PG OPEN ROUND 2 – NELSON – DAY 1

Tim Brown briefing the task

The Nelson round of the PG Open got off to a fine start on Friday night, with what was probably the best registration barbie a paragliding comp has ever seen. Yum.

The formalities were taken care of, with introductions from competition organisers Peter Allison, Nick Taber & Frog Twissell.

The Task Committee of Tim Brown, Jeff Ripley & Itai Almog was appointed, and the Safety Committee of Russell Read, Joe Ward and Roy Tingay elected.

Since the forecast for Saturday wasn’t looking flash, a few of the pilots took the opportunity to offer extensive support to one of our generous competition sponsors – the Sprig & Fern pub.

They may have been regretting it on Saturday morning, when we were all reminded that the weather sometimes surprises us. 

Saturday saw us head up to Barnicoat, where the wind was initially over the back. The Task Committee didn’t seem to take notice, and focused on setting the task. Don’t worry, they said. 

The wind will come around.

Task 1 was set with start at Barnicoat, over to Jenkins then to Spur with Trees, back to Cumming Spur, end of speed at Water Tank, and goal back at Barni. The wind was still over the back.

We bided time listening to the Sprig & Fern supporters in the group regale us with tales of their ‘quiet night’, and next thing you know, we could feel the breeze on our faces.

Frog Twissell encouraging Hamish Barker to get in the air

Barnicoat is a beautiful big launch, so it didn't take long to get everyone in the air and on course.

Jeff Ripley was the first in goal, with a small gaggle in hot pursuit. It was a short task of 24km, but a very welcome surprise to get a fly on a day we were expecting strong winds and rain, and a great way to kick off the competition.

The weather looks promising for the next few days too, so we have big plans rest of the week.

Results: Highcloud PG Open Nelson Results