The Auckland Regional Paragliding Competition was a ‘go’
last weekend. Comp organiser Johnny Hopper had arranged for it to be FAI Cat 2
approved (something normally only done for the PG Open in NZ) and so was very
keen to see pilots scoring points on the international stage for this.
We had a great turnout, with 29 pilots registered over the 2
days; a combination of old hands & many who were dipping their toes into
the competition scene for the first time.
With a light northerly on Saturday morning, we headed to
Dills. Jeff & Reuben jumped in the air quickly to give it a bit of a test.
They stayed up, so we thought we could be on to something. The boys top landed,
and we got down to business. The task committee of Jeff, Cameron and Johnny
decided we would launch from Dills, then head south to a new waypoint, JnK
House.
Reubs was the first to launch, and when he started to get
high, another group of pilots decided to join him. It was not to last, though.
After a couple of hours of ridge soaring, it was clear that the day was not
going to switch on for us. Everyone in the air top landed, and we made a call
to stop the task so we could get on with Johnny’s sausage sizzle.
Sunday conditions were similar, so we agreed to meet
directly on launch at Dills. The task was the same – head south to JnK House.
Again, no one was able to get up and away, but had a very social time soaring
the ridge. The bomb-out saw a fair bit of action as well. Eventually we had a
back wind, and felt a few drops of rain from those dark clouds we’d been
watching in the distance. Time to pack up & call it a fizzle. Jeff's face in the photo says it all. (Photo courtesy of Rodger Kerr.)
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