[Amigo] > [Dean's flight index]
Dean Stratton
Tuesday, 1/4/05
Bates to Ventura
~ 14 miles (LFSD points ~ 14) Tied for first place as of 1/4/05
If you catch Bates at just the right moment it can be a lot of fun! Today was one of those days.
We got a late start today and didn’t arrive at Skyport until around 1:30. Chad and a few others launched about an hour earlier and had great flights. We waffled at launched praying for cycles for 45 minutes. The more we waited, the worse it became. It wasn’t long before the forecasted NW wind started coming over the back. We tossed in the towel and made a play for the by-pass launch half way down the road only to find consistent 15+ West winds. Okay, what’s left? Almost 3 p.m., too late for the training hill, how about the coast?
We showed up at Bates to find SW winds between 13-16 and only one pilot in the air. I launched just a few minutes later with the help of Ron Meyer to pull me to the lip. A few others set up but the wind picked up to 20+ making it nearly impossible to launch. I got about 500 over, went to min sink and used the patented Truax, “back up over the freeway” mode, turned, and made the crossing with plenty of altitude to spare. The lift was abundant and it was a straight shot on the coastal express Eastbound. Only once did I turn around to take a picture before I arrived at Solimar about 20 minutes later.
Pipkin finally managed to get off launch joining me later at Solimar. Bob Hurlbett did manage to get off launch but the conditions had changed making it too difficult to make the jump. Pipkin and I boated around Solimar for quite a while, watched the sunset, and headed for Ventura pier. Too much fun today…
The pictures tell the rest of the story.
Tuesday Pics:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/fllspdahd/album?.dir=aac2&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/fllspdahd/my_photos
Editors Note: The above flight was Dean's first Rincon Run