Day 13 Quixada -Morro Branco

Today was just a 'transfer day'; withh the exception of Marco (who departs SUN for home) and Nicole & Arduino (who stay some more days and participate SAT on a comp in Quixada) everybody woved to Morro Branco on the Atlantic coast. This was not uneventful, as the GPS led us to some roads which either didn't exist at all or ended in a sand track...


But after some detours, we finally got teher. In the evening a number of pilots departed to FOR for .their returnflight to CH (Thomas, Peter,ANdy) and some 'new' ones are excpected to arrive (delay about 3 hrs)

Quixada - Day 12

Another windy day, but looking at the results this full last day of our stay her in Quixada probably was the best day...

Many pilots - Matt GB), Trias (GB/GR), Phippu, Michael (Gebert), Christoph (Juon) came close to or over 200k. Thomas(230k), Andy (265k), Martin (275k - finally!)

I waited till after 1500 for a nice soaring flight to the hotel.

Tomorrow we'll move to the cost and then we'll fly 'Patù'.

Quixada - Day 11

'Paolo' - launch director

...what great looking cloud streets...

Another interesting day: everybody was at launch by 0700; by 0830 six pilots had taken off, the rest didn't want to go soaring for 2 hours before cloud base would be high enough to permit a safe XC start. But as (bad) luck would have it: the windspeed steadily increased and no more good launch windows were available until after 1500...

Until then 4 of the six had sunken out but those two (Steff and Burki) kept going and landed finally beyond 270km . With this flight I think Burki broke the German open distance record - congratulations!

I took off at 1530 for an hour long flight just back to the hotel: I had only wanted to make sure that there would'nt be a problem with my (left) eye again.

looking back to launch/ Quixada

Quixada - Day 10

Actually I had hoped to fly by this time, but no: way too much wind!
Arduino has been the only one to launch so far, but unfortunately he got blown into the lee and got landed in the bushes - I hope he is alright!!!
He was lifted by helicopter to a hospital in Fortaleza; there he was x-rayed and as nothing couldbe found he came back to Quixada already later this evening...

Arnie was leaving us this evening, as he is scheduled to participate in a comp in Argentina starting on Sunday.
Hey man, it was great having you here and you did very well! I hope we can fly together again somewhere/ sometime next year.

Quixada - Day 9

This afternoon I visitied an eyespecialist in Fortaleza. After extensive examination of my left eye he told me that for the moment everything looked ok but that I should continue taking the medication until Sat (only once a day). I should then see an eye doctor again at home and have some more checks done. So I'll be flying again tomorrow....

Road from Quixada to Fortaleza

Today has been a good day with Arnie flying 223km; Michael 219km; Thomas 200km and Daniela 169km -congrats!!!

Quixada - Day 8

...the third day in a row I'm just hanging around - doing nothig... Finally tomorrow morning after breakfast we'll drive to Fortaleza to see the eye specialist - though I have to say, that I can't see any difference in vision between my eyes...

Arduino made it very quickly to "Mosenhor Tabosa", but unluckily he had to land there...
Peter Kleimann landed beyond 200km and Steff at 214km.
COOL guys!!!!

Do you speak English?

By coincidence I found that poem on the net.
Can you read it correctly on your first attempt?

"The Chaos"

Dearest creature in creation Studying English pronunciation, I will teach you in my verse Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse. I will keep you, Suzy, busy, Make your head with heat grow dizzy. Tear in eye, your dress you'll tear. So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.

Just compare heart, beard, and heard, Dies and diet, lord and word, Sword and sward, retain and Britain. (Mind the latter, how it's written.) Now I surely will not plague you With such words as plaque and ague. But be careful how you speak: Say break and steak, but bleak and streak; Cloven, oven, how and low, Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.

Hear me say, devoid of trickery, Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore, Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles, Exiles, similes, and reviles; Scholar, vicar, and cigar, Solar, mica, war and far; One, anemone, Balmoral, Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel; Gertrude, German, wind and mind, Scene, Melpomene, mankind.

Billet does not rhyme with ballet, Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet. Blood and flood are not like food, Nor is mould like should and would. Viscous, viscount, load and broad, Toward, to forward, to reward. And your pronunciation's OK When you correctly say croquet, Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve, Friend and fiend, alive and live.

Ivy, privy, famous; clamour And enamour rhyme with hammer. River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb, Doll and roll and some and home. Stranger does not rhyme with anger, Neither does devour with clangour. Souls but foul, haunt but aunt, Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant, Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger, And then singer, ginger, linger, Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge, Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.

Query does not rhyme with very, Nor does fury sound like bury. Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth. Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath. Though the differences seem little, We say actual but victual. Refer does not rhyme with deafer. Feoffer does, and zephyr, heifer. Mint, pint, senate and sedate; Dull, bull, and George ate late.Scenic, Arabic, Pacific, Science, conscience, scientific.

Liberty, library, heave and heaven, Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven. We say hallowed, but allowed, People, leopard, towed, but vowed. Mark the differences, moreover, Between mover, cover, clover; Leeches, breeches, wise, precise, Chalice, but police and lice; Camel, constable, unstable, Principle, disciple, label.

Petal, panel, and canal, Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal. Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair, Senator, spectator, mayor. Tour, but our and succour, four. Gas, alas, and Arkansas. Sea, idea, Korea, area, Psalm, Maria, but malaria. Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.Doctrine, turpentine, marine.

Compare alien with Italian, Dandelion and battalion. Sally with ally, yea, ye, Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key. Say aver, but ever, fever, Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver. Heron, granary, canary.Crevice and device and aerie.

Face, but preface, not efface. Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass. Large, but target, gin, give, verging, Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging. Ear, but earn and wear and tear Do not rhyme with here but ere. Seven is right, but so is even, Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen, Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk, Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.

Pronunciation -- think of Psyche! Is a paling stout and spikey? Won't it make you lose your wits, Writing groats and saying grits? It's a dark abyss or tunnel: Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale, Islington and Isle of Wight, Housewife, verdict and indict.

Finally, which rhymes with enough -- Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough? Hiccough has the sound of cup. My advice is to give up!!!

Dr. Gerald Nolst Trenite (1870-1946)

If you had to give up like me, here you can listen to the 'correct' prounciation:

or here is the link to the YouTube video

Quixada - Day 7

My vision is much better, but I'll most probably still go to Fortaleza on Tuesday to see the specialist...
Flying was better as well: Arnie ca 157km from TO, Andy 145km.

Quixada - Day 6

Sunset at 'Pedra dos Ventos'

Today no much flying: many/ most returned rather early.
The first week here in Quixada already has passed (too quickly); unfortunately the conditions never have been 'stellar', so as to permit really long flights for the 'cracks'...
My night has not been too bad: I can clearly 'see' that resting improves my vision drastically, but as soon as I move about, it deteriorates again - but so far never as low as when the whole thing started yesterday...

Quixada - Day 5

Today I skipped the first transport at 0620 and only got to launch at 1030, when everybody else had departed (and some had already landed). They had departed with cloudbase at 1000m. Last year we only departed after base had risen to at least 1200m... I took off at 1130, but everything was cloudcovered so I soared for 90min, not being able to climb above 1000m. Then the sun had finally burned away the clouds and fling got better. But by now I didn't want to go XC anymore so I landed below our hotel.

Hannes trying to launch

Peter

Results:
Burki and Martin: > 198km (straight line from TO/ OLC > 200km)


The big surprise came after landing, when I realized, that the vision in my left eye was practically zero! ?Hannes' looked at it and saw some blood inside, maybe from a ruptured bloodvessel? As I couldn't make sense of this, I decided to go to Quixada, hoping to find there an ophtalmologist. 'Paolo' and 'French' came along to help translate. We actually managed to find such a doctor in Quixada, which was the first surprise, the second was how clean and modern the doctors's office was. After only having waited 20 minutes, the doctor thouroughly examined my eyes, prescribed me some drugs, lots of rest and no flying :-(( and a visit at a special eye clinic in Fortaleza coming Tuesday. I can see that resting brings back my vision almost completely, but as sonn as I start to move it detoriates quickly...

Quixada - Day 4 -Madalena

Interesrting wx: during the night it had rained and therefore lots of moisture was looming in the morning, so departure for TO was postponed till after 0900. All pilots (except me) launched rather quickly and then departed direction "Madalena". Whle I still waited, the first ones already had to land... I finally launched at 1130 and found cloudbase to be alreday above 1500m, so I also started (slowly) heading West. It was slow going for me, as it was not alsways evident to me from where the thermals were coming and I wanted always to stay high. After 2.5hrs I reached "Madalena" with about 1000m altitude to spare, so I spiralled down. Our bus was already waiting here with other pilots, so I just had to pack up and then we departed back to Quixada: great flight!!

Monastery (Santuary) and launch (Rampa)

the "chicken" (la galinha)

...midway (looking back)...

on glide to "Madalena"

Results (OLC-distance):
Burki: > 148km
Andreas: > 118km
Gregi: > 98km
Taggi: > 78km

Quixada - Day 3

where is the sun ???

Again we've been on launch shortly after 0700. The first pilots launched around 0800, but cloudbase has been rather low and the winds from NE. Most departed quite early and low, but only a couple made it beyond 100kms.

I waited till after 1300 and launchend into an almost overcast sky. Conditions were smooth with strong thermals, but after a while it started to rain, which made me land (again) at "Juatama" :-(

Results
Arnie: 115.8km,
Michael: 115.5km
Burky: 130.9km from TO

...now later in the afternoon (1600) the sky has cleared up considerably, which lets us hope that tomorrow there will be less humidity and thus better conditions...

Quixada - Day 2 cont

...after having had for lunch the freshly grilled "frango" (= chicken) I got at the supermercado with Marco and Gregi I drove up to launch again. The conditions had improved quite a bit - though not too much sun and in the distance even some rain, so I flew and landed in "Juatama's" soccerfield. "Juatama" is the village below our hotel.

Quixada - Day 2

Again we have been on TO rather early (0700), but today looked not very promising: sky covered by stratus clouds, so at 0830 'Bello' took me to a supermercado in Quixada (to stock up on drinks) and then back to the hotel - but maybe there will be a flight later this day, as the sun slowly starts to burn away the clouds...

Quixada - Day 1

After a short night (just 3 hrs), breakfast was set at 0550 and we departed around 0630.
The first pilots took off around 0830. Windspeed was unusally low for Quixada, so I got off very easily shortly after nine. Cloudbase rather quickly rose to 1200m, then 1400m, so most pilots headed East. Due to the circumstance (short/ lousy night) I landed after an hour below our hotel.

above our hotel looking East towards TO

Around noon Arduino and Arnie returned from their looooong retrive from yesterdays flight (Arnie ca 170km/ Arduino ca 270kms) - not too bad for the first day I'd say...

LIS-FOR; Immigration FOR

After a 'layover' of 5 hours the TAP A330 departed about 30 minutes late for Fortaleza.
But this probably made for the nice views of the sun setting over Lisbon.

Sunset over the South Atlantic

A real disappointment has been the immigration at Fortaleza!
Although the foreigners outnumbered the Brazilian travellers by about 3: 1, until all Brazilians had passed immigration, there has been only 1 booth available for us (and 3 for them)...
So we all had to wait quite a while; customs on the other hand has ben 'painless', but then I had to wait almost another hour until 5 more pilots of our group arrived: they had missed their flight the day before in LIS due to late arrival of the flight from ZRH, Arrival at the 'Pedra dos Ventos' at 0130. Nicole and Marco were still awake,

BRAZIL 2011 ZRH - LIS

A look at the Brazialian XC page clearly shows, that this year's long distance race is already on! So it's again time to pack the gear, go there in order to watch these guys and gals flying - and maybe fly some ks as well...
Leaving home on a beautiful autumn sunday



with an intermediate stop at

Lisbon.

Arosa Weisshorn (4.10.11)

:-((

The 'golden autumn weather' was still holding and as I was in Arosa anyway I wanted to fly from the 'Weisshorn' for a last time this summer: wx fcst looked very promising: some (weak) thermals and light westerly winds - on paper ideal to fly here.
But as I got to the top the winds were EAST (!); even climbing down the hill and trying to launch from the 'Rööslihang' has not been not an option...

Breitenberg (Pfronten)

While driving past 'Pfronten' on my way home I saw some gliders flying. So I decided to head for 'Breitenberg', hoping for my first flight here in Germany (which hadn't taken place on 'Tegelberg' earlier this day).


Here (contrary to 'Tegelberg') TO is no issue, there is enough space to set-up and lay out.
After launch generally one flies North out to the ridge which lies in front. There the thermals together with the 'Bavarian wind' very often permit nice climbs.

looking East towards 'Füssen'/ 'Tegelberg'

So after 23 years of paragliding the Alps I finally made a flight in Germany:-))

Tegelberg (Flight Festival)

After my sled ride at Molveno I had driven North across 'Brennerpass' into Austria and Germany and had stopped for the night near 'Füssen'.

Sunset behind 'Füssen'

Here the 'Flight Festival Tegelberg' was to take place the following days.
I shelled out 7 Euros to gain entry, but I was mighty disappointed as there were few exhibitors (only 4 PG companys, of which none had a glider for my weight range...); the only good thing about this was that I met Oliver Guenay (a pilot/ photographer/ tour guide/ guide book writer) again. We had met last time 1995 (?) in Rio.

Sunrise over 'Schloss Neuschwanstein'

I underwent all the necessary paperwork necessary in order to be able to fly here at 'Tegelberg' - this has drastically increased after a (uninsured (!) tandempilot crashed into the gondola and then had fled the scene...

Tandempilot launching in NIL-wind (!) over the NE-ramp

The launches are rather technical:
- NW: there is some room to abort,
- NE: a ramp whitch allows no abortion.

But he tandem pilot in the picture above made an excellent reverse launch in these nil-wind conditions -compliments! - I wouldn't even consider taking off there in less than 10kmh headwind...

The winds remained light and variable and after having waited for 2.5 hours I decided to quit this mountain by taking the gondola down; furthermore more and more pilots had arrived and it had begun to get really crowded.

set-up area