SAFA Skysailor Magazine

21 WINTER 2025 | June-July-August SKY SAILOR He’d been yelling, “Leave the climb” , from Australia apparently. Trust the vibe The biggest lesson from this flight was definitely the final glide though. I finished in 19th place and I am stoked with that result for sure, but I also know I could have done better. The lesson? Trust the vibe. I’m guilty of overcooking the final glide. In my last climb, I still had a 4km head- wind, then a 11km crosswind leg before goal, but the wind wasn’t that strong. The climb rate was good and perhaps I let that Photo: FAI.org fact mesmerise me into staying a bit longer than the vibe told me I should. I knew it was time to go and saw others leaving, but got sucked into those ‘a little more to be safe’ thoughts. I left with an 8.5 ratio required and couldn’t burn the excess height off, getting to goal at 400m AGL. Not sure if Guy noticed the ridiculously high arrival or not, because all I heard was “Mate….You’re the first Aussie in goal!” Blah blah blah… Thanks for all of your help Guy and the rest of the Aussie Hang Gliding Team!