On the hill at 4pm. It was sunny with blue skies out to sea. LH was clear and TM had orogaphic cloud covering the cable station. The cloud on the Apostles was light and streaming over the ridge. No white horses out to sea and a 25kph WNW blowing up on take off. Looked really good.
Sneaking around onto Lion's Head. The PG launch tarp is visible bottom right.
(all photo from a previous flights as I forgot my camera this time)
As I was rigging, a PG climbed out on the SW face of Lions Head. Not a great sign as the wind may be going a little too SW for me to get onto LH and the Apostles. In the air, I climbed out enjoying the views of the new stadium and the Queen Victoria cruse liner in the harbour before heading for Lion's Head. I was stoked to make it round on my second attempt and quickly topped out and started buzzing the hikers on the summit. Always a good time :)
Grove lining up for a Lion's Head buzz (picture from another flight)
On Lion's Head it was moderate SW and buoyant. I tried a straight glide over La Med and out to sea. At 2.5km out from Lion's Head over the ocean, in front of Camp's Bay beach, I turned and glided back. This was a unique view for me and incredibly beautiful. I was already regretting not bringing my camera. This was only going to get worse ;)
Google Earth snapshot will have to do...
Back on Lion's Head, the wind had swung a bit more W, so I crossed over to Table Mountain. Before I knew it I was at 1100m at the end of the Apostles looking at perfect conditions along Constantiaberg, Chapmans and out to Kommetjie. I had made no retrieve plans at all. Still, the conditions looked too good to miss. A couple of phone calls later I had made a rough plan to get fetched in Kommetjie, so I headed over the back.
Last time I did this route there was a huge cloud blocking my way, so I had to go south over the beach and through the rotor and onto Chapman's Peak a little low. This time the route was clear and I was able to stay in clean air for the crossing. I found a smooth lift line on Constantiaberg climbed out to 1100m ASL in front of a building vertical wall of cloud. This was a magical part of the flight as every meter I gained made the Chapman's Peak crossing easier. As I climbed, small clouds were forming and dissipating around me. It was incredibly beautiful.
Looking into Hout Bay valley from the Apostles (pic from previous flight).
On my way to Chappies I flew around a developing cloud with nice vertical structure and wove through the white troughs and valleys. Breathtaking stuff. At Chappies the wind was howling on the ground and I could see a lot of white horses lashing the sea. I really didn't want to land on the beach and get sand blasted.
As I headed across the sea to Komm, I found myself having to crab hard to stay on track. I was fighting a strong W pushing hard through the gap of the Noordehoek valley. That would explain the white horses at the Hoek. My glide was deteriorating and I wondered if the SW was back at Komm. I pulled out my phone again and texted the windtalker in Kommetjie. It said 15-28kph NNW. Ok, it must just be a venturi through the gap. I realized Komm was probably going to be my final destination as there would be no soaring the Slangkop ridge in a NNW.
Looking back from Komm to Hout Bay and Chapman's Peak.
Eric in the frame (pic from previous flight).
As I got into Komm, I joined the back ridge where I soared for awhile above the town enjoying the views back to Hout Bay. Eventually it was time to land. Winds aloft were 25kph, but looked close to zero on the ground. Strong wind gradient. I chose to land in the field next to the road (and pub) despite a slight cross wind component. After a very fast final and long ground effect, I had a lovely no-step landing. A really satisfying end to a unexpectedly rewarding flight.
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