wednesday 30 november
Peña Rubia, no wind
Palomaret, strong winds from the back, northeast,
Orito, no wind,
Hondon, northeast weak
A hard day at work, looking for the right site. This morning is was blowing pretty strong, then it died off. Would the seabreeze kick in up to Palomaret ? Or would the westwind be strong enough to fly at Peña Rubia. Nothing like it, we had to go to Hondon de las Nieves, a site we rarely visit.
Forward launches, and pretty impressed by the technique those RAF soldiers have, couldn'tdo better. Almost all of them flying NOVA wings, Mamboo, Tattoo.
 | take off, forward launch |
| soaring a bit at Hondon northside |  |
 | backside of the hill, southside |
Tuesday 29 november
Little flying at Peña Rubia today, winds were too weak to be good now. Some of the pilots flew paramotor, like Paul who flew once over the channel England- France, eh also managed to have a XC on his paraglider taking off in Austria and landing in Italy crossing Switserland !
It is november and sun is not so strong, if any cirrus is blocking the sun, the thermals are absent.
Called my buddie Leslie in Tenerife. No damage to him or his house. The worst thing he said, was that all the containers were blown over and plastic bags and garbage were all over the island. Trees and big branches on the road, this is gonna be cleaned up soon. But who is gonna pick up all the garbage ¿ That was his main concern, for the beautiful island.
monday 28 november
Sean had to test his brandnew Airwave Sport3 today. Was not the best day, but we managed to get some flights near Peña Rubia. As you can see on the photo, lots of clouds, few thermals. But everywhere else in Spain, rain and even snow, and the Canaries even had a tropical storm alert, wauw.
Airwave Sport3 , lets not blow Bruce Goldsmiths trumpet, but I see some many pilots having so much more confidence in their flying with this glider.
sunday 27 november
I could put another beautiful foto on the dairy again. But maybe you prefer a foto from in the air, somebody touching cloudbase. Didn't happen. Too much westwind again, a typical bad november day. Last year we flew 22 days in november, I am afraid this year is not gonna be so succesfull. That's the way it is.
saturday 26 november
Second day of strong west wind, front passing over Spain, Up north snow alert, in the middle lots of rain, our region sunny. Even later afternoon not possible to go to our training hills like Chinorlet to do some soaring. Tomorrow looks the same, aaaaaaaaargh.
friday 25 november
The footing of George Best on all TV channels today, was about the closest I got to sports today.
Too much wind, amazing lenticulares drifting from over our mountains towards the sea. All day sunny, nice temperatures still.
The cold air should reach us by tomorrow. Strong wind till sunday will not permit us to spread our wings. Shame for Sean who came down to pick up his brandnew Airwave Sport3.. Hopefully monday he can throw his new glider about, and enjoy this super DHV 1/2 model.
sky today, foto Andy Mazaron
thursday 24 november
Left for Carrascoy. Strong northwest in the afternoon ... none of that. Some of us flew nicely in the thermals and toplanded.
Some of our local pilots again, did not so well. It has to be said.
On their own hill like Palomaret, you cannot beat them if conditions are as usual.
But this week for instance at Palomaret conditions were weak. Who bummed out ? Yes no names, but our well known local pilots, while visiting pilots flew cloudbase and toplanded.
Exactly the same today, all locals down at landing field, my truck filled with them, no names, too embarassing. Driving up watching the foreign pilots, toplanding at Carrascoy.
We had some talks about it on the way up. Again I told them, that they should fly more on different hills, and get used to look for thermals, study terrain, study the clouds, study the day.
Palomaret is a lovely site, but if you flewn it more than a 100 times lets say, you fly automatic pilot. You don't explore it any more, it is almost like going to your office. They admit that after a while you trust that "always there house thermal" and fly the site automatic.
Big hurray for the visiting pilots ! Sorry buddies...
wednesday 23 november
Damn good news. For those who visited Alicante, they know that our favourite site Palomaret was gonna be built on. Villa's and and a golf court were planned. Now plans have been delayed for several reasons. There were already talks with the mayor of the nearby town Petrer, owner of the mountain by the local club mas7 (plus7). Take off was secured, and a solution for another landing wasn't a huge problem. But you know how it is, the more people, the more shit.
Temporarily we are free to fly on our hill, without the noise of diggers, the view of ugly diggers, the funny pants of the golfers. Lets no raise our glass yet, but put the champagne in the fridge.
East, so Cabo de Santa Pola after, yes, the rain in the morning. Didn't matter. The RAF soldiers - paragliders were present, and Jan our belgian friend. The window was not all afternoon as usual, only a good hour of soaring possible.
tuesday 22 november
Cloudy inland. At the coast no wind, although strong east was forecasted. Took a chance driving inland to check conditions. To our surprise no wind. More inland we saw some development, definetely rain later in the day. We went to Palomaret and flew under light conditions. Once low you couldn't find your way up again. You needed to get some lift above take off to fly up to the clouds, cloudsuck insured you of staying up.
On our way back, smoke, flags all pointing west, so Cabo was on. We got there just before dark and some of us flew. At one point we thought Jan had connected his glider the other way around, because he was flying backwards. Indeed winds were howling all of a sudden. He flew backwards full speedbar and had to land in the sierra behind take off. No harm done, his glider caught in a pine tree, nothing else.
Good day.
monday 21 november
Too much wind today, but nice and warm. So time to harvest the olives. Later in the day, I'll bring em to the "cooperativa", to get them pressed to olive oil. 20 procent the cooperative keeps, that 's their profit.
Picking my last lemons as well. And after all that, having a chilled red wine (vino tinto), from the grapes we picked last year.
With a little buzz on, siesta. It is not flying anyway, we might as well chill ... .
ps : I have only a few olive trees, some lemon trees, mandarine and orange trees, etc... , we all split the work and harvest with fellow neighbours, we do not own a plantation ... no at all
sunday 20 november
As Fredrik said so nice, november shows his ugly face. From early morning it was clear that the winds were strong. Although we can easily take a 25 km wind at the cliffs, this was too much. Peaking up to 40 km an hour. Time to relax, watch the kite surfers.
saturday 19 november
Warmer today, a lot warmer, 20 degrees celsius. Sunny till late afternoon, then more and more cloudy. But skygod Ron today flew his 5 hours. Heading back tomorrow to colorfull England, he had to get a huge fix.
Henrie, our Sweed, is leaving as well tomorrow, but promised to be back in March. Good old Belgians, and of course a bunch of other British pilots around. All up in the air, from 1 pm till it was dark. A pitty, the full moon has gone, otherwise we would have had some night flying again.
If we look up to the south, before the stars are out we see the international space-station for a couple of hours. And this till March. So if you want to come down and watch this, we still have availability this upcoming weeks.
friday 18 november
This must be the worst to read, for our friends Jean and Guido. They landed in Paris by now. Hope they have a great evening with their lovers. Because they were so unlucky just to have missed the window at Peña Rubia. Shit.
We all flew to Biar and back. We had a two hour window on one of my favourite hills.
Low airtimers, to PWC pilot Dave Snowdon and friends, made enough height to get to the next village of Biar and take foto's of the castle.
Some foto's, one of Piter who just got his brandnew Gin Zoom and harnass today.If you are interested in packages, like gliders/harnass/emegency chutes, we do have great offers for a couple of weeks.
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thursday 17 november
We can be short after a long day. Strong west wind, letting us parawait all day. Damn !
wedensday 16 november
Parawaiting this time. Winds just not dying off at Carascoy.
tuesday 15 november
Today, we were all warned on the news and the weather forecasts of heavy rain, and snow even. So we were careful to choose a site, if we were gonna choose one.
Choice was a low hill, Chinorlet, where sometimes surprisingly we soar nicely.
Once arrived, no wind ...
Very opportunistic we drove a bit further, up to Sierra del Carche, one of our highest hills, take off 1400 m ASL.
Still flags didn't move, smoke going straight up, no sign of strong wind. Although local buddies, called me they had enough wind already. Hmmm.
Drove up the dirt track to take off, and talked local pilots out of coming down to fly. Nothing was guaranteed. Bit down south, above Murcia region, it was dark and definetely raining (snowing), Up north, nearer to Alicante, clouds were looking nasty and dark.
Once at take off, we had a plan. To fly over the valley and look for valley thermals, if making height, following the road back to Alicante. Easy retrievals, huge landing fields, no obstacles and easy way outs if winds were picking up suddenly.
Guido and Jean, two pilots from Paris flew out, and climbed out. Hendrie, our viking from Sweden, always in short pants, even when our balls are freezing off, followed them.
Clouds got nastier though, just when cloudbase is at its highest, when activity for flying is the strongest, we had more and more nasty clouds, with
pileus caps on top of the cumulus.
Pileus cloud (cumulonimbus calvus pileus) is a little altocumulus cloud, to be noticed as a dome or cap above a fast growing cumulus. It is created by the condensation process by fast rising air. Mostly accompanied with very moist air, rising fast, it exists of ice cristals. The process is not rarely followed by a thunderstorm.
So we waited a little while. I asked low airtime pilot Ron to wait, and decided to wait to do my tandem flight with Linda as well. It could, or go worse, or go better, but with the knowledge of today's weather forecast and alerts in 9 nearby regions for huge rainfall etc... we were cautious.
A little hour later, the sky opened up again, bit by bit. We all flew, but there was not so much sun any more, so thermals were not present. We just had a nice float down, 700 meter height difference. A lot better did Guido, he flew 20 km XC. Ok, not a record, but as a fairly novice pilot, making his first XC, time to celebrate !
First foto on the left shows you Guido climbing out, second foto : the sky this afternoon.
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monday 14 november
Escape dark and cold England for the heat and thermals of Nicks back yard. How little did we know, winter followed us, torrential rain for days.
However Nick, being the good egg he is, we go to a concert for a flamenco fusion band called CHAMBAO, Spain being mañana we had to wait 2 hours for the football to end before the concert started. Worth it though, then the bars in Alicante until 4 pm.
We did snatch some flying, an unofficial holy site, we will either be cannonised or thrown in jail and then shot.
I more sangria tonight. We'll be back it cannot rain all year - or can it ?
Paul Cherry - british pilot
sunday 13 november
Two days of not flying. Very unstable inland. Only on the flatland some sun. As soon as you hit the mountain area, clouds were spoiling the fun. Here and there some drizzling rain. So unfortunate for the dutch friends who left us this afternoon, se you again mates !
Many, mainly older persons, are out with plastic bags in the fields, collecting snails. It is a habit to serve paella with snails, on rainy days. On daily menus (only in spanish restaurants) you can find snails as a delicacy these days. They are steamed with lots of garlic, pepper and other herbs. Delicious. You have to try it, sucking out the little things by their little horns.
Yesterday we went with some pilots to a concert of modern flamenco. Great band, fusion of chill and flamenco. If you are into flamenco music, try this band Chambaó, you'll be surprised.
saturday 12 november
No good for flying. Clouds all over, south, west, southwest even a bit of east early day. Very unstable, rain here and there. Not what this part of spain uses to have.
friday 11 november
Black clouds over Alicante, heavy rains up north. We flew. We went to Murcia after calling my buddies up there. Blue sky, clouds, blue sky, clouds. Weak northeastern wind, just top to bottoms. 650 m height difference made it worthwhile.
Good pilots, good friends, no hassles !
thursday 10 november
Got up this morning and it was raining. Got home tonight and it was still raining. There even was an alert for the northern parts of Alicante, expecting 100 l per m2. When it rains, it is heavy rain, and doesn't help the drought at all. All is washed away, mudslides, underground parkings flooded etc... .
So no flying today. And to be honest, Spain is not the most beautiful when it rains. It is just not made for it. It is made for outdoor activities, flyhing, hiking, rock climbing, diving etc... . So watching the forecast for tomorrow, hoping it is gonna be dry again and fly at the coastal sites.
wednesday 9 november
No flying today. Temperatures dropped reasonable. Still sunny, but cold looking sky up north. Northwestern winds up to 50 km per hour. We usually get a three day cycle of bad weather. But it looks flyable again friday, so one more day of cultural trips, go karting, jeep safaris, café con leche, tapas, paella, watching the world go by on a terrace in Alicante.
tuesday 8 november
Left very early this morning. Wanted a whole day of flying, because tomorrow there is a front passing and we could have a day off. Went for Caudete, and flew all afternoon. Not the most epic day and certainly not XC day, but managed to have some nice flights.
In the valley the inversion was clearly to be seen and till last minute there was no sign yet of bad weather coming in. A group foto had to be taken, in the back the mountain with the windmills. We met family of some dutch pilots who followed us with their caravan. Coffee, juices at landing, they really know how to organise themselves.
monday 7 november
After three consecutive days of flying, we put a smile on the dutch faces. Not easy, dutch from up north are known to be pretty "stug". But we managed !
They were all fighting to get up at one point, but most of them were soon touching cloudbase. Jan, who went all the way to Maigmo, had his first views over the top, as many others surprised and amazed by the beautiful views. Almost a whole group flying Ozone, Geert Mesander as leader of the gang. Well another sunny day in Alicante and thermalling on our hills. Tomorrow same thing, wednesday it looks a bit iffy, maybe too much wind from north-west, we'll see.
sunday 6 november
November, autumn, leaves falling, colder nights, central hours of the day still in their twenties. Early afternoon still west, but too weak to do something on our western hills (the few we have). So waiting for the breeze. At 2.30 pm when it is still blowing strong west at take off Palomaret, it is time to make bets. I betted with several dutch pilots that in half an hour we would be in the air. They all agreed on the bet. Half hour later the bet came out, I won 5 beers. Luckily for them I do not drink, so they can keep their money.
Knowing the site, knowing the season, I can almost put my clock on it.
But when new pilots arrive I want them to experience the sudden change of winds on this particular site. It learns a lot about wind channels, afternoon breezes etc... even the air looks different half hour before the breeze kicks in. It is all about local knowledge, and again about safe flying. It is not only about looking at the charts, forget it. It is about waking up in the morning, going for a bike ride to watch if the sea if nerveus, to check if your car is wet or dry, to see how clear the air is, can you see smog over Alicante city, is the sea "high" or "low", how do the contrails look like etc... etc... . Weather, what a wonderful world. Especially when you have it right at times.
A whole bunch of pilots were enjoying their sunday afternoon off, in the sky. Non flying partners and friends organising the picknick and having their siesta in the sun, kids playing, climbing the rocks. Cloudbase at 1500 m ASL, many pilots leaving the hill for the ridge run to Maigmo. Easy but still a challenge. And how lovely it is for just arrived pilots to peak over the crest of Palomaret, overlooking the natural reserve of El Cati.
I had a good day, did you notice ? Have a splendid week yourself.
saturday 5 november
Weather forecast northwest veering to norhteast, high winds on altitude. So only place today was Cabo de Santa Pola or San Antonio. Cabo could have worked later in the afternoon, but we didn't feel like taking the chance of missing flights. So we left for San Antonio. After visiting landing field and putting windsock, we went up the park the car near the chapel of San Antonio. A couple of hundred meters further I met Chufa, local pilot who was already waiting for somebody to show up to fly. So first ones bommed out, but at 3 pm, you can almost put your clock on it, it started to get more windy from direction northeast. Just what we wanted.
More locals arrived and had a pleasant but not epic flight near the town of Alcoy.
I just had a phone call from Bartual. He flew at 5 pm, made 2100 m ASL in convergence north-south. Flew from Palomaret to Carrasqueta. What a surprise. He is one of our better local pilots and flies a Gin Boomerang4.
Friday 4 november
Fly like an eagle, Steve Miller. A good old american classic, or Tom Petty maybe. I was wondering what a top 10 of a paraglider would be. Some movies are soundtracked by Tibetan music, lately I've heard even Gregorian music backing up pilots floating over the Italian dolomites. Not so inspiring for me. I like it simple maybe, you know ... fly .... eagle... . What would you use ? Not volarè eh ? Whatever.
West winds today, only Toix would be the option. Waiting for my friends to call...
No flying today, too windy and nasty clouds. Dutch friends arrived, the Ozone team.
Flying over Cabo a couple of days ago, foto's buy Tanju. A little movie and more pictures on his website :
http://141.30.17.245/~tanju/Cabo/
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Thursday 3 november
Early morning wester winds, knowing the breeze would take over in the afternoon. So best to relax till 1 pm, then hop in the car and fly at Palomaret. Cloudbase not higher than 1200 (well today I only did get that high ...), smooth thermals, not punchy at all. Inversion was clearly visible once up high.
Later in the afternoon I flew tandem with a semi-profesional paramotor pilot. One thing I remember he said : " Wauw, I never flew so quiet in my life ..."
wednesday 2 november
Toix, all the way to Bernia, smooth dynamic conditions up to Altea Hills. From then on some work to get to Sierra Bernia, 1000 m ASL:
At Palomaret as well 1200 m ASL, in between thermals sink cycles, so some pilotsbumming out. Again a flying day, not too much wind, very nice temperatures up in the twenties today. Surely a day for low airtime pilots to get some thermalling skills in, as for more advanced pilots to work this thermals not bumming out.
tuesday 1 november
Day off. While go carting though we saw pilots flying at La Cortina. I also had a phone call from pilots that Palomaret was on again. But no visitors for the moment, so having a siesta.
I started this diary just a year ago. So this means twelve months of daily uploading, what we did during the day. I count 270 days of flying last year. This should be a guideline for all who want to come over and fly with us. I think this proves that DOYOUWANNA is run efficient and professional. We are always out there when there is a window to fly.
It is a guideline to choose your time to come down and fly with us. Down in Alicante with DOYOUWANNA you don't have to be lucky to fly, no you will just be unlucky if you can't fly.
We are just a spot on earth, so of course also dependent on the weather. But the climate we live in is amazing. Why do you think grandma still dances and has fun down here in nearby Benidorm. She was never stupid, that's why she choose the best climate in Europe.
I hope to see you. And also, I hope more guides put in a dairy on their website. Because the feedback I get from pilots, repeated or new visitors is good. And it can only benefit their bussiness. What do you think ?
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