[Amigo] > [Sharon's flight index]
Sharon Sweeney
Day & Date
Sunday, 3/20/05
3 Tandem Flights with Tom
Skyport to Carpinteria
Bates to top land on Rincon Mt above the Gas Plant
Relaunch and land east of Town
Paragliding tandem with Tom
Got to Skyport at 9:15 AM but it was blowing down. We took Tony’s car to check out the alternator and the north alternator launch. It looked rather tricky to launch over all the bushes and then try to make it through a pass if you didn’t get up. So, we went back to Skyport. There was a good crowd at the Eliminator and Tom Pipkin drove up with a slew of paragliders for Skyport. The forecast was that the day was an advanced day and Tom being an advanced pilot I got to fly. We laid out the wing, waited for the weakest cycle (or so it turned out) and launched.
The wind was west as predicted and strong enough to make the day a technical challenge. I was glad it wasn’t me at the controls. We spent most of the time out of site from launch trying to get up at the rock and then flying along the ridge to the round house. Tom tried every thermal possible, every bush that shook, ridge soaring, turning at the least little beep but nothing was happening. It was impossible to make Parma so we continued east even though the Monastery looked inviting as it was the only spot in the sun. We took a thermal (a real rarity) near the antennae farm and drifted east toward Parkers.
The problem with the west wind is that it didn’t blow the thermals up the spines. We managed to find some buoyancy and got up higher. We did well at Montecito Peak but needed to stay away from the mountains because of the cloud cover. We got into some turbulence when we were away from the mountains. We kept gliding at 30 to 40 mph. We went to Polo Ridge, then Snow Ball. We were low but still looking for lift. We finally looked to land and ended up in an avocado orchard near the 192. Tom landed in a spot that looked like it could have been treacherous due to the sloping terrain and the winds. It was a terrific landing. Some helpful farm workers gave up the combination to the gate but we jumped a fence instead. I called my staff and Craig came with all the kids from the group home and they drove us to the Van.
We were on our way to Bates. No other paragliders took off from the mountain and many were happily using the winds to their advantage at Bates and Wilcox. We were going to attempt the first tandem jump (that we knew about) from Bates across the freeway, railroad tracks and to down the coast. I watched some kites go into the air twisting and turning with the wind. I listened to Tom tell Ron Meyer and Ron Faoro instructions to help assist with the launch. A couple of tugs on my harness to keep me in line and we were off. Great job! Art was there with his hang glider and he was next in line for the assistants. He must have done well as we were soon flying with him.
We got to the “minimum go altitude" but saw Tom Pipkin higher. We wanted to get higher but ended up going up and down a bit. So, when we were close to “go” altitude again, we left. The visual scene from the crossing is so dramatic it is hard to absorb it all. Usually we are flying over terrain that includes our favorite manzanita bushes, or just plain land. During the crossing we did a turn and the visual includes a freeway, a railroad track, a cliff and land on the other side. Suddenly you’re looking down the road at more freeway, more rushing cars, the ocean with little beach, the railroad tracks, and more cliffs. But hey, there’s some greenery on those cliffs. We were pushed out by the wind from the cliffs but kept on trying to get close. We were wanting to get the draft going up the hill. Tom said we were close to flushing. We came in low on the cliffs but got the lift finally. Suddenly we were at La Conchita in the air and Diablo was there on the ground as well giving us the scoop. The surface wind in La Conchita was light.
We watched Bob jump across the freeway and he did really well, coming in at the tops of the cliffs. He reached us at La Conchita. We couldn’t get over 1,000 MSL so we wanted to dump some ballast but not give up the high ground. We opted to attempt a landing in a mustard patch at the top of a hillside. Bob was patiently waiting in the air for some more lift. We approached several times, but kept getting buoyant instead of sinking to land. We finally got behind the lift enough for a touchdown.
Tom went searching for the relaunch spot. The mustard was way over his head. We launched from nearby where we had landed. It was a beautiful launch. Tom’s skills are impressive. We took some more pictures from the air. Then we landed at La Conchita. Tom Pipkin was there and gave us a ride back. Eddie helped pack the wing. Tom and Dean also attempted the jump and made it down the ridge a bit.
The weather was such that the paragliding provided some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen on a flight. Tom, Dean, Art, Bob, and John were also in the air. I got some great pictures I’ll pass on. All in all a terrific day!