Skyport Dec 29th

[Chris G]

Looked stellar on paper with BlTops into the low 5s and a 29º spread. Light winds aloft predicted. Brendan, Art, and I rallied and left 2 cars at Padaro and got to the T right at 10. We chose Alternator because it would give us a few extra miles on the XC and would give us a head start on altitude. Got to launch around 11 and bailed off the mountain not long after. Cycles at launch seemed good but I picked a lousy one and ended up scratching below the rock on West Bowl. Ouch. The day was coming on quickly though and 20 minutes later I was gaining. Took the drift back to launch at 4k to join Brendan who had waited to see some success. We could see a few pilots out front and low at Skyport but it was working for us and we were already well over so we made the crossing to the R&R and the Thermal Factory to join Dean, Farmer and Tye who were just starting to get up. Altitudes seemed a bit low at 3800 but lift was consistent and predictable if not a little disorganized in places. I think we all left for Montecito at about 3800 but had to stop off at Shadow for a tank up. By this time Art had gotten into the game and was following. The usual points worked but the altitudes sucked and the air seemed to be getting nastier. I took a few hits relatively low and watched Farmer's glider disappear at the connection point I was about to hit. Not confidence inspiring. We persevered with Dean and Farmer in the lead, Brendan, Tye, me, then Art bringing up the rear. On occasion we'd get lucky and take one to 4300 but even at our best it wasn't enough to justify continuing on past the powerlines. Brendan, Art and I took the run to Padaro as Dean and Farmer spun around for the return leg to the TF and East Beach and I think Tye followed as well. After talking to Dean I'm glad I landed at Padaro. We had quite the reception. As we were about to roll out of Padaro, Dave Bader flew in. I never saw him in the air but he was bringing up the rear and had a nice flight to the beach.

Fun day! A little disorganized and trashy for my taste and I would have liked a little more altitude to continue on but it was way better than a sharp stick in the eye. Somewhere around 2 hours in the air with some pretty big spikes but most of it was in the 500fpm range.

[Dean S]

Yea, it looked better on paper, but it was still fun. I haven’t been flying much this year, so today was a treat for me. I blew my launch and my landing today – it was laughable, I’m way too rusty. Maybe I need a little remedial P2 work I flew with my friend Matt (Farmer) today. We fly in comps together all the time, but this was the first time he and I got to fly together outside of the comp scene. We shadowed each other the entire flight and had a blast. There wasn't a lot of altitude to be had along the range but it was fairly buoyant, and you didn't loose a whole lot on the crossings. Once we got down to the power lines it was obvious the North winds were going to be a problem going through the pass, so we made a 180 and headed back. On our way back we ran into the rest of the gang. Some took the glide to Padaro, as Chris mentioned, and some headed back with us. Marge was part of that group and she was flying great. She said to me later that this was her first out and return flight. Nice flying Marge. Matt and I polished off the flight with a glide to East beach…sublime. There’s nothing like going hands-up, relaxing and enjoying the stellar view all the way to the beach – sweet! Days like today remind me why SB is one of my favorite places to fly. Good to be back in SB.

Here's a few shots of Farmer on the glide to the beach.