Dominican - Feb. 6, '07
With the previous day’s horror behind me, I woke up feeling like I absolutely had to do better than the bum out field. I still wasn’t feeling the whole paragliding scene yet, but I knew I could improve. To elaborate – I find that with paragliding, when I don’t fly for a while, I need a few days to get into the groove of things…or at least one good groundhandling session. I think it has to do with paragliding being a very instinctual sport – if you’re not totally emotionally connected to the things around you, your success rate decreases.
That day at launch, Jocky offered to provide Chris and I with some coaching over the radio…I think he and some of the organizers pitied Chris, Jacques and my previous day’s jungle ordeal. That was okay though - I was more than happy to get flying advice from Jocky, even if it were in more of a remedial class fashion. LOL!
Anyway, so I launched, and Jocky instructed me to go to a spot right of launch and circle around in the lift that was there. I think the combination of my overly aggressive turns, and weak lift contributed to my soon sinking glider. Jocky then sent me to the valley, where that same finger that I couldn’t cross the day before loomed before me once more. This time my altitude was high enough to clear it, but not enough to get around the rest of the ridge.
So there I was, circling around bum-out field #2, trying to extend my flight as much as possible. I knew I was going to have to land anyway, but when I found a couple fun bubbles, I turned hard in them, and just tried to enjoy where I was. It was then landing time…
Landing in a field with trees 100 feet high (okay, that’s a guess) is not fun…but I’m always open for a challenge. I did have two options though: land in the narrow field with high trees around, and one tree in the middle, or land in a nice open field with a herd of cattle and a bull. LOL, thinking back, it seems stupid, but the field with the bull scared the hell out of me. I’ve just heard too many stories about angry bulls and paragliders (and I have another story about bulls later on in the trip too!), so I immediately opted for the ultra-challenging field to land in.
I did some careful S-turns in the tree-surrounded field, losing altitude, but still being quite high, slowly heading towards the field with the bulls, as well as a barbed wire fence. I thought fast, and figured that if I hit the leafy tree on the left, I would come to an immediate halt, and solve my problem. So, that’s what I did!
LOL, so yeah, I’m a paragliding pilot who hit a tree on purpose. I hit the tree (about 50 feet high), and then came crashing down a few seconds later. I was totally fine, other than a couple scrapes, and half a wing that was 50 feet atop this tree. LOL, this is making me laugh because it sounds so stupid in retrospect. I mean, why risk falling from a tree, when there’s a nice green field right in front of you? ANYWAY, so these two local guys immediately come to my rescue, and ask me over and over again if I was hurt (in Spanish of course). They must of thought I was insane.
My concern was more about my wing than anything else, and looking at in the tree made me wish I had a hack saw. One of the guys climbed up the tree, and after half an hour of using branches to unhook the lines, and careful tugging, it was free. I somehow asked in broken Spanish if many paragliders landed in the same field (and tree!) as I did, to which my new amigos answered with a no, and a point to the grassy field. I made some horns on my head, and then pointed to the tree, at which they started laughing. They finally understood why I did what I did – land in a tree versus risk a potentially raging bull. They then told me the bulls were harmless, and lazy, and there was no need to worry. I think this important tidbit should be mentioned in next year’s briefing!!!
I got a motorcycle ride from the guys to a local roadside bar, where some of the other pilots were sitting. I felt like the biggest loser ever, but concealed it with the grin on my face. I sure did feel like an idiot, especially hearing about those who flew 50 k’s or something that day, but I went to the comp to set personal bests, not compete with those with 10 years experience on me.
When I got back to the hotel, I inspected my glider and made sure it was kosher. Yes, I’m currently very frustrated with my Apco wing, but I will concede that my wing is like the car that never dies – you can put it though a lot, and it just keep going.
Being like 40 degrees outside, Bruce and I were feeling like some adventure, and jumped into the hotel pool, pretty much fully clothed. Ha ha, it was fun, but I got the hell out of there as quickly as possible before some creepy bacteria got the best of me.
That day at launch, Jocky offered to provide Chris and I with some coaching over the radio…I think he and some of the organizers pitied Chris, Jacques and my previous day’s jungle ordeal. That was okay though - I was more than happy to get flying advice from Jocky, even if it were in more of a remedial class fashion. LOL!
Anyway, so I launched, and Jocky instructed me to go to a spot right of launch and circle around in the lift that was there. I think the combination of my overly aggressive turns, and weak lift contributed to my soon sinking glider. Jocky then sent me to the valley, where that same finger that I couldn’t cross the day before loomed before me once more. This time my altitude was high enough to clear it, but not enough to get around the rest of the ridge.
So there I was, circling around bum-out field #2, trying to extend my flight as much as possible. I knew I was going to have to land anyway, but when I found a couple fun bubbles, I turned hard in them, and just tried to enjoy where I was. It was then landing time…
Landing in a field with trees 100 feet high (okay, that’s a guess) is not fun…but I’m always open for a challenge. I did have two options though: land in the narrow field with high trees around, and one tree in the middle, or land in a nice open field with a herd of cattle and a bull. LOL, thinking back, it seems stupid, but the field with the bull scared the hell out of me. I’ve just heard too many stories about angry bulls and paragliders (and I have another story about bulls later on in the trip too!), so I immediately opted for the ultra-challenging field to land in.
I did some careful S-turns in the tree-surrounded field, losing altitude, but still being quite high, slowly heading towards the field with the bulls, as well as a barbed wire fence. I thought fast, and figured that if I hit the leafy tree on the left, I would come to an immediate halt, and solve my problem. So, that’s what I did!
LOL, so yeah, I’m a paragliding pilot who hit a tree on purpose. I hit the tree (about 50 feet high), and then came crashing down a few seconds later. I was totally fine, other than a couple scrapes, and half a wing that was 50 feet atop this tree. LOL, this is making me laugh because it sounds so stupid in retrospect. I mean, why risk falling from a tree, when there’s a nice green field right in front of you? ANYWAY, so these two local guys immediately come to my rescue, and ask me over and over again if I was hurt (in Spanish of course). They must of thought I was insane.
My concern was more about my wing than anything else, and looking at in the tree made me wish I had a hack saw. One of the guys climbed up the tree, and after half an hour of using branches to unhook the lines, and careful tugging, it was free. I somehow asked in broken Spanish if many paragliders landed in the same field (and tree!) as I did, to which my new amigos answered with a no, and a point to the grassy field. I made some horns on my head, and then pointed to the tree, at which they started laughing. They finally understood why I did what I did – land in a tree versus risk a potentially raging bull. They then told me the bulls were harmless, and lazy, and there was no need to worry. I think this important tidbit should be mentioned in next year’s briefing!!!
I got a motorcycle ride from the guys to a local roadside bar, where some of the other pilots were sitting. I felt like the biggest loser ever, but concealed it with the grin on my face. I sure did feel like an idiot, especially hearing about those who flew 50 k’s or something that day, but I went to the comp to set personal bests, not compete with those with 10 years experience on me.
When I got back to the hotel, I inspected my glider and made sure it was kosher. Yes, I’m currently very frustrated with my Apco wing, but I will concede that my wing is like the car that never dies – you can put it though a lot, and it just keep going.
Being like 40 degrees outside, Bruce and I were feeling like some adventure, and jumped into the hotel pool, pretty much fully clothed. Ha ha, it was fun, but I got the hell out of there as quickly as possible before some creepy bacteria got the best of me.
Labels: Dominican Republic 2007
posted by Veronica at 10:44 PM
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