SAFA Skysailor Magazine

7 January | February 2022 SKY SAILOR Lots of droplets of condensation dribbling down the glass means good prospects for a glory the next morning! Nowadays we have a variety of forecasting tools which show us all sorts of relevant info. Information ranging from sea surface tem- perature in the Gulf through to the strength of the trade winds blowing along the east coast of Cape York, both of which are crucial in determining whether or not a glory will form, but still the forecasting only produces a prob- ability. That is, if things are looking good, there is a high probability of a decent wave cloud. Conditions looking not so good? Well, you can guess what the prognosis is going to be. In recent years we have been blessed with the Japanese Himawari-8 satellite imagery, which gives us the capability of watching the waves approach (or not) in the early pre-dawn hours each morning. Each year numerous tourists from all over the globe make the trip to Burketown to try their luck to see one of these waves. Obvi- ously, it’s been a bit quiet on the tourist front over the last two years, but 2021 saw a good contingent of sailplane pilots arrive in late Sep- tember. The hang gliders have been strangely absent for a few years now, but gyroplanes, skydivers and nanolights have all been there at various times over the last few years, with varying amounts of success, and dramas. The area comprises of a lot of quite hostile country, rough and or scrubby ground with Left: A wave crossing the coast Above: Yoda, sailplane/hang glider pilot, now back to flying sailplanes, looks really upset about this Burketown place Photos: Mike Zupanc