree where I had left Steve I told Marcus that he would have to go a get my glider for me as I had no strength left, on the way back to the main road Steve kept repeating 'I can't believe how far you had to walk, it didn't look this far'. When we reached the lodge I threw myself fully clothed into the pool and then went for a rest in the shade and was given a glass of sprite with lots of ice. I woke up 3 hours later feeling a million times better, and was informed that the temperature had been 47'c IN THE SHADE, over 50' in direct sunlight......WHAT A DAY.The things I learned today are that the wind can pick up in an instant with no warning, always take your cap with you and always be the one that stays with the gliders.

[AndyH]

Day 6 :-No flight

[AndyH]

Day 5 :-With my flying and confidence improving on a daily basis I knew it wasn't going to be long before I was in a position to cross the citrus orchards and irrigation dams in the Citrusdal Valley and see some greenery for once........was today going to be that day.Launched and flew north along the ridge, and found a beast of a thermal above Bumpy ridge at 18kms which got me up to 2800'ATO and could see the town of Citrusdal was within a glide from the altitude I had, which would have given me a new personal best of 35kms, so applied my speed bar and headed straight for town........I had felt a bit left out because everyone else was getting to Citrusdal town and talking about a cafe that sells a delicious ice-cream with chocolate sauce and coffee, so I was determined that I wasn't going to miss out today.Alas, after only another 3kms I was on the deck scratching my head thinking what the hell happened to all the altitude I just had, and found myself walking along the quietest road in the Western Cape with a lot of time to think about it, and even more time until a guy eventually pulled up to give me a lift in order for me to complete todays task of getting to the cafe for ice-cream by any means.The things I learned today was that the sinking air behind the thermals goes all the way to the ground with no escape, and not to land next to the road on the western side of Citrusdal Valley....unless you feel like a long walk.

[AndyH]

Day 4 :-Today I awoke feeling the best I had felt since arriving, and discovered that I wasn't the first to suffer from the 24hr stomach bug that was doing the rounds with the pilots at Flyers Lodge, so headed up to TO knowing that today really was going to be the first day that I was able to do some good distance and good altitude. Launched and headed north along the ridge until I suddenly noticed that my ground speed had significantly decreased, and all the other pilots were now heading south, which reasured me that it wasn't just me and my piloting, so I also altered my heading and faced south and noticed a reasuring increase in ground speed, and landed after 19kms, near trees just short of Flyers Lodge.The things I learned today are that in Porterville the wind also comes from the north and a gps is a fantastic flying tool.

[AndyH]

Day 3 :-Woke up feeling fantastic and felt confident with my ability in these testing conditions, so knew that a great day was ahead.........until I went to the toilet and suffered a very loose bowel movement, which was followed 30mins later by another loose bowel movement, and yet another after 15mins, informed Nick and Steve and decided not to fly, but they wouldn't have any of it, so I filled myself up with Nick's Immodium and went up to TO with a stomach cramp. Launched and opted to land after 10kms before I found myself in a tricky situation at 5000'AMSL(there are no toilets in the sky at Porterville).After landing in a field about 500m short of the dirt track I headed out toward it and informed our retrieve driver over the radio, on reaching the dirt track there was no sign of the retrieve driver so continued to walk along the track in a southerly direction in an attempt to find a nice tree to hide beneath away from the baking sun..........which I eventually found after an exhausting 3kms in 40odd degrees..........it's hard to believe how barren the land is here, and how quickly 3lts of water disappears down your throat.Eventually my retrieve turned up and revealed that the delay was due to radio problems, and it was then that I was also also informed of Nick's deployment. The thing I learned today, was always land next to a tree.......cos there aren't many here.

[Jeremy]

Fantastic Andy,
Any pilot who can stay in there with 6m/s thermals is doin' the biz. On the previous subject of pre-flight tension and dealing with it; any pilot that tells you they've never had it is either telling porkies or so unaware of what's really going on that they're oblivious to the real dangers of the conditions (I also avoid Gung-Ho pilots who are possibly unaware of whats' really happening).
It's understandable in demanding conditions and on new sites ,and affects each of us slightly differently . It is actually, I believe, a healthy sign as it shows someone is aware, and wary of potentially dangerous circumstances .
My own method of dealing with it is to get in the air quite quickly, as I settle down once airbourne for a while. To that end I try and ensure my ground handling skills will allow me to launch quickly .Good ground handling skills give you confidence at launch and respect from other pilots when they can see you handling your wing forcefully and safely , whatever the conditions.
It's amazing how many Brits lose loads of holiday airtime because they get to a demanding, thermic launch and end up very stressed or even paralysed into inactivity just because they didn't bother to ground handle or practice an alpine launch or two prior to coming away from home.
Jocky also talks of each pilot having to "do their apprenticeship" (2k, then 5k then 10 etc) and a flying holiday is a great way to get leaps and bounds ahead in that with more consistent flying; chances to retrieve and try again; and chances to fly with more experienced pilots to improve our own skills and quiz them at the end of day round-up as to different decisions that they made.
It certainly sounds as though you've checked quite a few boxs' off on this hol.  Once again, congratulations on some great achievements, hope the remaining holiday goes well.

[AndyH]

Day 2 :- Woke up and my neck was still painful, but went up never the less.Launched at 11ish and managed a 4km flight and landed next to a farm and got mobbed by loads of black kids, who turned my radio on....turned my vario on......tried my helmet on.....tried my shades on.....tried to fold up my wing and even tried drinking my water from my platypus, but I gave them one of my little energy bars and they managed to divide it up into a dozen equally sized pieces.As I was packing my wing up the retrieve truck pulled up and asked me if I wanted to go back up as the window on TO was still open, so by 12:30 I launched again, and by now my neck had completely losened up and was pain free, and it showed, I thermalled like I knew I could and focused on reaching 'Teenage'(which is a peak 13kms along the ridge), this I managed and rode the 6m/s thermal all the way to the top to celebrate, but then I fell out of the back of it and tried to get back in, and in doing so ended up suffering an asymmetric collapse and seeing my wing out infront of me starting to spiral, sorted this out and then carried on along the ridge, finally giving up at 'Bumpy'(which is called this because the rising and sinking air make it bumpy) for an action packed 18kms where most of the crew had landed, and had my retrive back to the Lodge.The things I learned  today is that in Porterville the black kids are a pain in the  a***  but like sweets, that the down wind side of the thermal  is very rough, and finally you never have a zero glide, you're either rising or sinking with no dynamic lift at all, I'm starting to like it now.

[Chris Dusgate]

Well said Jeremy, Andy I hope you don't go beating yourself up over 'bombing out' when you've gone somewhere to fly in challenging conditions which may offer the prize of a stupendous flight (he who dares etc..). You've already tasted the rich nectar of a good/high XC flight in the UK and I'm suspect the joyous level of sensory overload at such times can only be appreciated by those who have experienced it. I for one would accept a number of bomb outs/shorter flights if it meant I got one really good flight once in a while (i.e. one that felt like a real achievement and was hugely enjoyable, the memories lasting a long time). Having said that I guess what the acceptable ratio of poor Xc flights to good flights is depends on the individual's personality (it's a fault of mine that the ratio is low, i.e. point at which 'beat self up' is too low (lack of perspective!!))
 
Hope you guys remain safe and get some good flights (i.e. enjoyable with a satisfying sense of achievement)

[Jeremy]

Hi there,
I feel I have to make a point here about the "Turkey-patch" phrase: "The best pilot in the world" on the "Best glider in the world" can only stay up if we stay in lifting air (or mostly so) !
I get really irked when I hear people beating themselves up about "Bombing-out" and such like. "Bombing out" and "Turkey-patch" are the results of DARING TO GO AND SEARCH FOR LIFT , which is what the best pilots do; and they frequently go down , but less frequently with EXPERIENCE and experience is only gained by daring to do it. "The best pilot in the world" has days when they go down but if we are afraid to go down we miss the chance of going up!  Just enjoy, stay at it and have a good one Guys !

[JamesH]

Good to hear from you Andy and your soaring in RSA. Hope the neck gets better soon and you can manage to break that 50km barrier whilst you're out there.

Be cool and be safe 

[AndyH]

Day 1:- Woke up with my neck in agony due to a problem I suffer with when I get nervous about something. Arrived at TO and launched just before midday, battled for 20mins and failed to stay up and landed in the 'Turkey Patch'(turkeys can't fly).When my neck does go into spasm it is extremely painful and makes it very uncomfortable to move, thus thermalling is out of the question.The one thing that I did learn today is that staying up is not a certainty in Porterville, you have to use it just as you would in the UK.