PG OPEN 2015 WANAKA – TASK 1

Registration kicked off on Friday night without a hitch, but there has been a lot of rumbling amongst the pilots about the weather forecast.

It seems the hang gliders may have used up all the decent weather with the HG Nationals last week, and the next few days are not looking good for us.

However, we are a stubborn lot, so we headed up to Treble Cone on Saturday morning to sit in the clouds on launch and consider our options.

The task was set, and everyone hurried up to wait for the cloud to lift & conditions to improve.

Joel Hanlon, on his tandem, was the first to launch. Although the rest of us admired his bold behaviour as we caught glimpses of him through the cloud, no one was convinced to join him in the air.

Eventually with the clock ticking to the launch window closing, Peter Groves decided to take action. As soon as the cloud cleared enough for the launch window to open, he was off. That, and only 30 minutes remaining to get around 50 pilots in the air, was enough to get a buzz going.

All pilots managed to get in the air, although Kris Ericksen cut it a bit close, lifting his feet a mere ten seconds before the launch window closed for the day.

The task was a run up and down the ridge, over to Glendhu Hill, back to Pub Corner, and goal at Glendhu Bay. Although no one quite made it, it was a bit of a surprise to have a valid task!

Congratulations to the winner of the day, Hugo Robben.

See the results here:

PG Open 2015 Wanaka Results