I started this flying diary on the 12th of october 2004. I wish and hope other guides will do on their website. It can only give you guys, the most honest idea about how the flying is in the region operating. Pass the word to other guides, why not ?
Tuesday 12 oct 2004
Fantastic, fantastic. We went for Murcia. Cloudy, starting to blow from the west. But hooray, northwest weak at noon and up to cloudbase all of us. At 2 pm, sunshine, blue skies, Spanish conditions. all ove the valley, forty pilots all together. Fiesta in Murcia, so all local pikots from Murcia were skyhigh together with us 25 foreign pilots at the moment.
Later in the afternoon our lets say best pilot Suby Lutolf checked out one of our "new" sites,. A new western site, that we try to open up for all of you. Well, his first flight there was immediately "bingo". He made XC, flew from Ibi to Villajoyosa, cambe back and landed at Campello having an ice cream waiting for pick up by his girlfriend Belinda ! See you tomorrow.
Wednesday
Palo it was. I flew, later together with the only other pilot Dudo. All guests didn't like the very much strong take off conditions. In the air it was fine by moments. But most of the whole aftenoon it was pretty strong and windy. sometimes gusts high up in the iar came true, very very strong. Late in the afternoon there were 20 pilots in the air till sunset. After all, for mos of them worth the wait.
thursday 14 oct 2004
What a day at Murcia. Three danish pilots went XC, 25 km. All of us had great flights, over the 1100 meter mountain. In the beginning a bit strong, then looooooooooooooovely. Don't stop, tomorrow we come back !! 2000 meter cloudbase, october is still epic. Hope for the arriving guests it will stay that ways for more weeks.
Friday 15 oct 2004
Very windy this morning. Almost called it a bad day. Then winds calmed down in Murcia, so hey. All pilots flew. Some of them to cloudbase which was at 2200 meters ASL. Even our low airtime pilots managed two hour flights in thermalling conditions. Some of my pilots flew XC. What can I say. Again a terrific day. Who beats Alicante, with its climate, its paragliding possibilities ? Anyone ? I don't think so. Cheers my friends, tomorrow looks good again.
For the moment we guide dutch pilots, german pilots, british pilots and danish pilots. Yesterday friends from Sweden left us, happy after a good week of flying, no accidents, no stress.
saturday16 oct 2004
This morning some swiss pilots had a half hour at Calpe, For us too far to get there in time,. Meanwhile blowing 40/50 k/h. A day off. My pilots don't mind,. they look pretty kanckered. So do we !
sunday 17 oct 2004
Laaaaaaaazy sunday afternooooon nah .... yeah right. We flew from 1 pm till dark, this means till 8 pm. Some of my dutch pilots (max and Tess) flew 4.5 hours. Yes 4.5 hours. they flew the whole cycle. At first strong thermals, then seabreeze coming in, all over lift, until it died off a bit. They left for the airport back home with a big smile, happy memories. Some new swiss pilots were surprised by our "power"-take off. We are used to it, used to take off in gusty thermique conditions. And if you are from the alps, you blow the horn when it is windy. Not down here, we need that wind. Maybe not one of my most lyric words about us flying today, that's because three tandems were done, and lots of coaching for my new guests Gert and Burt.
Tomorrow looks great, we probably go to Carrasqueta, a 1100 meter mountians with XC possibilities. then it looks like Calpe, so get your reverse launches sorted !!! Un beso para todos, olé !!
Monday 18 oct 2004
Today a bit lousy. Just a couple of soaring flights from Carrasqueta. cloudy, no wind almost, just enough to maintain a litle bit of height and make one toplanding. Some of us flew at Sella, bumped out, and some others went to Palomaret, got message it was too smooth as well. But we flew at least a little bit. From tomorrow it looks like southwest, yes, maybe Calpe.
Tomorrow morning Carla and Jaques go back home (Ozone Vibe pilots). Still Uwe, Gert and Burt as friends to join us.
Tuesday 19 ocot 2004
Yeps, we flew at Calpe. First me in the air, getting bits of height, then Uwe who had to go land pretty quick. More and more wind from west made me land on the slope. Better than in the sea, no option. Then some (not-DOYOUWANNA-guided) Swiss pilots took off. Just after they saw me slope landing , because there was no lift anymore. Smart ? Don't know, maybe I fly like a roast chicken, but sometimes a local guide can tell you lots of things ... anyway, one landed on the rocks just before reaching the landing field, another on the little beach in the lee, before reaching the landing field... a third one barely made it over the little peninsula. Good grief, scary, stupid flying from them. Needed a rest, so we left for coffee and talked about how you never ever go out flying on such a technical site without talking, without guidance, without any advice from a local (guide). This is stupid. Not only you can be very hurt or dead, you can also put us locals into a lot of problems keeping the sites.
A bit later, Uwe (german Ozone Octane pilot, and saxophone player) and me took off from a new take off high above the hill. And landed at the nudist beach. That's it. Tonight we all go downtown and have some spanish food and rioja wine at the best restaurant in Alicante "Iberico". Cheers.
wednesday 20 oct 2004
Weather forecast was strong southwest. When I got up though there was no wind at all. So I called my buddies on the hills. To my surprise they informed me that as soon as on altitude there were gusts to 40 km p hour. so SMS-ed my pilots to chill. It was gonna be a nice warm day with this sirocco wind blowing. So today we were grounded. We had 28 degrees celsius. I didn't see my pilots, I had to charge my batteries. Went for a coffee on the sunny terraces in Elche, watching the world go by.
This afternoon it got so hot, went to the beach and had a swim. Lovely, no one around, most tourists have gone. Talk to yo tomorrow.
Wednesday 21 oct 2004
Today only two dutch pilots, very low airtime. Tried to coach them one to one. Taught about reading the sky etc... etc... . Got a message that Calpe was on, some friends were flying. Couldn't go there, had to wait for another mountain or small hill to go fly. Calpe is not the hill you want to fly on, when low airtime. Reading the sky it didn't look very well up north, where Calpe is. Castellanus, now and then some raindrops. I hope tomorrow I can help this dutch pilots, let them fly top to bottom maybe early morning from El Cid (650 meter height difference). The new pilots coming in tonight (belgians and british) will be able to fly in the still nice thermals with southeast-wind tomorrow afternoon. Yihaah.
friday 22 oct 2004
Jos and Leen, Gert and Burt, left at 12 am. Straight to Palomaret. Thermalling flight till 6 pm. Then thunderstorm in the distance getting nearer. Little beer and tapa, and home. Cloudbase at 1100 meter, at first strong a bit hammering thermals, at 3 pmn, nice and smooth thermals up to the forming clouds. The two low airtime pilots, Gert and burt made a more than an hour thermalling flights. Meanwhile I was coaching them in the air doing tandems. Kerry arrived, british pilot. Some Germans as well. Tomorrow and sunday flyable as well.
saturday 23 oct 2004
Toni, Bart and Gunter, german pilots joined Leen, Jos and Kerry (not THE Kerry, although THE Kerry had a tandem flight in the mountains with my friend Kathleen McKenny years ago ! True!). We left at noon for Palo. Arrived, looked at some Swiss "know it all" pilots bumming out. Too early for the site, hm, wonder why ? So we flew from 2 pm till 6 not bumming out. Nice smooth thermals, toplandings. One thing was pretty stressy, in the end some 15 pilots with only a few thermals left, so everybody shouting, get the fuck out of my thermal. Later, an ice chilled San Miguel at Antoniets, chilling, smiles on everyone's face. Antoniet is probably the most old bar in Agost. Average age and all male, 65 years old. But fun, and very very traditional. Viva España ! Temperature ? High twenties, talking celsius.
sunday 24 oct 2004
First Jijona. A huge ridge, needs southeast. Knew cloudbase was gonna be low, so soaring was the message. Made toplanding, then it got weaker. Friends all over on the phone getting nerveus,. because right it was sunday after all and all wanted to fly.
Then left for Calpe. Wind too cross, so head for the marina, had a coffee on the terrace looking at the yachts. A bit later, back up again and yes, more on. Could manage a top landing, my local buddy Moncho did. I pretended I didn't see. On top of that I landed on my ass on the (nudist) beach of Calpe. and you know what. I got an aplause of three young ladies, well two actually, one of them was the mother.
After a little chat, they asked my phonenumber so I could take them fly tandem tomorrow. So maybe, two young ladies sitting on my lap under a paraglider landing on a nudist beach. Come on , ther are worse things that can happen to a 45 year old daddy no ?
It is still hot although it is past 8 pm, 23 Celsius. Just had my dinner outside with a chilled beer. Moon is out, see is calm. Tomorrow, mmmmmh, colder air, blue skies, ... , maybe another "boring day at the office". Those who have been here know what that means. Beso !
monday 25 oct 2004
No flying today. All day cloudy, no wind at all, very humid, Louisiana-like. Now, almost dark, still warm and starting to get very windy. Thunderstorms in the mountains. Hopefully tomorrow we all fly again, and please tandem passengers.
tuesday 27 oct 2004
My eyes are sunburnt. I forgot my sunglasses and gloves today. At 1400 ASL it was pretty cold with this northwestern wind today. We flew near Murcia (yes Denmark, Sweden en Holland, you know this one) again while it was blowing too strong near home. A couple of hours thermalling, above the mountain, watching the mediterranean on the other side. Landing at 5 pm, all pilots pretty tired, but happy.
I have some inquiries about weathe in november, well there is an article just published on an American website about us. Tim Crandle wrote about his stay in november with DOYOUWANNA. (you can find his words on my linkpage) Just in case you find a cheap ticket, and are pretty bored watching lousy football games maybe ? But hey november is november, and we are a spot on earth.
wednesday 27 oct 2004
We had it all. West, south, southwest, sometimes east. Light rain (yeah), sunny spells. But no flying. Day off, it looks like autumn is back. We have to start thinking flying on our western sites, this early mornings or late afternoons. Tomorrow is probably an early one for my swiss, belgian and swedish friends.
thusday 28 oct 2004
After consecutive flying for almost 6 months ,we have had two bad days. Today still sunny and in the midtwenties, there was just too much western wind. No flying. My pilots went to playa del Pinet, where you get a taste of how Spain must have been before invaded by tourists. Sheltered from the wind, lazy in the white sand, reading a book, sipping on a rum-and-cocaaacola ... working for the yankee .... cu !! Late in the evening a full moon rising over the sea, but not a full moon flight, we need east for that.
Friday 29 oct 2004
Three sites today. Chinorlet, soaring till it started to rain. Then after visiting Eulalia (a village Dave, not my grandma !), and a coffee we went up for Peña Rubia. Nice flying, some strong gusts, woke us up. Later new site, northwest of Villena, La solana. I always wanted to try this one out. Well I flew 45 minutes on the ridges and toplanded. New site so, especially for those who come down in winter. Home now, after a very very satisfying day. My pilots leave early tomorrow morning. I am off to the mountains near Valencia for a couple of days, they say the wine is good there, do you mind ? Back on D-day, yes 2nd november. Fingers crossed.
Closed from 30 oct till 2 november ( my local friends were flying everyday at Cd Rates, Cortina, Carrascoy and Agres)
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