Last days

The last 2 days in Bogong where like all of them which looking back wasn't all that bad. Sure we didn't fly and the weather was awful but after 6 days of similar weather we were used to finding other things to do and I had actually started to worry less about not flying and just enjoyed the moments. I was invited out to lunch with one of the locals and we went up to the Anaperna winery for lunch. The food was delicious and I was so stuffed by the end that we decided to take a walk through the vineyards before heading back. You can see in the back ground how close the recent fires had gotten to the homes in the area.



I am very proud of my friends! Jeff raced smart and hard on the only comp day we had and finished 2nd just 3 seconds behind Lucas Bader. It was his best finish ever and he deserved his placing. Unfortunately we all didn't get the chance to knock him out of his spot ( I don't think I could have as he is flying so well ). I just love the look on Jeff's face, I don't think you could have burned the smile off of his face with a torch. Way to go Dr. I sure this won't be the last time that Jeff is on a podium. I am so impressed with how Jeff's flying has evolved, he is my inspiration and in the next couple of years I hope my skills turn on and I will be able to race head to head with him at the 09 worlds.

My big brother Jorge is the nicest guy I have ever met. And now he has a trophy to show it. It was a very moving moment when Heather Mull read aloud the comments from the numerous votes for the sportsmanship award that was created to honor her brother that passed away last year. Jorge won hands down and it is an honor to say he is my good friend and I miss him already. I am lucky as we all are to travel, fly and hang with a great group of fellow pilots and I will get to see most of them at the Flytec comp on April.

"I don't know why we do this crazy shit...."

"But is sure is fun"..C.M.

The day started overcast.....again. So we went to the pilots meeting at 9:00 and were told to come back again at 11:30 to see if it would get better. I walked to town to make a phone call home and on the 2 km walk back it started to rain, then pour. I was pissed. I was soaking wet, grumpy and it was going to be another no-fly day here....again. Just when I thought it couldn't get worse some a#$hole figured he would "measure my sense of humor" by swerving off the road and soaking me by driving through a puddle. More on this later. I changed, the day got called, went for lunch and when I got back the sky was blue the sun was out so I hooked up with the Jeff's and we decided to throw the gliders on the car, grab our driver Biddy and head up mystic for a flight. Any flight would have been cool, this one was amazing. Mystic is only 1500 ft, another front was coming in so we raced to set up. OB was first in line, I was behind him and Montana had just walked up when he asked OB " so do you want to go first?". He didn't even wait for the response he just sprinted down the hill with OB chasing after him and me 5 seconds behind OB. The 3 of us played a low level game of follow the leader over the treetops and ridges for a couple of passes and then headed out to the LZ for an "expression" session. OB and I were next to each other 100 ft apart and about the same altitude when I noticed him pull a bunch of rope. Montana got to watch as we both dove our gliders and pulled up into wing overs, OB going right and me going left. I did 2 or 3 I can't remember and as I came out of my last one so was OB. Montana was exiting a loop and I watched from 100 ft above him and 500 ft off of the ground as he dives into a second one. He came up over and then settled out and flew upside down for what I am sure was 4 seconds. I watched as he came over the top and pushed the bar out to get it to wrap, and when it didn't I saw him bring the bar to his chest and then after a couple of seconds the nose finally went down and he followed it around. It was one of the most intense things I have seen while in the air. I flew over him screaming and yelling and I could hear him doing the same. The 2 jeffs came in on either side of the road at exactly the same time with me a few seconds behind. I immediately unhooked myself from my glider and ran across the road and gave Jeff a high 5 and a hug. It started to rain, hard just after we landed and we got soaked and basked in it as we packed up. This flight was what most non pilots think hang gliding is. It was fun, exhilarating, exciting, a bit scary and when we were done you couldn't beat the smiles off of our faces. It was just what we needed.

Soaked but happy in the LZ at mystic.

Bowling and the Blues

Once again the day gets called off due to weather. So far it has been: too smokey, too windy, too hot (roads closed due to fire index), too cloudy and stable and now today too cloudy with base below launch and rain. What is next, a tornado or maybe a tsunami from the lake? After waiting through the 9:00, 10:30 and 11:30 pilots meeting we head up the steep rough road to Mt. Emu only to wait up there for an hour in the rain until the day was called as clouds were forming below us and the upper clouds were only a few hundred feet over our heads. On the way down the gliders shifted and our PVC rack packed it in. When we got down the mountain some of the pilots that stayed up could be seen flying, which made it even worse.

I really need a hug. :(

Now I hope that this system seems to have worked itself through so we can get at least the last 2 days of flying in. I would like to leave hear not only with fond memories of the people I have met but also the flying I have done.

The view of Mt. Bogong after we came down from Emu


The Swedish tear with Andreas (on the right) who has helped the Jeff's immensely with tuning tips and techniques. Their duct tape weapons are gliding as well as anything else.

I have to thank the owners of the Alpenhorn. Not only have they done my laundry but they have been gracious enough to let me use their private computer in their house to post my blog. Thanx a lot!


Jorge has taken well over 1000 pics this trip and I will share some of them with you later as he is putting them on cd for me. Here he is last night at lawn bowling. 50 pilots showed up to drink beer and trow stuff.

A big thanx to Heather and Carol that despite the bad luck with the weather have done an admirable job trying to keep us entertained.

Hit the spot.

Not really but I was closer than some and had a nice landing that didn't require any new parts. So a total success. Last night after getting back from Buffalo I ran around trying to find the Ozzy equivalent of crazy glue to fix my battens. I got to the only open store in town just as it closed and begged them to let me in. They did, Thanx. I then took Jonny's advice and repaired the cracks. I ended up gluing my fingers together a couple of times but I think they are as good as new. I hear that this cracking is a problem with all of these battens but with no spares here I think they will work just fine until I can get them replaced.
We sat up on launch at Mystic until 2:30 today hoping that the grey overcast day would break. It didn't so the organizers came up with a spot landing contest. No one was really interested until they offered up $500.00 to the winner. I have never seen 30 gliders set up so quick. Like all of the flying activities it was well organized with spotters, scoring, a launch order and rules. Olav from Norway won with a perfect long ground effect glide right to a no step flare on the center of the target. OB and Montana tried to tie their gliders in knots before trying for the spot with OB short and Montana real long. I was long as well but I opted for the safe landing past the spot versus the hail Mary flair. It was nice to fly and I had a chance to "test" my batten repair and it is all good. As usual here after we fly we went to the best ice cream shop in the wolrd for a waffle cone. They make unique small batches of very light creamy ice cream and it is the best. Everyone stops there and sits on the patio and lies to each other about their flights. I have been there 3 4 days in a row now and I am experiencing ice cream overload. I hope the last 3 days of the comp are flyable and taskable so this portion of my trip won't be for not. Tonight the organizers have arranged a BBQ and a night of lawn bowling. Should be fun. L8R

Mt. Buffalo

We got the wind from the north that we need to clear the smoke out of the valley. It has a catch though. A north wind is a hot dry wind and it increased the fire index so much that Mystic was closed due to fire hazard. The only other launch that faces north is Buffalo but as it is a cliff launch it is only safe in calm winds. A number of pilots thought it would be a waste of time to drive 1 1/2 hrs there when it would most likely be unlaunchable but enough of us wanted to try so we went. I wanted to go because it was our only chance to fly and if we had a day off I figured hiking in this beautiful and rugged place would be the best way to spend it. Sure enough it was too windy but due to the fire hazard all of the hiking trails were closed as well. So much for that idea. As it was scorching hot we stopped for the worlds best ice cream (again) in Bright and then did the only thing that you can do on a supper hot day, we went swimming again.

The pilots getting the bad news at launch.

What you see before you make the leap of faith.

The canyon.

Steve Moyes removing 50 lbs of ballast from his harness bag, put there by a couple of his "friends".

Red Bank swimming hole, cool deep water and a rope swing. Fun but I would rather be flying.

My little girl ( on the left ) learning to ski. I miss her so much, it is hard to be away for soo long and especially hard when we are not flying. I am really proud of her and I can't wait to give her the biggest hug in the world.

OB Rocks and I fly like one.

Day 3 task 1
We were up on Mystic again. I was over in the alternate launch again with the Jeffs and Davis. There was only a little smoke in the air today and the wind was coming straight in at launch. The task was a just over 100 km. Up the Ovens valley, across through the Happy valley into the Kiewa, north a few km and then back to the airport. I was almost done setting up my glider when they called one of many pilots meetings that day. When I came back to finish putting my glider together I had a little problem. 4 of my 6 carbon under surface battens had been crushed about 2/3 of the way up. I am not sure what had happened but I was a little pissed. I taped them up and put them in anyway as they still seemed quite stiff. I launched 18th right after Davis and found lift just to the left of launch. It was rough, punchy and I was unable to make a complete circle in it without getting tossed out and losing everything I had gained. The big problem was that everyone else was having the same problem and I was getting increasingly uncomfortable. I left the "death Gaggle" to try to find some air I could have by myself just long enough to get above the mess. Not a good idea, I got flushed in the biggest way I have ever been flushed before. I ended up groveling 100 ft over the trees at the base of the mountain as 2/3 of the pilots that were in the air landed in the bomb out lz. I finally succumbed and landed it a nice tree rotor. Me and my glider were ok but I was quite unhappy. Montana Jeff pulled a low save out of the valley but couldn't survive the sink and valley winds and went down a few km later. Our hero Jeff O'Brien got up above the inversion after 1 hr and raced hard to finish 2nd for the day 3 seconds behind Lucas. I am very proud of my friend this is his best result ever and has been flying like a pro this whole trip.

I got invited to play a pick up game of cricket. This is the national passion here and it was great to play with these guys in the campground. I am still not sure about all the rules but a I do know that I can't bowl worth s#$t but I did smack it out of the park a couple of times.

On the ride back we went through a lot of area that had just been burned. These fires have ravaged the entire area.

More smoke and 3rd place.

It was smokey when we woke up this morning. Thinking that the day would be canceled a bunch of us went to the meet headquarters after the great BBq at the ting the lake. The pub was quite full as they were hosting the "Mt. Beauty Idol" competition. After critiquing all of the contestants I was challenged to go up and do better. I was in a tough spot because the girl up before me sang a Kelly Clarckson son better that she does. But I did it any way, gave it my all and did a wicked version of "if I had $1000,000" by the Bare Naked Ladies. To thunderous applause I won 3rd place and a bunch of Jack Daniels stuff. It was a fun night but I really did not want to get out of bed this AM. At the pilots meeting it was decided that we would drive over to Bright and to the Mystic flight park hoping that the northerly winds would clear out the smoke so we could have a task. We hung out on launch playing games and having a water fight for a couple of hours when the day was called. The Jeffs had set up and decided to try and fly over the range and back to the Mt. Beauty airport while Davis Biddy (our driver) and I drove down the hill for some excellent ice cream in Bright. The forecast is for more northerly winds so I hope the smoke clears up soon so we can have a comp. I love it here but I came to fly and would rather be at home than just killing time.

What I saw at the edge of the start circle looking north on the course line.

Barry Bateman on Mystic launch.

Playing marbles to kill some time.

The forest after the fires on the mountain between here and Bright.

Celebrating my victory with friends Joerge, Tink and Dave.

Smoke, Vertigo and a big fight with myself.

With a not so good wind forecast and fires to the south it took a while this AM to decide where to go. We drove up Mt. Emu and didn't set up right away as the wind was light and cross. there was a lot of smoke in the valley but it seemed that It was clearing. They called a 90 km out and return back to the airport goal in Mt. Beauty. As I am one of the lower ranked pilots here on the WPRS I am at the back of the launch line but we are allowed to launch early if we put our name on a list. I was the 4rth person off the hill behind Davis and just in front of Montana Jeff. \Despite the smoke the lift was 300-500 up and easy to find. The ground was a nother matter. I could always see the valley but to the East I couldn't see the tops of the moutains below me due to thick smoke. I climbed up to 2800 m to the top of the smoke and was getting a little scared. I could see the yellow of the valley to the west but at times I could not see the ground below me and could see nothing in front of me at all. I worked my way to the edge of a 30 km entry syart and hung out there at the top for 30 minutes. I have never been so torn, I did not think it was smart or safe to continue on course but it took me 30-40 minutes to finnaly convince myself of it. I glided out in the derection I thought the airport would be as I could not see it through the smoke. It took 1/2 hr to get down and when I did the first pilots I saw on the ground were Steve Moyes, Dave Seib and Jon Jr.. It was they that I was told that the day was canncled and I was really proud of myself for making the decision not to continue on. After I landed all of the othe pilots started to show up and things got interesting as the smoke moved into the valley and the winds started to get strong from the east. Tonight the meet is throwing us a BBQ at the lake. More tomorrow.

(:00 Am pilots meeting at the pub.

Checking out launch.

The slot.

Task commity meeting.

Most of the gliders on launch.

The Alpenhorn is in the center of this pic. It is where we are staying for the week. The owners are great and the place is as well.

Dave from England is staying with us this week, cool guy and it was cool to fly with him for a bit today.

OB coming in for a landing after a tyour of the valley.

Montana Jeff and the world champion. No it's not Oleg.

B. Just for you. He tried to eat me, it was the size of an oatmeal cookie.....Ick.

Cool houses and cool water

Spent the day trying to relax, recover and rehabilitate. I went for a long walk, found a physiotherapist and booked some time. I have had a problem with my hands going numb for years and it gets really bad when I fly. I have been to 3 doctors, 1 surgeon, acupuncture, active release and physio and I still have the problem. The guy I saw today has given me a bit of relief but I think the killer anti inflammatory I got will help more.

As I had some time to kill I went for a walk and found the coolest group of houses I have ever seen. www.svarmisk.com.au


A view of town and the valley.

OB doing a back flip off of the rope swing into the river.

I think OB is going pee. :)

Registration is this evening at the pub. It will probably be the usual, too much paperwork and too much beer. We fly tomorrow, I will let you know how it all goes. The glider I fly won this comp last year so I plan to just let it do it's thing. I hope it remembers how it won so it can do it again.

2 days off, I need it.

Over the last week I have been in the air for over 24 hrs and flown around 1000 km of xc. We have 2 days off before the Bogong cup and my poor wrists need the rest.
We packed up the car (it all barely fit) and made our way 5 hrs south to Mt. Beauty to get set up for out next comp. It is a really cool place, I love it. Mt. Beauty has 1 of every thing you need and it is a trendy little resort town full of hip people and modern architecture.
I have been feeling home sick today, I miss my daughter a great deal and I missing having my sweet heart in my arms.

I don't know if all of you are interested in pictures of birds and kangaroos but I know my daughter would be so excited to see them so I take the pictures and post them for her, luv u. Go team!



Loaded for bear and on the way to Mt. Beauty.

Mt. Emu

Some kind of parrot, his girl was hanging out and squawking just to the Right of the frame.

Jeff and I got the thing bouncing really good.

What I am doing now.

Racing all by my self.

The goal line.

Day 8, Task 6
What I have learned this meet:
I can fly with the big boys, I climb and glide well enough to keep up and did it on 4 of the six days.
The start is the most important piece of the puzzle. Without a good start you are at a huge disadvantage. I am able to keep up with the lead gaggle but I am not able to catch them. Even when I left with them but much lower it still worked out quite well.
I need to stop losing concentration at the end. On the 2 days I landed short it was because I got cocky and figured I had it in the bag. Stupid!
My mind and not my gear is holding me back, Thanx Brett at moyes Canada and Vincene at Muller Windsports. Their support is greatly appreciated.
I have good friends Jeff O'Brien and Jeff Shapiro and I am glad that I have gotten to know them both better.

The task for the last day was a 125 km out and return. We had a 1/4 tail wind on the way out with a 1/4 head wind on the way back. I was in a great position at the top of the gaggle at the edge of the start circle at the first clock. I wanted to fly with the top 30 who would start in 15 minutes. As we were drifting out of the start circle and away from the course line I decided to punch up wind to get a more down wind shot to the turn point. I thought it was a good idea (thinking for myself again) When I left I had a few pilots with me but after a couple of km I was alone. I had good position but ended up flying the whole course except the last 25 km alone. It wasn't the fastes way to fly the course but it was very rewarding. The air was very rough and I was pissed off at myself for my start. I battled with myself about whether or not I could do it ( i was very negative). I got really frustrated after the turn point when I was at 1500 m getting poked in the face by short pieces of straw and dumped/flipped so violently that scared me so bad because I thought I was about to tumble. After I cleaned my shorts, I continued on and caught up to a group and worked until my numbers worked and had a good glide into goal.
It was very satisfying to finish in goal on the last day. We checked in, downloaded our GPS and went back to clean up before the wind up party.

The winner "little" Jonny Durand

Good friends and great traveling companions.

Doing great until I started to think for myself.

aussi pilots reaxing with bull whips before the task.

Only part of the gaggle at the start gate.

The farm I landed at, 15 km from goal.

Look carefully there is a kangaroo in the pic.

Day 7
After last day I was felling better about my flying. I got a good start just 1000 ft below the highest pilot and raced on course for a big out and return. I was kepping pace with the lead group as more and more pilots dropped off. We never lost them on glide, they just stayed behind in a thermal when the lead group went and were never able to catch up. I would go wenever the group would go but I was usually below them. We blazed out to the turn point and back towrds Forbes but I was getting low and really needed to top up. Thn I saw it... a dust devil 1/2 km wide so I dove to it and got a killer climb that put me in the middle of the lead gaggle. Now I was with Jeff O'Brien, Chris Smith and the rest of the rockstars. We raced back towards goal and I was able to keep up wich was real cool. Then I thought I was making a good decision, the lead gaggle went to the left of course line and had found a weak climb. Since I was gliding on the right side of the gaggle I was closest to a ridge line that was just to the right of course line and was pumping on the way out. I glided to it with a couple of others in chase but when I got there all I found was 300 up so I continued down the ridge looking for a boomer. I never found it and was unable to hang on to zero to keep me in the air. Jeff Remple was with me and he hung out over were I landed for 20 minutes until it turned on and was able to make the last 15 km to goal.