One Ball at a Time

I got my first task ever on Saturday, the practice day. Still not sure how to work the GPS tasking part, but I launched any way. Another perfect launch and got up quick. There were not too many pilots flying this day so the crowd factor was not too bad for me. I finally had enough elevation to make the first little hop down the ridge to Fraiser peak. I said little hop - about the distance from Kahana to Kualoa. Like crossing the bay it has been a hard one. The right lie and enough thermals to keep you afloat till the 'Bermuda Triangle'.

I did not even make the first turn point, but was happy of the progress I made grabbing these thermals. After landing, I heard from a few pilots how hard it was today up there. I didn't think it was that bad, then I had a look at the crotch of my pants which had a hole. At first in dismay but that soon turned to excitement. Finally, one ball is finally growing back!

Saturday night we went to Whistler to pick up KLarry. Reaper, Harvey, Dave, Larry and I were cruising Whistler in the BRONCO.

First day of the comp I had had some help with the GPS. Now having the way point cylinders and tracking on, maybe I would make a stab at a waypoint. Another great launch and got to my highest elevation, 7,200 over launch. The start cylinder was just a squeak into the valley so I knew I could get that.

I looked down at the GPS - it wanted me to go to the 4th way point, 'CamelHump'. The fat fingered gloves I am wearing did not make it easy to operate and I tried several times to adjust to the proper waypoint with no avail. I lost a bunch of altitude and watched most of the pilots drift off toward a very long away point. I gave up on the GPS and diverted my effortrs to getting back up. I circled and sank for over an hour Never reaching that 7K again so I tried to push on to see if I could get some more growth.

While making my way up towards Fraiser I spied a glider and reserve in a tree below me. Oh, I had left my radio in the car so I had one of Reapers with a low battery so I had it off. I turned the radio on to find that there had been 3 reserve deployments and soon I was getting bounced over a second reserve in a tree. Now, with this information I headed out over the valley to an LZ that I could see others landing at. I hovered in to land safely as a 4th deployment was announced along with another glider down slighly over the back in cougar country. I was glad to be on the ground.

One of the pilots that had reserved was the one that told us the night before about tree kits. He did jinx himself by stating that he never had to use it. Jorge and Dave were close to goal when they called the task due to the helicopter coming in to pull out at least 4 of the pilots that were downed. the girl pilot hiked out, then went back with her boyfriend to pull the glider out. Good thing it stays light till around 9pm or so.

So Day 1 brought no turn point for me, and I did not even bother submitting the GPS. Hopefully I will get some more info on this today. So far this comp is not as organized as Rat Race. The fee apparently only included the T-shirt, a pen and a map. Oh, and a burger last night for our Opening Dinner that Duck would have been turning his nose up at. Rides to launch are $20.00 a ride. Breakfast at the Golf Course where we are camping is $10.00 for the buffet and does not include coffee.

No internet at the Golf Course - they maxed out their IP allocation. I am sure Jeff could fix that. I will try to sneak off in the mornings to Black Bird Bakery to scratch down updates.

If I am stupid on the GPS today, I will at least try to get the camera out. The pictures will not do justice to the beauty of these mountains, which I can compare to Kansas but different … and there's no wine at the LZ. The beer here will keep you sober only cause it is so damn expensive. That's all for now.

It's Time to Fly Sew up my Pants, Get My Gear and Go!