< Previous10 SKYWINGS AUGUST 2021 news Of course it was very conditional on following the rules. The event is very ‘open air’, but spacing had to be followed. An extra field was obtained and the all-ticket event was number-limited. There were visiting local council checks, and all those attending had to produce a current negative Covid-19 test result. As with many festivals there was the constant danger of sudden rule changes and cancellation, but as the week edged closer it gradually looked that it was on. Early arrivals in the week before the main weekend were treated to bright sunshine and nightly high winds that encouraged more storytelling than flying. Gradually pilots began to arrive at an ever- increasing rate. The Bash is probably the biggest gathering for speedfliers in the UK. Its whistling approaches into the narrow arena – flanked on each side by those attending and with Buttermere itself at the end – seemed to get smaller as more campers arrived. A downhill approach towards the lake, or a tardy approach over it, led to high excitement among the crowds, only matched when someone hit the target splashpool. The Ospreys Parachute Team did two displays on the Friday and Saturday and generously donated a tandem jump prize to the Charity Raffle. Competition and Coaching Groups were also organised and much appreciated by those new to the area. As ever, the open-sided music tent featured local artists belting solid rock, trance and hypno sounds to the raucous night-time crowd of free dancers, contrasted by some nice acoustic sets outside in the late afternoon. To fly in to applause, grab a burger and chips from the Wayward Lad food stand, quaff the specially-made brew and just sit and talk with new faces was priceless. Plus showers! Quality stuff. The weekend’s climax was the acro displays and the Mad Raffle before the night’s fun began. The event, as always, raised big sums for local charities: £10,700 in total. £5,700 for the Great North Air Ambulance, £2,500 for Cockermouth Mountain Rescue, and £500 each for Kendal Ski Club’s disability- access scheme and the Sunbeams Music Trust for the disadvantaged. In addition the winners of the Lakeland Charity Open paragliding competition nominated a further £500 each to Cancer Research UK, Rape Crisis England & Wales and the Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team. I hope one day someone totals up all the money raised over the 14 years the Bash has been running. It’s going to be an impressive sum. None of this would have happened without many people giving; they are truly thanked. So it happened. If you were there you probably still hurt from smiling and laughing. If this is a taste of the New Normal, let’s have more! The next Buttermere bash will be on June 3rd and 4th 2022. The Buttermere Bash BILL MORRIS REPORTS … ON PARADISE REGAINED The front page headline of the local newspaper The Keswick Reminder read, ‘Hundreds enjoy UK’s first post-Covid festival at Buttermere,’ which just about summed it up. This annual event is a big part of the UK paragliding calendar and is always well attended. Nevertheless it was a bold call for legend Gordie Oliver and his organising team to jump in and set it up when the news was full of cancellations of major events. British Acrobatic Paragliding Academy demoHappy GNAAS team and Gordy Oliver (third left) Acro pilot’s-eye view of the event village ‘To fly in to applause was priceless!’ Photo: D ann y T aylor/British Acrobatic P ar agliding Academ y Photos: Adam Milw ardAUGUST 2021 SKYWINGS 11 Alan Hyde 1962 - 2021 Alan Hyde, dear friend and long-time fellow flyer, passed away on June 8th this year having suffered from a progressive and incurable brain disease over the past few years. Al was a stalwart and much-admired member of the Malvern Hang Gliding Club for over 35 years, having learnt to fly in 1983, at the age of 20, with several of his work friends from Madley satellite station. He was a thoughtful and impressive flyer, competing at national level in the League in 1986 and 1987. Having flown at places like St André in competition tasks, he soon developed his mantra of ‘we do dangerous sports, safely’. Most of all, he enjoyed the camaraderie of completing long cross-country flights, sharing the beautiful places with his countless friends. Many of us will remember his amusing stories of ‘being out of control,’ in his words, because his glider was often on the large side. But these tales bore no resemblance to the sight of him crafting his glider skilfully through the air, at one with his wing. He was an outstanding pilot and airman who knew how to get the most out of his glider, and was always focused on getting the best out of any given day. His love of all things natural and adventurous often took him into the mountains, either to climb, cycle, snowboard or, of course, to fly. In recent years Al was a founding member of the Malvern Aerotow Club, where he was the go-to person for anything requiring precision electrical work. We shall greatly miss his crazy sense of humour and wide knowledge. His wife Sara, daughter Sophie, and all of us will harbour great memories of the man, the flyer and the friend. [Nick Collins] AUGUST 2021 SKYWINGS 11There will be the usual mix of good pilots, intermediates and the occasional red ribbon, with their attendant range of abilities. And if there are more than a handful of pilots problems will begin to appear: • Pilots not looking before turning • Pilots not following the basic collision- avoidance rules regarding slope soaring and converging headings • Pilots, unable to predict where they will be in the next ten seconds, causing others to manoeuvre abruptly to stay in clear air. A recent report of such conditions cited pilots whose heads remained steadfastly pointing forwards, showing no evidence of having cleared the area they were turning into. If they had been CP students they would likely have failed their set task. Such myopic behaviour will lead to other pilots having to turn away from the hill when they are not the ‘give way’ aircraft. In the above report, one pilot later revealed that it was his first flight of the year and he had completely forgotten who had priority! Another had flown straight on no less than three times when on a head-on collision course. The finale to these exhibitions of poor airmanship is often a couple of pilots landing in proscribed areas (i.e. just by their car), or in a freshly ploughed, drilled or stocked field. It is invariably the case that 95% of pilots on any hill fly considerately and well. The few who don’t make the experiences of other pilots unpleasant. This is not why we travel to a hill to fly. Rude, inconsiderate flying should not be acceptable anywhere. The risks inherent in poor airmanship are legion: bad feeling, raised voices, unnecessary bottom landings and the ever-present possibility of mid-air collisions. It is likely that this message will be ignored by those very pilots it is intended to reach; they may not even recognise themselves from the description. But clubs must take steps to educate their members, and visiting pilots, on the standard of airmanship that is acceptable. Usually, everyone gets away with this behaviour with perhaps a few cross words. That does not mean it is safe. When safety is taken right to the edge, a disaster is just waiting to happen. In such environments it will not wait forever. We need to tighten up our act! DHV Parawinch warning There have been several reported cases of Lithuanian-built Parawinch G8 payout winches failing to cut the towline completely during test operation of the guillotine. The DHV released a warning in June, urgently recommending that G8 owners check the guillotine of their winch. If problems occur under test, especially partial cutting of the towline, the manufacturer asks that the removed towing device be sent in for repair. For details go to Parachute system inspection In addition to the safety advisory at left, there have recently been reports of other issues affecting the emergency parachute containers of pod harnesses; these include the retaining loops themselves failing or having insecure stitching (Skywalk Breeze), and the end of the cables having a ‘lump’ after being melted, making deployment more difficult (Gin Genie Light 3). All pilots are strongly advised to take a few minutes to carefully check every aspect of their emergency parachute system to ensure that it is secure and that it can be deployed easily. 12 SKYWINGS AUGUST 2021 safety matters Standards of airmanship Picture a busy hill site on a classic day of strong thermic cycles and almost no dynamic wind. In such circumstances it’s usually a case of launching, trying to find a thermal and climbing out. If that doesn’t work it’s time to top land before the cycle finishes or end up at the bottom of the hill. It’s not an infrequent scenario in the spring and summer. Safety advisory: Woody Valley GTO Light A new Woody Valley GTO light harness was found to have an emergency parachute retaining cable ‘pin’ that was too short. (The GTO Light 2 has a different design) A small amount of movement could result in the pin releasing one of the retaining loops and increasing the risk of an inadvertent deployment of the parachute. The manufacturer has advised that this was a measuring error during production. This specifically affects the XL size of harness manufactured between May and December 2018. The serial number/ID code will be lower than 0943. All owners of these harnesses are urged to immediately check the long yellow retaining cable before flying again. There should be at least 5cm of cable protruding beyond the loop to ensure a secure system. If your handle has a retaining pin that is too short, you are advised to contact Woody Valley or your dealer to obtain a replacement handle. Issued by Angus Pinkerton, FSC Chairman, June 24th 202123.05.2021. Male pilot aged 58, AP rated Site & conditions: Westbury, 40-45km/h Glider: AIR Atos VRS Incident: The pilot lost control in the launch area during a change in wind speed and direction. Pilot and wing were lifted, blown backwards and dropped to the ground, damaging the glider. Injury: Minor: pelvis 30.05.2021. Male pilot aged 55, P rated Site & conditions: Chillerton, 10-15km/h, moderate turbulence Glider: BGD Lynx Incident: The pilot induced a spin during soaring flight and collided with the hill, sustaining injury. Injury: Serious 30.05.2021. Male pilot aged 59, P rated Site & conditions: Pandy, 20-25km/h, moderate turbulence Glider: Gin Camino Incident: Launching in strong conditions, the pilot was lifted off their feet. The pilot was seen to turn partly the wrong way and make a control input that turned them into slope, landing on their upper back. Injury: Serious: internal 01.06.2021. Male pilot aged 51, P rated Site & conditions: Beer Head, 15-20km/h, moderate turbulence Glider: Ozone Ultralight 3 Incident: The pilot launched, expecting to ridge soar, but encountered sinking air and landed in the undergrowth on the slope. Injury: Minor: feet, legs 04.06.2021. Male pilot aged 60, P rated Site & conditions: Merthyr, 0-5km/h, not turbulent Glider: Advance Omega XAlps 2 Incident: Reverse launching in light crosswind conditions, the pilot adopted a head-down, arms-straight-behind pose that they had not previously attempted, down a steep hill. The glider’s wingtips tips were seen to fold back and the pilot somersaulted over the edge of the hill. Injury: Minor: hands, arms, shoulder 04.06.2021. Female pilot aged 60, P rated Site & conditions: Westbury White Horse, 10-15km/h Glider: Ozone Rush 5 Incident: The pilot was blown back on launch and collided with a bench. The pilot considered she had not taken take sufficient time to assess the wind speed. Injury: None 05.06.2021. Male pilot aged 64, AP rated Site & conditions: Pen Cerrig-calch, 5-10km/h, moderate turbulence Glider: Flow Fusion Light Incident: The pilot flew close to the hill in thermic conditions to observe an incident on the ground. The paraglider suffered an asymmetric collapse, turning towards the hill. The pilot’s corrective control input stalled the glider and the pilot impacted the ground. Injury: Serious: hands, arms, shoulder 05.06.2021. Male pilot aged 49, AP rated Site & conditions: Pen Cerrig-calch, 10-15km/h, Strong Turbulence Glider: Gin Leopard Incident: The pilot, ridge soaring in thermic conditions, encountered sinking air on a downwind beat and was unable to turn away from the hill due to flight paths of other pilots. Unable to out-glide the shallow slope, the pilot impacted the ground. Injury: Minor: hands, arms, shoulder 09.06.2021. Male pilot aged 50, P rated Site & conditions: Milk Hill, 5-10km/h, moderate turbulence Glider: Advance Sigma 10 Incident: The pilot was seen to induce a spin at between 50 and 100ft above take-off. A subsequent control input stalled the glider to the ground. Injury: Serious: thoracic spine 14.06.2021. Male pilot aged 64, P rated Site & conditions: Telegraph Hill Glider: Advance Omega XAlps 3 Incident: The pilot became aware during flight that a hook knife had been left inside the paraglider. The pilot landed without incident. Upon inspection it was found that the hook knife had caused damage to the wing’s internal structure. Injury: None 15.06.2021. Male pilot aged 46, P rated Site & conditions: Nant-y-moel, 10-15km/h, not turbulent Glider: Advance Bi-Beta 6 Incident: During a tandem launch the Advance Hybrid hard spreader rotated around its in-built carbon bar and locked in this position under the load of the pilot and passenger. The pilot and passenger landed without incident. Injury: None 15.06.2021. Male pilot aged 36, P rated Site & conditions: Eyam Edge, 10-15km/h, moderate turbulence, front influence Glider: Swing Arcus RS Incident: The pilot, soaring in thermic conditions, experienced a large asymmetric collapse close to the hill and was unable to recover before impacting the hill. Injury: Serious: hands, arms, shoulder 15.06.2021. Male pilot aged 61, P rated Site & conditions: Sutton Meadows, 5-10km/h, not turbulent Glider: AIR Atos VR Incident: Immediately prior to the aerotow commencing the conditions were nil wind. When ‘All Out’ was called the left wing rose first and continued to rise out of the trolley, caught by a sudden crosswind. The right wingtip came into contact with long grass, turning the glider and trolley. The weak link broke, but the glider had left the runway and stopped nose- down in crops. Injury: Minor: hands, arms, shoulder 17.06.2021. Male pilot aged 61, P rated Site & conditions: Altes Lager, Germany, 15-20km/h, light turbulence Glider: UP Dena Incident: The pilot was aware of a fraying speedbar wire in flight. Inspection revealed that several metal wire strands had broken where the wire stirrup and speedbar line attachment meets the aluminium bar. Injury: None 26.06.2021. Male pilot aged 59, CP rated Site & conditions: Holme Moss, 10-15km/h, light turbulence Glider: Nova Mentor 6 Light Incident: The pilot lost control of their paraglider in thermic conditions, leading to a spin and collision with the hillside. Injury: Minor BHPA accident and incident digest The following is an edited digest of Incident Reports submitted to the FSC between May 19th and June 25th 2021. The complete list of reports can be found AUGUST 2021 SKYWINGS 13 BHPA Coach and Instructor courses September 27 - 29 BHPA Instructor/Senior Coach Lilleshall 0116 289 4316 October 16 - 17 BHPA Club Coach Long Mynd 07977 385673 November 13 - 14 BHPA Club Coach Derbyshire 07795 104085 December 4 - 5 BHPA Club Coach Southern 07865 080596 January 15 - 16 2022 BHPA Club Coach Thames Valley 07443 874251 February 12 - 13 2022 BHPA Club Coach Dales 07795 426748 March 12 - 13 2022 BHPA Club Coach Rutland 07446 11288614 SKYWINGS AUGUST 2021 product news New paramotor design The Fusion paramotor from Norwegian manufacturer Starseed is now available in the UK through the Para Lab, an offshoot of the Flight Culture and Sky Paragliding BHPA schools. The Fusion, manufactured from superlight vacuum-welded titanium, is designed to bridge the gap between paragliding and paramotoring by offering a reclined flying position more like that of a paraglider. This is achieved in part by incorporating the fuel tank into the back panel. They say the result is a more natural flying feeling and significant improvements to the airflow around the pilot, and hence more available thrust. Other advances include a magnetic kickstand and offset pivot arms to prevent twisting. The Fusion comes in regular and compact sizes, the latter aimed at shorter pilots. The harness is intended to accommodate a streamlined pod, and easily disassembles into a cleverly designed travel bag. Engine options are the Vittorazi Atom 80 or Moster 185. Demo units are available. Contact the Para Lab, on 07833107902, e- Cruiser S An updated powered parachute wing from Apco offers improved inflation, improved roll stability, a higher cruising speed and smoother handling over the original, and new colour schemes with a coloured bottom surface. Back in 2015 the Cruiser set a new standard for powerchute wings; Apco say the new version is easy to fly and is suitable for both students and experienced pilots. Fabric is heavy duty double-coated siliconised stuff; aspect ratio is 3.6:1 and canopy weight is 10kg (500 size); certification is DGAC only. Following pilot feedback the Cruiser F is offered with optional narrow (110cm) attachment points or the standard 140- 160cm risers. It’s available in 500 and 550ft2 sizes for all-up weights of 230-400 and 300-500kg. From Apco dealers everywhere; more info is at String 3 The third iteration of Neo’s String super-lightweight harness is made entirely of Dyneema ripstop fabric and high-modulus polyethylene webbing – strong, light and durable. Comfort has been improved; the leg loops closely follow the pilot’s thigh contour for perfect leg support. The unique ABS thigh-high geometry, and retaining straps closing directly into the main carabiners, are unchanged to retain stability and precision. It can easily fold to fit inside a helmet. Options include the String airbag and speed system. Its three sizes weigh 230, 240 and 250g plus carabiners (64g Austrialpin Rocket type recommended). Available only from importer UK Airsports on 017687 79800, e-mail: AUGUST 2021 SKYWINGS 15 Advance T-shirt Advance say the cut of their latest All Mountain T-shirt improves the fit in the shoulder area. It’s made of quick-dry polyester fabric and now comes with HeiQ Fresh odour inhibitor. It’s available in unisex XS to XXL sizes, in petrol blue only. From Advance dealers everywhere; details are at Gin T-shirt Clearly it’s the season for T-shirts. Gin’s offering is the high quality pure cotton Polygon with a company logo on the front and a logo-and-glider silhouette on the back. Available in Anthracite only, in sizes S – XL, from Gin dealers everywhere. More info at Gin tube-scarf. Use it as a neck and face warmer, helmet liner or both, say Gin. Made from seamless 100% polyester fabric, this lightweight (40g), breathable, microfibre item wicks moisture away from your skin. It doubles as a helmet liner, balaclava, scarf, neckerchief, mask, headband, wristband, mask, hairband, scrunchie, beanie or bandana! Basically, it’s a buff – but not a Buff! Available in ‘Caribbean Sea’ or ‘Moon’ colours from Gin dealers everywhere. More info at Charly H&F helmet The new Vitesse from Charly is an extremely lightweight Hike & Fly helmet with an optional visor. Three shell sizes, replaceable inlays and an integrated headband adjustment allow precise adjustment to a wide variety of head shapes and sizes, while keeping its dimensions as small as possible. It weighs 380g in size S. It's available in five colours at £145 from UK importer Simon Murphy’s Flying Circus on 01404 891685, email THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS The Gingo 4 is an all-round harness with a revolutionary new back protector, which means a 26% weight saving over its predecessor. With the new Aerobean protector, pilots can enjoy the best of both worlds: the lightness of an airbag harness with the robust protection of a moussebag.16 SKYWINGS AUGUST 2021 comp lines It was fantastic to be back in Gemona with the scent of jasmine filling the streets – along with a slight smell of drains. Throughout the week there was a good mix of gentle Margherita Pizza-style thermals along with hot and spicy ones. And for those who did land early, there was always the elderflower and prosecco ice-cream to look forward to. For Spanish pilot Luis Martinez Iturbe, who now lives in Britain, it was his first World Cup. ‘I got selected by finishing 4th in the Spanish League last year,’ he reported. ‘It was great to spend time with the other British pilots in Gemona. They all have a huge amount of experience, and I will be forever grateful to them for sharing their knowledge with me.’ Idris Birch was once again chosen by his fellow pilots to be on the task committee. ‘From a task-setting point of view Gemona offers some unique challenges,’ he says. ‘The motorway of a ridge behind the take- off mountain needs to be used sparingly – while it’s a lot of fun, ridge-bashing with 120 pilots at full speed is a recipe for disaster. This means that to start the tasks we had to keep pilots in clear air with plenty of options. ‘During the races though, the parallel ridges offer plenty of route choices to break up the field and allow pilots to make decisions. However to get seven tasks out of seven at Gemona – where it has been known to rain – was amazing. Even more amazing was how the PWCA organisation improvised to conduct a successful, safe and Covid-safe event during these trying times.’ Despite the current travel problems, Gemona 2021 probably had the highest pilot quality ever – 38 of the 125 pilots had AA, the highest combination of qualification letters possible. Glider-wise, it was a battle between the trusty, tried and tested Ozone Enzo 3 and the much newer Icepeak X-One. After seven tasks Niviuk flew away with the overall team prize. Five of the Brits taking part formed a team together: Christopher Bevins, Malin Lobb, Martin Long and Ceri Brown, with honorary Brit Yuki Sato Colombé as reserve. They flew under the flag of World Cup partner Flymaster Instruments and came a very respectable 16th out of 23 teams. Task 1 got off to a good start for the Brits with Seb Ospina 2nd, Russell Ogden 4th and Martin Long 6th. Back on form after a sneaky round of golf, Russ won the day in Task 3. He and Seb were both in the top ten again in tasks 4 and 5, earning Russ 9th place overall. Yuki did a great job in the women’s competition against the unbeatable Seiko Fukuoka Naville, coming in the top ten in three tasks to secure 4th place in the ladies’ ranking. Congratulations also to Luis Martinez Iturbe, best newcomer in Task 4. BPRA protégé Chris Bevins really rates the PWC experience. ‘This was a magical competition,’ he reported afterwards, ‘the perfect alignment of an incredible pilot level and the weather gods smiling upon us. ‘The light conditions at the start of the week were unfavourable to me as a chubby pilot who is very heavy on his wing, and I bombed out three days in a The World Cup is back! RUTH JESSOP REPORTS ON THE SEASON’S FIRST PWC EVENT The PWC is on! Pilots glide west from Gemona The ‘unbeatable’ Seiko Fukuoka Naville‘Honorary Brit’ Yuki Sato Colombé celebrates All photos: Gor an Dimisk ov skiAUGUST 2021 SKYWINGS 17 CHILI 5 SPORTS INTERMEDIATE | EN:B Our CHILIs have always offered the perfect complete package: they are high-tech, a performance reference in their class, while remaining easy to fly with a very manageable extreme flight behavior. With the CHILI5 we have succeeded in continuing this tradition. The glider flies intuitively as pilot and glider quickly become a single unit. This is especially noticeable when coring thermals. The core becomes easy to find and the glider climbs quickly. With many innovations and small optimizations, we have once again managed to improve the CHILI in all areas to achieve maximum flying comfort and efficiency. The result is the best CHILI ever. A complete package in a class of its own. row. But with easy retrieves and within walking distance of gelato, not all bad! ‘However the days became more unstable, making the thermals stronger and more plentiful and favouring my flying style – I live in the Pyrenees where the thermals are always powerful. With a field of pilots this strong, and the fact that I was out of practice after Covid, I said to myself that I’d be happy to make the top 100. After seven days I finished in 100th place! ‘It was an incredible learning experience and I feel like a different pilot after just a week. I would recommend any aspiring pilot to sign themselves up for the highest level of competition that they can get into, not worry about the results and just enjoy the amazing opportunity to learn from more experienced pilots.’ You can keep up with all the action on the PWCA (now also a web app). It includes live commentary, tracking and all the scores. For those who can’t work out one end of a paragliding competition from another, the commentary gives a thermal-by-thermal explanation. 1 Jonathan Marin France Icepeak X-One 5,110 2 Ulrich Prinz Germany Enzo 3 5,101 3 Simon Mettetal France Icepeak X-One 5,073 4 Pierre Remy France Icepeak X-One 5,060 5 Honorin Hamard France Enzo 3 5,054 6 Krzysztof Schmidt Poland Enzo 3 5,049 9 Russell Ogden GB Enzo 3 4,996 24 Juan Ospina GB Enzo 3 4,883 37 Martin Long GB Enzo 3 4,757 49 Idris Birch GB Enzo 3 4,531 52 Malin Lobb GB Enzo 3 4,492 100 Christopher Bevins GB Enzo 3 3,428 104 Ceri Brown GB Enzo 3 3,248 1 (25) Seiko Fukuoka Naville France Enzo 3 4,877 2 (64) Nanda Walliser Switzerland UP Guru 4,251 3 (73) Constance Mettetal France Enzo 3 4,045 4 (84) Yuki Sato Colombé Japan Enzo 3 3,843 For full results go to 18 SKYWINGS AUGUST 2021 comp lines Most of the Northern team had made it to the campsite at Llangattock on Thursday night, despite closures on the M50. But Julian Robinson, with the longest journey from Aberdeen, had to go straight to Merthyr Common in the morning. With conditions less than perfect, a turnpoint route was set. The first gaggle climbed out easily; later starters struggled, with Julian’s gamble on a distant bird paying off as he climbed out from very low, followed by a bunch of hangers-on. Idris was, unsurprisingly, first to land back at camp, with the day going to the South. After some crazy talk about decamping to Milk Hill for Saturday, it was sensibly decided to go instead to the site visible from camp – Magic Mountain. A goal was set at Crewe, but with the option of carrying on to Sheffield. Climbing out proved much easier than the previous day, but close encounters with rocks put two of the Southern team out of the game; fortunately both are recovering well. Several made it to Sheffield (including Idris, of course), while Theo Warden landed at his house! Tim Pentreath was the only one who bothered to fly to the goal itself. After a lot of measuring with maps and rather stretchy string, it was decided that the North had won the day. Low cloud and rain mandated a short task on Sunday, so we went to the Blorenge with a plan to fly the few km back to the campsite and spot-land on a tarpaulin. The North proved comprehensively best at this one. Combined with the South’s generous decision to forgo their lead in the XC league so far, which is usually Task 1, that put the North 2-1 up. The rest of the day was spent at the campsite, with many pilots trying out Gary Stenhouse’s electric unicycle; astonishingly, none of them broke anything. Jocky Sanderson conducted a charity auction of donated goodies, including a reserve parachute, holiday accommodation and plenty of beer, wine and cider. Back to Merthyr on Monday, to find the wind about 75 degrees off the hill. That didn’t stop Alex Coltman climbing out early on his own, in fact before half the Northern team had arrived to start the open-distance task. Gary then accomplished an astonishing climb from a low relaunch, and a large chunk of the field eventually got away. Hugh Miller flew the furthest, leading another Southern win and the Cup honourably shared at 2-2. Report by Andrew Craig The North-South Cup The annual clash between the two paragliding halves of Britain, bisected at the Long Mynd, happened in South Wales early in June despite the partial Covid restrictions. Those meant that the 2021 event was more of a rally than a formal competition – not that it’s too formal at the best of times. Numbers were limited to 15 a side, with the South including the current XC League leader Idris Birch in his first season in Britain for several years. Crossing the Wye valley east of Hay in the NS Cup, en route to Sheffield Photo: Hugh MillerAUGUST 2021 SKYWINGS 19 LIVE SD for maximum performance & safety The ultimate Flymaster flight instrument specially built for competition and XC pilots. Includes LIVETRACKING and RACE competition functions. GPS SD+ for Easy Navigation and Safety The ultimate flight instrument sharing the same hardware as the LIVE SD but limited to non RACE competition functions. Specially built for XC pilots. Includes LIVETRAKING. Second by second live tracking S.O.S button IPX7 certified Huge battery life G-force, RF and pressure sensor Worldwide coverage Rugged construction Magnetic connector The Industry Standard as used in PWCs, the X-Alps and all major paragliding competitions. Despite a changeable forecast, grey skies and ‘top-end’ winds, all 35 ‘hardcore’ entrants chose not to take up the option of leaving their flying gear behind and only collect half points for any Wainwrights bagged. Fully equipped for all eventualities, over the half the field struck out up the western fells on their way east to Keswick and beyond, the balance travelling south- east along the western flank of the Buttermere valley. A lower cloudbase further inland was accompanied by much stronger winds, and the pilots who hauled themselves around Skiddaw and the higher-scoring northern fells were battered in strong winds and cold, cloudy conditions. Despite the conditions several took to the air. Some simply flew further east from the western fells, while one or two bravely fought for points on the north-eastern flanks of Blencathra and Clough Head. Several of the endurance-running contingent made it as far as Ullswater in the far east before the 9pm curfew, the end of Day 1 racing. Day 2 broke with much better conditions, a gentle north-easterly and early sunshine giving exceptional flying conditions for the one-day pilots who raced off at 7am. Their task was also to bag as many Wainwright peaks as possible, but for any of three qualifying peaks missed (Grasmoor, Red Pike and Low Fell) their score would be reduced by one third. Many had the flight of their lives, enjoying strong convergence over the landing field in the early afternoon. Around a third of the two-day competitors had spent the night under canvas. All were back within 400m of their Day-1 finish locations, ready to go hard and make it back to the event HQ at the foot of the Hardknott pass in Eskdale by 4pm on Sunday. The one- day challenge pilots had also to be back by 4pm but were aiming for their starting field, helpfully located close to the Kirkstile Inn. Exhausted pilots began arriving into Eskdale from around 12.30, and more than half the field arrived by air. Drama heightened as Dave Ashcroft spiralled in with three minutes to spare, and John Westall appeared, having run over Hardknott and Wrynose, just 40 seconds before time penalties would have been triggered. In the final analysis, Keith ‘Bud’ Paterson once again pipped Dougie Swanson-Low to the top prize, having amassed 1015 points in gathering a total of 63 peaks. Dan Starsmore was highest placed amongst the challengers carrying all their own camping gear, and (after a steward’s enquiry) was awarded the coveted Vol-Biv trophy. The one-day race was closely fought between Marc Leavesley and Tommy Moore, but with Tommy arriving just a few minutes after 4pm both amassed equal points having bagged all three qualifying peaks. The X-Lakes was fabulously well supported by the Cumbria Soaring Club, the local flying businesses and a huge list of paraglider manufacturers. All 57 participants were in the draw for the incredible Ozone F*Race harness, the new Gin Yeti ultra-light reserve and the Yeti Extreme 2 ultralite harness. Glass awards were given to all winning pilots and trophies made from Honister slate will be inscribed with their names, including Dave Ross who won the ‘Jo Median’ prize for finishing mid-field in the two-day event, designed to recognise the value of simply taking part, and Stuart Mayson for Best Photo (see above). Everyone attending the prizegiving, on the sunny lawns of event HQ at West Lakes Adventure, gave generously to the raffle of goody-bags containing incredible prizes kindly donated by Gin, Ozone, Niviuk, Supair, Advance, Skywalk, BGD, Nova, The Sick & The Wrong, Greg Hamerton and Triple Seven. Thanks to their generosity and to the commitment of the adventurers who took part, well over £1,000 has been raised in support of the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association. Report by James Allcock The X-Lakes Challenge 2021 Pandemic travel restrictions led to a record number of pilots expressing interest in the fifth iteration of the X-Lakes Challenge. Arrangements were made to allow as many as possible to make adventure memories over the weekend of June 26th and 27th. Greg Hamerton leads a file of Hardcore entrants on Day 1 of the X-Lakes Photo: Stuart Ma ysonNext >