The winds were a bit North. I followed Arnel & Erik to Pacifica & back. I have previously flown South of the parking lot but never past the dunes. The winds were perfect for a flight to the city. We made it there & back with plenty of altitude. This may have been a good day wind wise to fly to the pier but with a lack of full beach it was a good idea to turn back. This flight made it crystal clear that the Rush2 is a far faster wing than many others. Arnel & Erik took off across the parking lot. I was boxed in by another wing & couldn't follow them. I flew back to the green giant, gained altitude & gave it a second shot. I flew over the wing that was boxing me in. By the time I reached the Dunes Arnel & Erik were already at the trailer park, Arnel having gone past it part way to the Pier. We passed near the coffee shop & I continued on to the street with the Fish & Chips restaurant. Turning around I quickly caught up to the other two paragliders. Arnel gave me some inflight advice but I couldn't really hear him. What I thought I hears was "don't get too low. Use the spine to get up"! What Arnel said was "don't get too low. Don't get close or below to the spine"! As I neared the spine I gained quite a bit of altitude & easily made it across the deathbowl & parking lot.

The crystal clear day made for an awesome day paragliding! I gained as much altitude, nearly 1000 feet, to see as far as I could. Today I could easily see the Golden Gate Bridge, downtown San Francisco, The Oakland Hills, SFO & as far as the coast meeting the horizon in all other directions. Climbing was easy. Hanggliders soared high above me but for some reason I cannot catch them. As much as I try I just can't get as high as they do. Many days it's due to higher winds the higher you go but today the winds were perfect. I've noticed that when I get into a shear it's easy to climb. So far every shear I've flown in has been mild but I've read that they can get hairy scary! Today was a great day!

Still chasing my shadow.

Earlier I discussed the church launch. In this photo, my shadow is right on the launch.

Found my shadow!

Great day flying at the coast today.  19+ mph winds.  

This is about enough to chill you out for at least a day.

More fun on the coast from Jose on Vimeo.

Swooping the lower ridge from Jose on Vimeo.

Fun on the coast! from Jose on Vimeo.

Oneironaut from Erica Kobren on Vimeo.

Today was one of those days where those who arrived early were rewarded with several hour flights. Those of us who arrived late waited all day for the winds to pick up. Eventually those who arrived early got tired, landed & tried to get back up but with very little winds we took trips to the beach & back. One such trip for me was enough to make me wait. It was blue skies most of the day. A wind line was easily visible, the white caps giving it away. We waited.... and waited. As the line crept closer the chatter picked up. Eventually the white caps reached the beach & we waited. The winds dropped down to almost nothing. Perplexed we sat around & scratched our heads.

Not one pilot gave up. Then, out of nowhere, the winds picked up to 11mph! We all immediately geared up & launched. The first two got up quick. I launched fourth and quickly gained altitude. As soon as I reached the cliffs I realized that the winds were strong & bumpy. I continued North. As I looked back to the dumps I realized that the fog was creeping back & whispy clouds were starting to form. A cloud in front of me went from being able to see through it to big puffy solid white cloud. Within seconds it went from blue skies to solid fog. We launched right into a wind shear. The video tells the rest of the story.

Lately the winds have either been too strong or too week.   Today the winds were howling most of the day.  At 3:00pm they started easing up so I headed out.  Although they did indeed slow down the only pilot at the dumps was Nova.  I unpacked & joined him.  JJ showed up & met us in the air.  We flew for 30 minutes before the winds ceased. I flew the lower ridges back & forth at one point missing an RC.  Later we tried launching from Walkers but there just were not enough winds.  I managed to make it back to land & missed landing on the beach.   

Machu Picchu Post from Machu Picchu Post Team on Vimeo.

Ahhhhhhh!!!!! Houston....we have a problem!