SAFA Skysailor Magazine

7 May | June 2022 SKY SAILOR and reaching Hotham Heights, we all thought it was going to be a walk in the park, but little did we realise the crux was ahead of us. We found ourselves low above Wire Plain carpark, scratching for 10 minutes in patchy lift. I was just 50m behind Rob when Scotty and I hit a big chunk of sink and landed in the carpark (to the applause of a carload of people). Rob pushed north slightly, engaged his handbrake, then spent the next 20 minutes climbing back to base. He caught three more thermals then landed in Omeo. I was super happy for Rob but disappointed that Scotty and I weren’t with him. That’s paragliding sometimes, so close yet so far. Feeling seedy, but a dreamy forecast The 2022 New Year’s celebrations wound down at around 3am. We’d danced like disco stars and sunk many a bevvie, and the next day, Scotty and I felt pretty dusty. Paragliding was the last thing I felt like doing but the forecast was a dream: 35ºC in Bright with light northerlies on the ground and at cloudbase, fore- casted to be >3000m – you need a high base once you connect to the Hotham high plains, where the ground is over 1500m asl (Mt Hotham sits at 1861m). We had to give it a go! I planned to land early if I wasn’t in the right headspace and fortuntely, the amazing Aline and Donna graciously offered to retrieve us. After a few shots of coffee we organised to meet at the LZ for a 12pm departure. If you take off earlier you run the risk of not having enough height for the high plains, as cloudbase lifts during the day. Team flying After two litres of vitamin B infused water and more caffeine, I met Scotty at the Mystic LZ. Randomly, our mate Grum pulled up at the same time. After a quick chat our party had grown to three. The goal was Omeo and we planned to fly as a team. Team flying can be tricky and is best done when all pilots have similar skills – you have to fully trust your team member’s decisions. You also need a common goal. Paragliding is mostly an individual sport, so adhering to rules can be tricky. Good comms are a must and flying similar per- forming wings helps you stay together. Opposite page: Scotty with the ocean in the background Photo: Richard Binstead Below: Bright to Omeo track The forecast for 01/01/2022