SAFA Skysailor Magazine

27 July | August 2024 SKY SAILOR All photos: Tim Marshall guys were already in the air, while I took a bit of time launching. I tagged more points, back west to Black Peak, then on to End Peak, which was rough by the time we got there. The breeze had increased, and we were in the lee. Broken, weak thermals had us very close to terrain and it was unpleasant, but patience again was rewarded. Lawrie got up and away, and I followed when I could. Tagging Rocky Mountain wasn’t as much a priority as getting back over Roys and on to better pickings was! Lawrie got low towards Roys, I was aiming at Big Pyramid and over Mt Alpha. It took a while to find enough lift to get up, but I worked my thermal towards Alpha and deeper into this range. The deeper I got, the wind matched the terrain and got rougher. Some of the scariest flying I’ve done, but I was progressing. Out the other side there were times I could have milked what thermals I got more, but it was so unpleasant I was happy to keep moving. Where next? Towards Grandview was the plan, but now the wind became a big factor. One option was to head south to Mt Barker, Pisa and try for the Long Gully connection, but I was pretty frazzled by this point. Lawrie and Matt had made it through to Mt Iron, but were low, I decided to try that way – if I managed to find the next thermal I’d continue, if not, a cold beer would taste fine! I managed to get to the other side of Albert Town, only succeeding in increasing my walking distance back to Wanaka, but I tried! It was an 8.5 hour walk to the next night hut Pakitui and it was late afternoon, I wasn’t going to make it by 9:30pm cut-off. The forecast for Sunday was very windy and I’m not keen on a hiking contest. My race was over. The beer was so delicious, I had a second. Lawrie ended up 8th, Matt 6th and I 5th. A wonderful achievement for us all. Shippers landed hard day 1 and sadly had to withdraw. Peter threw his reserve low and injured himself, helicopter evacuation Friday night with internal injuries but he is recovering well. There are many other stories within this event, many fascinating and wonderful. Thank you to all the pilots who made this event so special, and especially to Kinga and all her crew, for a very enjoyable event! My thanks to Tim Sabre of paraglidingshop. com.au , Martin Havel from fly2base.com.au, and Gavin Zahner from planetparagliding.com.au for your equipment help, advice and support. Dan and Ana at Victor Lodge for such a warm and welcoming refuge. Phillip, Louis, Nick, amongst others, for all your support and encouragement. My wife Grace for letting me dream, and Benjamin Kellett for those inspiring videos!