~strong winds, cold days~

There were pilots in the air as I came around the corner on Hwy 1. The winds looked good at about 11 mph from the West. By the time I got to the launch site the winds had picked up but still seemed manageable. I had a few unsuccessful attempts at kiting before my launch. The wing came over my head, but the winds had picked up enough that it was tough to move forward. The first 3 tries went this way. Finally on the fourth attempt I rode it out & let the wing go back a bit then forward a bit, back & forth until I started flying. The trick was to let up on the brakes.

The flight was spectacular! It was a crystal clear day. I could see the Farallon Islands to the West with container ships sailing past them, the Golden Gate Bridge to the North & SFO to the East. Every now & then a jet passed overhead. I snapped a few pictures of my wing, which reminds me that I still need to repair the broken line.

The Rush2 is a great wing. The speed bar came in handy. Normally I place my heels in the lower strap. I've never had the need to use the upper bar. On this flight the winds up high picked up. I was able to get fairly high. Steve, flying his yellow & red hangglider was very high. I started to see how high I could get but decided to use the speed bar & get down. The winds were really strong the higher I went. It got to the point were I barely had any penetration forward. I wasn't being blown back but without speedbar I wasn't moving forward either. At this point I was out in front of the cliff right above the beach. I dropped a couple hundred feet & the winds were much better.

Up high there was a point where I wasn't moving forward or backwards. It was kinda like reclining in your living room chair watching the entire coastline; the Farallon Islands to the left, the Pacific Coast stretched out between my legs, San Francisco with it's mighty Golden Gate Bridge spread out to the right all while soaring alongside hawks hunting dinner.

About 45 minutes into the flight I started noticing most of the pilots land. White caps on the water as well as the strong winds up high must be the reason all the other pilots were now on the ground. I started planning my approach for landing but the winds down low didn't seem bad. Second guessing myself I turned around, went back to the cliffs, got lift and flew around for a while before warning bells started going off. Something didn't seem right! Why were all the other pilots on the ground? I decided to go back & land, the flight lasting 1 hour, 3 minutes. Upon landing I asked a few of the pilots why everyone was on the ground. Was it the winds? The whitecaps? I got my answer from Dave. It's cold!

Although there was still a good hour of light left the winds had picked up enough that I decided to pack up my gear & take more pictures. Over all it was a fun day sitting in the harness taking in the Farallons, the city, flying alongside hawks & just enjoying the moment.