Skynomad Sopot Bulgaria

The World Cup prizegiving party was eclipsed totally by the Jim Beam party the night before. For some reason the Friday night bash really went off, with us dancing until the early hours in spite of the organisation trying to get us to go home to bed! The Czech and Polish guys were in full party mode with waterpistols, JB and too much energy so we danced and we danced and we danced! Trying to get Pavel back to the hotel was a feat of endurance and trying to do it quietly was beyond belief. This night will make me chuckle for a long time to come!

I stayed after the World Cup circus had left town to get some more flying and try to find a house in the valley. A cold front came though on the Skynomad registration day which was a relief 'cos it meant I could have a rest after a tiring week flying and hards couple of nights partying!
The competition brought some fairly funky conditions as the front passed and the thermals became progressively sharper, smaller and stronger. I am sure we would have seen lots of acrobatics if it had been like this for World Cup - racing high-end gliders in these conditions would have been challenging at best!
Each day saw more turbulence and increasingly calls of level 2 /3 on the safety channel. 2 reserves and a Boom sport ripping itself apart on the re-inflation after a collapse all added to the fun. Climbs in excess of 10m/s were becoming 'normal' with the entry / exit from them feeling like going over the edge of a waterfall, no pressure in the glider, just hang on and sit still!
In spite of the sometimes alarming conditions I didn't have any dramas with my wing and became very accustomed to doing the 'funky gibbon' to keep her heading in roughly the right direction. I really feel for the first time in ages that i have found my 'mojo' - flying has become something really special in a way that has been missing for that last few years.
Unfortunately, the retrieve for the comp was verging between random and non-existent and after a 2 1/2 hour walk out of the remote valley of Dzhendema ( known locally as 'hell' ) my back was suffering big time. I tried to fly the next task but was in too much pain so had to land very early and to pull out of the competition after the second task.
Catching up with Godfrey and the Aussie contingent was great fun as always. Old friendships were renewed and new friendships made - thanks Simo for your help and we'll fly together again soon :-). The discovery of a tree frog in the toilets and the ongoing saga of Tony's gps/navigation kept me amused...the final night with Wayne and Sara drinking too much local wine and discussing 'mumbo-jumbo' finished off a good trip.


Driving away from Sopot as the gaggle climbed out from launch in the 4th task was hard and kept drawing my eyes back to the hill long after the gliders disappeared.! Hasta pronto, Sopot !
I am back home now getting checked out by the chiropractor, eating pizza and doing my laundry before heading up to France in a few days to catch up with the team at the British Open.