The flying Finn

Jukka, the Axis importer from Finland is in Barcelona for a few days so given a forcast of sunshine and south wind we went to Berga. As we arrived at the Espais landing field Ivan was just launching from Primera Maria on the tandem so we did a very quick site brief and headed straight up to 2ª Maria. The guys were already high above 1ª, unusual for the time of day.
I launched at about 1pm, climbed straight out drifting back in an unusually, for Berga, smooth round thermal (I even said that over the radio - should have kept my trap shut!) to 1600m and hit the shear of a strong northerly (where had that come from??!). Jukka was soaring the rocks at launch so I pushed back forwards to wait for him and mooched about above launch and out front while he found a climb. Climbing out again from the east nose of 2ª was rough and strong as the wind had picked up considerably on launch. As I drifted slightly back over the trees I was hoofed up and backwards by one of the strongest thermal/gust (?) cycles I have ever experienced. I had no directional control at all, it was just like being a dandelion in the breeze, the glider wasn't collapsing at all but it was impossible to turn as no amount of weight shift or brake was making any difference to where I was being pushed / pulled / blown. It took a few minutes of bewilderment before I realised that I wasn't going to make it back to launch and I was being taken in the direction of the forested gulley between the 2 launches.. not a warm & fuzzy place at that height and with that strength of wind. Hands-up I recorded 14km backwards but by standing on tiptoe on bar I managed to eventually get myself positioned above fields and fighting repeated collapses from the rotor of the trees in front ended up arriving in my 3rd field of choice! Jukka, pinned in the wind out front couldn't quite understand why I'd 'chosen' to top land !
The thermals had become so strong (it was constant 30-35 kph) that for the next 3 hours there wasn't a single lull between cycles as Jukka sat in the wind soaring through thermals in 300m beats at 2ª! He had joked that soaring is like meditation, by the time he was able to land I reckon he'll have been a fully fledged buddhist!