It's been a while that I have been in my paragliding harness. I don't get much time to fly anymore because you always have to drive quite a distance in Cape Town to get to the flying sites. Even though Cape Town and the areas surrounding Cape Town has some of the best flying, it is always a mission to go there. Once you are there, there is always the possibility that the wind might not be right. Fuel and time wasted. Today I was lucky....
After I returned from my survival excursion with my son, I saw that the wind direction in Mossel Bay was just right for some dune soaring at Reebok. I got my glider and went down to the beach. At first I thought that the wind might be too weak. With all my kite surfing lately I was a bit unsure what the wind strength should be for paragliding. Fortunately my wife remembered what I was always waiting for, but my little anemometer was not working anymore and I had to go on gut feeling. Time for a new one I guess. I laid out my glider and hooked into my harness.....
I was a bit worried today, the adrenalin was pumping. When you haven't flown for a while you always wonder if you are doing everything right, but there was no way to double check. It was pull up and go. The wind was perfect. I felt something funny on the seat of my harness, but it turned out to be my speed bar that was still wrapped around my harness straps. Forgot to connect that, but nothing serious, as long as the wind doesn't get too strong. I flew for about 30 minutes and decided to do a top landing instead of a landing on the beach like I always do. I approached the same spot where I launched. I managed to land the glider without any issues, but was a bit careless when I was smiling for the camera instead of getting ready to pull my glider down. One wrong move and you can get dragged through all the beach houses along the road. Not good for your image.... ;-)
What a day. I hope to get at least another flight or two in before I go back to Cape Town.
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