Snot Rockets

Basement boys did well, except me. Ray made goal as did Flappie. Bob, Nikki, Scrappy Greg & Alex hit all way points except final goal. More details to come. Aloha, Don

I made it!!
First time in goal was so cool!! But to get there I had to go thru some drama...
after setting up my GPS I changed the batteries and the navigation got mess up. Instead of showing the first waypoint, it was showing the 3rd one (but I didn't know)... after the race started and I noticed everybody going to the "wrong waypoint" it hit me... I lost a few minutes to figure that out, then fix the gps and re-start the race. The cool thing was being very high helped me. I went to "burnt" and find some crazy convergency lift and climbed quite high. After I fixed and re-started I got a big frontal, and the glider (sol Tracer) behaved really well adn was easy to regain control, building my confidence and raising the "bump tolerance".
The thermals were sharp, small and a bit bumpy. The gaggle was confusing and quite scary, with bullet thermals pushing guys above you very fast. We even had a mid-air collision with parachute deployment! I'd rather cruise away from it and I manage to play at the edge of the gaggle for most of the time and venture sometimes by myself, looking for lift, and it payed off!
After hitting the last turnpoint, I pushed glide towards goal, realizing I was too far to make to the next gaggle, I had to turn back to woodrat (launch) to tank up some more altitude. Quentin was there too and we shared some thermals. I was lucky and took some bumpy ones to get enough altitude but I wasn't comfortable in that rowdy air and went downwind at speeds close to 60KM/H to the next ridge. Getting there I realize I wasn't quite as high as I thought and I almost gave up and landed, but I decided to fly right over the low peak where 3 ridges met. Sure enough it worked :) I got high enough to check in my gps the glide to dest. was 7:1 so I went on glide. Sometimes in sink I thought I was not gonna make it but all I could do by then was to keep the fingers crossed, and it worked. I made it! Aloha, Ray

Winding Up

We are in Medford now. Check back soon for updates. Aloha, Don.

Oh, and by the way, Quentin went holo holo while the rest of us stood on launch unable to muster the nerve to launch. Dangler had a nice flight, and landed in the LZ in bumpy air, but Quentin went to the other side of Jacksonville with Len Szafaryn and Mike Steed. These are both top shelf pilots, and Q did quite well, though at the time he figured he was just keeping up w/the Joneses. Something tells me that Alex has his work cut out for him if he wants to keep his title of Hawai'i Rat Race champion. Alex has vowed to repeat his victory of last year, and has some ideas of how to circumvent Q's competitive drive. Alex is also going to have to deal with some other motivated contenders such as Ray with his new SOL Tracer. Ray tells us that he intends to 'win one for Brazil' even though he's registered as an American this year. It's hard to know how serious he is, though, since he's been passed out for hours after mixing up a huge batch of caipirinhas. We'll have to see what he has in store when the morning comes. The Fussball tourney rages on. Out. Bob.

And now for the real news: Over 20 Hawaii pilots are scattered all over the Rogue and Applegate Valleys. Many are at the campground, some are at motels in Jacksonville and Medford, and four of us are in local pilot Paul's basement. Paul and his family are the most generous hosts ever. Their ranch is a wildlife wonderland, with horses, goats, chickens, beehives, three very personable dogs, a cat, a muskrat, a weasel, and a duckling-eating bullfrog. The weather the last few days was good, and many pilots have got warmed up nicely. But the four basement bombers waited out the strong wind today, watching Q and Greg brave the bumpy conditions and saving our balls for tomorrow's game. Bob and Don are trying to portray me as a serious competitor, but anyone who has flown with me lately knows I am a mediocre thermaller and I am at the nadir of my confidence these days. I plan to fly well within my comfort level, and I hope everyone else does the same, whatever that means for them. Comps like this are a great opportunity to learn a lot, but I think the trick is to stretch yourself without pushing too hard outside your comfort zone. More soon, Alex.

Besides the blast we're having from the north winds, we're having a blast with the other pilots and at Paul's house. Alex forgot mention about the cherry trees....yummy! At the headquarters we had some uploading: waypoints for the GPS and margaritas for the pilots.The hawaii team shirt is a big success and everybody wants one! Thanks Alex! We're all trying to understand how the weather and valleys winds work; Alex is figuring it out pretty well and he has a good flying plan for tomorrow, first day of comp. good luck to us all!
To those back home, some folks are being missed much :(
aloha! Brazilian Ray

Rat Race Countdown

The 2007 Rat Race begins this weekend! Over twenty paraglider pilots from Hawaii will be making their way to the Applegate Valley over the next couple of days. I am leaving tomorrow morning with Bob, Quentin and Don. After the Rat Race and Nationals are over, I will be headed to DC for five weeks to see my family and do some work, returning to Hawaii in early August. Stay tuned for updates!