Morocco -3: Sorry!

For the last week internet connection has been lousy to non-existent! Sorry, that I couldn't post at all, even now it is very weak, so you'll have to be patient...

Tafraoute - Idikel

Morocco -2: Aguergour

Aguergour is Marrakesh's primary flying site, about 1.5hrs drive from the city. This site had been closed for quite a while (also when I had been here the last time in 2015). And as the weather on the coast further south didn't permit flying (due to high winds), lots of (foreign and local) pilots flocked to this site for the weekend.

'our' fully loaded Landcruiser

Unfortunately a pilot of our group had an accident when he attempted to make an outlanding :-((
Luckily he broke 'only' his left foot (at first it looked much worse, but then in the hospital in RAK they found nothing else; nevertheless he will be repatriated to Switzerland by REGA (Swiss Air rescue guard), where he'll undergo surgery. We wish him all the best and a quick and complete recovery!!

Aguergour

Pano on launch looking East towards the Atlas mountains

For 2 nights we stayed in a nice Riad named 'Dar Zitoune' about halfway between LZ and launch.

The owner's French is flawless, furthermore he is a PG pilot himself; the food has been excellent.
We flew here on Sat, Sun ond Mon. Monday after flying we moved south to Agadir. But it is not decided yet, where exactly we'll be flying tomorrow, as there are different options according to the latest wx fcst.

Morocco -1: Flight, Marrakesh

Pyrenees (looking SE, towards the Mediteranean)

Nice, relaxed flight with 'Edelweiss Air' with excellent inflight service from ZRH to RAK. 'Edelweiss' is the charter branch of 'Swiss', but tends to offer better inflight service than 'Swiss'.

old time just never seem to die ;-)

Before March 2002, the company from with 'Swiss' emerged was called 'Swissair'. I had worked for 'Swissair' from 1982 until it went bancrupt in 2002, (and then for 'Swiss') but here in RAK the message, that now the company is just called 'Swiss' doesn't seem to have arrived yet (after 15 years)...                       ;-)

RAK - new terminal

Dinner on the place 'Jemna el Fna'

Kobo - XCSoar - XCTracer

Last week I could pick up my 'custom-built' Kobo-Touch in Essen. My friend Hartmut had added a bluetooth-module and modified it in such a way, that it is now running XCSoar. The data for XCSoar (v6.8.6) come from my XCTracer, which connects automatically via BT.

Kobo (mini) with BT-module

Actually I would have preferred to use TopHat as software, which has certain advantages over XCSoar, as it is modified for HG-/ PG-use, but Hartmut could not never get it to run properly, especially connecting via BT to my XCTracer. 

PWC Superfinal 2016 in Governador Valadares (BRA)

...for 9 task she was leading the overall ranking; on the 10th (and last) task she came in second after Seiko Fukuoka Naville and this unfortunately resulted in 2nd overall place for the PWC superfinal.
Anyway: congratulations to Nicole Fedele for a great competiton!

Videos of the competiton can be found here.

la Palma: Campanarios/ el Gallo

Also the last 2 days of this week of flying here on la Palma have been very good.
Yesterday (in Campanarios) I didn't feel so motivated and landed already after 50mins of flying :-((

Campanarios: Hartmut getting ready

Later in the afternoon at my little 'Finca', my neighbours told me that there was oil under my car (Fiat Panda 4x4). Apparently while driving up to Campanarios I must have hit a stone/ rock somewhere. It was not leaking very much, but I called Hartmut to have a look at it. He meant, that it probably would be safe to drive it for another day... But during the night I decided not to take any risks and in the morning informed the rental agency. They offered to exchange the car here at my 'finca' during the day. So for flying today, Hartmut and Gaby took me to 'el Gallo' (before they headed to the airport for their return flight), where I lauched just before the clouds started to prevent a flight from 1300m.
For the first 20min I didn't find almost no lift at all and was already down on the ridge above the LZ. For another 20mins I had to scratch around without gaining much height. Fortunately then the thermals became stronger/ more organized and a nice flight was finally possible. I flew almost to Fuencaliente/ los Canarios, where I had to turn around as conditions became rather 'strange': at times strong sink and also much more wind. I landed after 2h10' in Puerto Naos and took a cab back to my house (where I found the replacement car already waiting).

NOT my Finca -unfortunately ;-)

Puerto Naos (looking North)

Puerto Naos

Tomorrow there will be no more flying as my flight leaves at 1330. But it has been a very good week with lots of nice flight.

777 Rook2

Flying the 777 Rook2 is a real pleasure and not once I felt uncomfortable! Especially launches in nil wind are pretty easy.

Many thanks to Hartmut and Gaby for the great company and all the assistance/ driving/ retrieving!

Last -but not least- my thanks go to Ruth!!

la Palma: el Gallo

At first I didn't feel like flying today; only after I had talked to Roger and he had confirmed the wind situation at the landing in Puerto Naos (light SW) I changed my mind. Luckily I did!!

In the beginning I couldn't find the actual launch, as last time I've flown from here has been in 2004. The launch we had used then cannot be used anymore, as the trees have grown too tall in the meantime. But an alternative site has been designated: though rather flat for a nil-wind launch, but its quite large and free of obstacles; furthermore it's now just below the road and does not require an uphill hike anymore...

'el Gallo' (looking towards Puerto Tazacorte) Bernd launching

Hartmut

I had a very good launch (for me!) considering the flat terrain and little wind. Although the sky was almost overcast, the longer I flew the better it became: I made it south to Fuencaliente / los Canarios. 

Fuencaliente

Here I had to turn around, as I could see the windgenerators at the southern tip of the island indicating a NE-wind with an estimated speed of 20-25kmh.
Coming back to Puerto Naos I decided to cut the flight short as suddenly the wind here had turned south with 10-20kmh and I was not sure if it wouldn't increase even further.

For sunset and dinner we then visited 'Balcon Taburiente': first course on the terrace, after the sun had set and it became quickly colder, we could change to a table inside. The food was excellent (the view anyway!) and the prices moderate.

Sunset over Puerto Tazacorte

la Palma (Roque de los Muchachos, Puntagorda) Torre del Time

What a day!
First we drove to the top of the island: Roque de los Muchachos (2426m), where the vsibility was excellent.

'Drago' (Drachenbaum)

Pico del Teide (Teneriffa, 3712m)

With a little exploring we found 2 launches, where I have not been before:
'Roque de los Muchachos' at 2100m (above the cloud layer) and 'Puntagorda' (in clouds).

'Roque de los Muchachos'

Finally we arrived at 'Torre del Time', where -this time- conditions for launch have been very good.

'Torre del Time' (Hartmut getting ready)

Conditions have been excellent, with cloudbase at 1500m, so we attempted the flight south to Puerto Naos, where we both arrived with lots of altitude to spare and could continue flying.

La Laguna

Charco Verde -looking North: Puerto Naos; on the horizon; the ridge, where we had launched

Even as the sun was setting, the was still some lift!

La Palma (Torre delTime) / Campanarios

Yesterday, as the wx has not been very promising, we did some sightseeing and I showed Hartmut different launches and landings. Only in the late afternoon it looked as we could fly from 'Torre del Time'. But the wind was either very light or completely cross, so after one failed attempt I packed up; Bernd finally was able to get off.

Luckily, this morning looked rather better.

The forecast promised little wind with cloud base around 1500m. So we drove 'my' Fiat Panda 4x4 to Campanarios.

Bernd (Swing Nyos)

Campanarios (upper launch)

Hartmut (Wings of change) getting ready

Very nice thermals took me to almost 1700m; with more patience probably 2000m would have been possible.
Later Bernd flew again from el Time, but the conditions have been very weak and I'm happy that I decided not to go there after this morning's nice flight.

la Palma

Sunrise over Berne

...unfortunately I had not chosen wisely when I had selected the seat on my flight from ZRH to SPC (Santa Cruz de la Palma), as I was sitting on the 'wrong side'; so I missed some good pictures (alos on arrival). The early departure had asked for an even earlier wake up, but at 1100 I was already on la Plama. After having picked up my car and being shown my little house in Los Llanos I met my friends from Germany (Gaby & Hartmut, Carola & Bernd) for a small lunch. When we had finished eating, I showed Hartmut the LZ in PtoTazacorte and we drove up to el Time. Meanwhile the wind had dropped significantly, so it was possible to make a short flight :-))

Bernd (Swing Nyos)

Hartmut / Puerto Tazacorte

...la Palma and Morocco instead...

Some of you might have noticed in my other blog, that the upcoming voyage to Antarctica was cancelled due to 'fatal main engine damage' of the expedition ship 'NG Orion'.

: - ((

Therefore I needed to adapt my plans for the next three months...
First, I'll be going back to la Palma for a week (starting coming Sunday, 15.1.), where I'll be meeting my friends Hartmut and Gaby from Germany. Hartmut is supposed to bring me along a modified KOBO eReader (hopefully!), which is running 'Top Hat', a glide compter for hang- and paragliders. Incredible how much research, time and effort it took him to get that far!

'All' that remains to be done is 'hooking up' the Kobo via Bluetooth with my XCTracer...
If anyone out there knows how to do it, his knowledge would be highly appreciated ;-)

In mid February (17.2.) I intend to join Peter from Paragliding.ch for his 2 weeks trip to Morocco...

: - ))

New Year: Arosa / Medergen

It seems that today I have been a little too optimistic: to me it looked as conditions would be (at least) as good as yesterday. But apparently the thermals had 'a hang over' and didn't get up in time for my flight ;-)

Never so far there has been as little snow as this winter, so together with Ruth I drove to Medergen after my flight: all the way up to our hut - something we never have been able to do in late December/ early January. (Until 2000 we spent all New Year Eves up there together with friends, but of course we had to walk up on skies.)

lunch

view from our terrasse (towards 'Weisshorn')

Medergen

New Year's Eve

...and it even got better! 

Markus

climbing (even if just a little) above launch :-))

What a way to finish the year!

Yesterday afternoon, the hotel 'Post' has caught fire and burned copletely down.