Nothing like the first time!

Apologies to "ground dwellers" I am afraid this is paragliding blog.
With the weather being rather blustery of late and blowing in the wrong directions, the flying opportunities have been a little rare. However, yesterday while heading home after work along the main road from town - a road littered with various business' flying their flags (great for reading wind direction and strength)- I noticed that they were all flapping gently in a SSE direction which means that it would probably be just about right for flying the Southern tip of our local mountain range!  A quick change of clothes at home and a wheel spin later, I was up on the hill staring down a cliff I had not yet flown. Adds a few more beats to the old heart rate - but nicely so! My wind sock confirmed good direction and my wind meter read between 8 and 10 mph.... a couple more clicks would have been better because  if I sunk out to the bottom, this was going to be a long haul back up the mountain!  

With one spectator on the bench, the show was on. I moved my truck to a safer place, (not down wind from take off) and prepped my glider for take off. Kept my eye on the grasses and bushes dancing in the wind, and pulled on the "A's" and walked off the front. An immediate bank to the right found lift and off I went. The site has 2 little tight bowls right next to each other, probably about 100m in length each, so not a massive range of flight but with a few thermals punctuating the beat now and then I enjoyed a good half an hour while watching the 5 o-clock traffic queue up below me.

Eventually I realised that my hot spots for lift were failing me and I was losing height - being just below the ridge now, there was no chance of top landing, I looked for the preferred landing site that I had chosen prior to take off and then looked at the path that wound up the mountain - It was long! I scouted the front of the hill and saw a small but level outcrop with the path running through it about 2/3rds of the way up the hill and decided to head for that! It's always a good feeling when you have managed to land safely on unfamiliar terrain but even better when you have managed to fly a new site for the first time! Now I can happily add  a Southerly to the list of flyable winds in "my own back yard!"  

debut blog...

Not being one for ever having read a blog in my life, right now I am wondering why I have just opened a blogging account? I suppose it's a fun way of writing "a diary" of sorts and letting others. (if they want to) read now and then... and if folk don't enjoy it, they can navigate away and I will still have enjoyed spilling words -

WARNING!: I am not always near a pc or the internet so there is a good chance there may be extended intervals between blogging!

... and if nothing comes of this I will look at the positive side, it will be great typing practice!

As a keen paraglider pilot living in South Africa, perhaps this may also pose as a "Paragliders Column" more than anything else, (apologies ground dwellers) where I can describe new flying sites, adventures, lessons learnt and hopefully some humour to keep the readers reading!

Blog one done!