I've had several requests as to what I thought about the Boom 7......
I wished I could say that I'd flown 25 hours on it at the pwc in Brazil, but as most of you know, there were only a few days of free flying, one half assed task with nobody in goal, and one excellent race day.
So, with only about 8 hours on the glider, and in only “mildly sporting” conditions at best, all I can say about the Boom 7 is that with what I know so far it's just a beautiful piece of work and Gin has really out done himself on this one. I immediately felt right at home on the glider at my normal weight of a couple of kgs over on the ML. It's easy to launch despite the closed cells, and landings so far seem comparable to the Boom 6, if not easier...
The risers will seem familiar to the 6 with the same mind f*** going on, with just a few lines moved around to facilitate more stable accelerated flight. Obviously the leading edge is complete redesigned, but I was impressed when doing a no wind forward at home how easily the glider came overhead. Some of the cells between the closed cells have mesh screen openings and a wind sock kind of thing going on internally within the leading edge behind those screens..... The weed whacker line in every third cell no longer travels to the trailing edge, but instead ends a few feet short.... There are numerous additional small weed whacker pieces also now in the leading edge.
The high AR of 8.0 seems quite comfortable and secure, and the glider climbs and glides I believe better than any 3 line glider out there. For the first time I was out gliding Brad on his IcePeak3, and was able to catch him up and pass him for the first time ever I think for me.
I've never felt so comfortable accelerated. In addition to increasing overall performance, this was one of the primary goals of the Boom 7 – to make it more stable on full speed - but the glider is even heavier than the 6, and the leg strength required for full bar is substantial. If there were any downside at all with this glider, that would have to be it.... It just takes a lot of work to fly in the 2nd half of the accelerated range, and this glider really begs you to do it.... I broke my second bar in Brazil (not the line).
For me I've never felt so competitive on glide before, and no R10.2 or any glider was able to out climb me. It's just a pure joy to fly, seems rock solid when fully loaded, and so far is just an all around great racing machine....
It's pretty clear that it doesn't have all of the glide of the 2 line gliders that are out there now – how could it? I think, however, that if the decision making is a little stronger, some better lines are taken, and you spend some time on the leg press machine, you've probably got the best shot at taking down a strong 2 liner pilot if /when you find yourself up against one – or several as you no doubt will in Chelan if you enter the pwc....
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Impressions of a 2 line glider
Times are changing. Within a year from now, It's very likely that all pilots who are very serious about their ability to be competitive on the pwc or FAI Worlds level will be flying a 2 line glider.
It's not rocket science, really. The obvious reduction in line drag is substantial and the resulting performance increases are sometimes subtle but more often quite obvious.
Personally, with the introduction by Ozone of the R10.2, I was quite skeptical of how successful this glider would be in gaining acceptance and at building confidence with the pilots who are flying it. When I lay the lineset across the palm of my hand and think about those times when I've come cascading out of the sky, stalling and restarting, and then doing it again to clear a hopeless cravat, I honestly question how the glider would hold up in terms of trim and longevity.
The R10.2 is very light in comparison to the IcePeak3 and Boom 6/7. The upper cascades are super thin, and some have commented that the lower fabric is very light weight and is known to stretch and have a very short life span.
The performance of the R10.2 is stellar and in flight it seems to fly and handle as any other comp wing. The only glider that suffered a major cascade of events during the 2 days in Pocos was in fact an R10.2, but as many pilots with no experience on a comp glider have purchased one, this isn't the least bit conclusive.
The R10.2 must be treated with extreme care when launching in windy conditions, or when launching from snaggy ground. I saw first hand a brand new R10.2 with 6 of the plastic stiffeners which provide the structure to the leading edge ripped from their attachment area. The pilot simply attempted to launch in stronger winds with his glider in a mushroomed position. He just started the middle of the leading edge into the wind, and the trailing edge snagged. As soon as he felt resistance he also felt a strange popping feeling and after he aborted his attempt and inspected the glider he found the center section of the leading edge support structure failed. From what I understand there is no field fix for this and must be repaired at the factory.
There were a few R10.2s with broken upper cascade lines but there were others as well and this is to be expected with lines so thin which may show impressive results when load tested, but cut with the smallest resistance when snagged.
While making several long glides with several R10.2s, initially it didn't seem like there was any noticeable difference with the Boom 7, but by the end of the race it seemed quite clear to me that the difference in line drag was adding up. The consensus amongst the pwc pilots also very strongly agrees with my personal observations....
The only real question remaining with me is how will this glider behave in very strong conditions? My very knowledgeable friend who flew in the Montegrappa in Italy which was another first look at the R10.2 feels that the glider is very predictable in strong conditions.
One thing that any pilot will marvel at is how this glider remains pressurized and overhead when you are 100% sure that it is going to frontal on launch. I witnessed this over and over again as most of the pilots flying the R10.2 had little to no time flying or kiting it. When they attempted to launch in windy conditions, it was virtually the same scenario repeated over and over: Very experienced pilot pulls up and is instantly surprised at how fast the glider rifles over head and jerks him / her off the ground in a reversed position. In several of these situations, the glider moves ahead to a point where it is strongly unloaded, and way out in front of the pilot, yet it doesn't frontal when you're expectation from you're experience tells you that this glider simply must frontal....
How does this characteristic of the glider play out in flight when you encounter a strong wind shear or other turbulence? Maybe this anti frontal characteristic is a very strong quality of the glider and will carry over to inflight qualities as well.
There is still confusion as to how best to be loaded with the R10.2. Initially, pilots purchased the glider at a weight where they would be in the lower third of the loading, but apparently this changed and they were then told to be loaded towards the top of the range. This was evidenced by several R10.2s being sold in Pocos with the explanation being that they needed a smaller one....
In summary, the only first hand info I have which I can express with confidence:
1. This glider is very light weight and seems kind of like an XAlps version. It will be interesting to see how it holds up with heavy use.
2. If you launch this glider in windy conditions and snag lines, there is a chance that instead of just popping a line or two, the leading edge structure will fail as the weed whacker stiffeners separate from their attachment points.
3. Because of the light weight of this glider, it is very easy to accelerate. This was the most common characteristic of the glider that I heard...
4. In terms of gliding performance, this glider is the strongest production glider available today. This may change in the year to come as the Niviuk, Gin, U5, and other 2 line protos are completed.... Ozone has taken us one giant step forward in terms of our reach with a paraglider and the race is clearly on to expand on Ozones success.... Who knows where this will go, but right now my $ is on Aljaz Valic and the Nivuik 2 line protos. Aljaz has designed his own proto which seems very strong. As he is also one of the true bird people, it's hard to make any conclusive report but time will tell. Niviuk will be deciding shortly whether to go with Aljaz's or another Niviuk 2 line proto..... They will be producing enough protos for the Niviuk team pilots to fly at the Europeans so that will certainly be an interesting competition to watch! No information from Gin on his 2 line effort so can't comment on that one....
Jack
It's not rocket science, really. The obvious reduction in line drag is substantial and the resulting performance increases are sometimes subtle but more often quite obvious.
Personally, with the introduction by Ozone of the R10.2, I was quite skeptical of how successful this glider would be in gaining acceptance and at building confidence with the pilots who are flying it. When I lay the lineset across the palm of my hand and think about those times when I've come cascading out of the sky, stalling and restarting, and then doing it again to clear a hopeless cravat, I honestly question how the glider would hold up in terms of trim and longevity.
The R10.2 is very light in comparison to the IcePeak3 and Boom 6/7. The upper cascades are super thin, and some have commented that the lower fabric is very light weight and is known to stretch and have a very short life span.
The performance of the R10.2 is stellar and in flight it seems to fly and handle as any other comp wing. The only glider that suffered a major cascade of events during the 2 days in Pocos was in fact an R10.2, but as many pilots with no experience on a comp glider have purchased one, this isn't the least bit conclusive.
The R10.2 must be treated with extreme care when launching in windy conditions, or when launching from snaggy ground. I saw first hand a brand new R10.2 with 6 of the plastic stiffeners which provide the structure to the leading edge ripped from their attachment area. The pilot simply attempted to launch in stronger winds with his glider in a mushroomed position. He just started the middle of the leading edge into the wind, and the trailing edge snagged. As soon as he felt resistance he also felt a strange popping feeling and after he aborted his attempt and inspected the glider he found the center section of the leading edge support structure failed. From what I understand there is no field fix for this and must be repaired at the factory.
There were a few R10.2s with broken upper cascade lines but there were others as well and this is to be expected with lines so thin which may show impressive results when load tested, but cut with the smallest resistance when snagged.
While making several long glides with several R10.2s, initially it didn't seem like there was any noticeable difference with the Boom 7, but by the end of the race it seemed quite clear to me that the difference in line drag was adding up. The consensus amongst the pwc pilots also very strongly agrees with my personal observations....
The only real question remaining with me is how will this glider behave in very strong conditions? My very knowledgeable friend who flew in the Montegrappa in Italy which was another first look at the R10.2 feels that the glider is very predictable in strong conditions.
One thing that any pilot will marvel at is how this glider remains pressurized and overhead when you are 100% sure that it is going to frontal on launch. I witnessed this over and over again as most of the pilots flying the R10.2 had little to no time flying or kiting it. When they attempted to launch in windy conditions, it was virtually the same scenario repeated over and over: Very experienced pilot pulls up and is instantly surprised at how fast the glider rifles over head and jerks him / her off the ground in a reversed position. In several of these situations, the glider moves ahead to a point where it is strongly unloaded, and way out in front of the pilot, yet it doesn't frontal when you're expectation from you're experience tells you that this glider simply must frontal....
How does this characteristic of the glider play out in flight when you encounter a strong wind shear or other turbulence? Maybe this anti frontal characteristic is a very strong quality of the glider and will carry over to inflight qualities as well.
There is still confusion as to how best to be loaded with the R10.2. Initially, pilots purchased the glider at a weight where they would be in the lower third of the loading, but apparently this changed and they were then told to be loaded towards the top of the range. This was evidenced by several R10.2s being sold in Pocos with the explanation being that they needed a smaller one....
In summary, the only first hand info I have which I can express with confidence:
1. This glider is very light weight and seems kind of like an XAlps version. It will be interesting to see how it holds up with heavy use.
2. If you launch this glider in windy conditions and snag lines, there is a chance that instead of just popping a line or two, the leading edge structure will fail as the weed whacker stiffeners separate from their attachment points.
3. Because of the light weight of this glider, it is very easy to accelerate. This was the most common characteristic of the glider that I heard...
4. In terms of gliding performance, this glider is the strongest production glider available today. This may change in the year to come as the Niviuk, Gin, U5, and other 2 line protos are completed.... Ozone has taken us one giant step forward in terms of our reach with a paraglider and the race is clearly on to expand on Ozones success.... Who knows where this will go, but right now my $ is on Aljaz Valic and the Nivuik 2 line protos. Aljaz has designed his own proto which seems very strong. As he is also one of the true bird people, it's hard to make any conclusive report but time will tell. Niviuk will be deciding shortly whether to go with Aljaz's or another Niviuk 2 line proto..... They will be producing enough protos for the Niviuk team pilots to fly at the Europeans so that will certainly be an interesting competition to watch! No information from Gin on his 2 line effort so can't comment on that one....
Jack
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Pocos pics
Here are a few photos from the park near my hotel, and the trip to Andradas - the other flying site near Pocos de Caldas...
Friday, April 9, 2010
We fly....
Today the pwc pilots at Pocos got a flight. The task was 55k I think and no pilots made the goal. The winner was 37k.
The attitude around the headquarters this am was just more of the grim faces we've had all week. But after awhile the sky started looking amazing, and the nice cummies that were drifting so strongly with the winds started to slow down.
They had already delayed us until 11:00am so we were way behind the powercurve for getting up the hill, getting a task set, and then getting 130 pilots safely off the hill.
On my way to launch I almost took the path to the south launch which we had used earlier in the week. The main, more groomed launch was apparently where the TV cameras had already set up cause the wind was clearly favoring the less attractive south side.
These decisions pretty much dictated how the day went. The locals said the wind would switch around but it never produced more than the very occasional lite cycle, and spent most of the time blowing over the back...... but was perfect on the other side. I thought about going over but I would have to pack up and it was already so late....
Because i've made this mistake SO many times before, I was trying hard to be proactive and semi aggressive and get in position so that I'd at least have a chance to race with the lead gaggle. Of course another 128 pilots have the same ambition. The launch conditions were major sketchy as the predominant wind was clearly over the back. Every once in awhile a few pilots would get away, while a few others would end up in the thick brush on the steep hillside below launch.
My fatal mistake was to take my glider way down to the end of the launch area and set up there. There was a local pilot set up there earlier and it seemed more favorable with what little wind there was. I wasted all kinds of time here getting the glider and lines all sorted out, while watching the lead gaggle getting to cloudbase while the minutes ticked closer to race start time. About this time the "local" that I'd talked to came up over the rim of the hill from below with a couple of staff people helping him. "it's very difficult to run through the brush when you launch this way" he says. This guy is maybe 30 and looks quite strong. Hmm and now I'm doubting my decision for my one shot at it. I try and get the glider overhead a few times so I can maybe run it off in a safer direction but the non-existant winds which I must have to pull this off are just not happening....
About this time the race begins and I look out to see 2 large gaggles of gliders at cloud base all head on glide.
I was in a very happy place by now in disbelief that I had screwed things up so bad after sitting around all week wishing to race. I even had top 35 or so launch priority and could have just picked the must successful spot on the launch area and waited my turn and would clearly have had a far greater chance of making the start.
I guess I still need to work on this area. I'll get it one of these days. It's both a mental and physical process. You have to believe that you can safely launch yourself in very marginal and challenging conditions, and have the technical skills and physical ability to back it up.
I think I may have gone into self preservation mode early on and it really affected my focus and desire to get launched. I'm thinking I'm not sure I could manage a blown launch where I end up down the hill tangled up in the deep brush when I should have been thinking "no problem I can just set up close to the edge and lean hard into a light cycle backwards over the edge and load the glider and be flying things get ugly...
This is essentialy what I did when I finally did launch about a half hour later after the wind finally came in strong enough to give it a go. When my chance finally came I had to look down the hill and tell myself "you can do it - have confidence!" everyone is waiting on me now and I know I was expected to go NOW. I waited just a bit longer for it to fill in and went for it just leaning my body strongly down the hill and trusting that the glider would load and keep me from the nastiness down below...
Launch turned out very well and again I was impressed with the new Boomerang...
more tomorrow gotta sleep now and prepare to race again!
The attitude around the headquarters this am was just more of the grim faces we've had all week. But after awhile the sky started looking amazing, and the nice cummies that were drifting so strongly with the winds started to slow down.
They had already delayed us until 11:00am so we were way behind the powercurve for getting up the hill, getting a task set, and then getting 130 pilots safely off the hill.
On my way to launch I almost took the path to the south launch which we had used earlier in the week. The main, more groomed launch was apparently where the TV cameras had already set up cause the wind was clearly favoring the less attractive south side.
These decisions pretty much dictated how the day went. The locals said the wind would switch around but it never produced more than the very occasional lite cycle, and spent most of the time blowing over the back...... but was perfect on the other side. I thought about going over but I would have to pack up and it was already so late....
Because i've made this mistake SO many times before, I was trying hard to be proactive and semi aggressive and get in position so that I'd at least have a chance to race with the lead gaggle. Of course another 128 pilots have the same ambition. The launch conditions were major sketchy as the predominant wind was clearly over the back. Every once in awhile a few pilots would get away, while a few others would end up in the thick brush on the steep hillside below launch.
My fatal mistake was to take my glider way down to the end of the launch area and set up there. There was a local pilot set up there earlier and it seemed more favorable with what little wind there was. I wasted all kinds of time here getting the glider and lines all sorted out, while watching the lead gaggle getting to cloudbase while the minutes ticked closer to race start time. About this time the "local" that I'd talked to came up over the rim of the hill from below with a couple of staff people helping him. "it's very difficult to run through the brush when you launch this way" he says. This guy is maybe 30 and looks quite strong. Hmm and now I'm doubting my decision for my one shot at it. I try and get the glider overhead a few times so I can maybe run it off in a safer direction but the non-existant winds which I must have to pull this off are just not happening....
About this time the race begins and I look out to see 2 large gaggles of gliders at cloud base all head on glide.
I was in a very happy place by now in disbelief that I had screwed things up so bad after sitting around all week wishing to race. I even had top 35 or so launch priority and could have just picked the must successful spot on the launch area and waited my turn and would clearly have had a far greater chance of making the start.
I guess I still need to work on this area. I'll get it one of these days. It's both a mental and physical process. You have to believe that you can safely launch yourself in very marginal and challenging conditions, and have the technical skills and physical ability to back it up.
I think I may have gone into self preservation mode early on and it really affected my focus and desire to get launched. I'm thinking I'm not sure I could manage a blown launch where I end up down the hill tangled up in the deep brush when I should have been thinking "no problem I can just set up close to the edge and lean hard into a light cycle backwards over the edge and load the glider and be flying things get ugly...
This is essentialy what I did when I finally did launch about a half hour later after the wind finally came in strong enough to give it a go. When my chance finally came I had to look down the hill and tell myself "you can do it - have confidence!" everyone is waiting on me now and I know I was expected to go NOW. I waited just a bit longer for it to fill in and went for it just leaning my body strongly down the hill and trusting that the glider would load and keep me from the nastiness down below...
Launch turned out very well and again I was impressed with the new Boomerang...
more tomorrow gotta sleep now and prepare to race again!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Don't pee in a Brazilian river
/s1600 
Sunday clouds and rain
Monday clouds and lots of rain
Tuesday I think it was clouds and rain but can't be sure....'
Wednesday nice skies and beautiful cumulus clouds but too much wind..
Thursday more of the same...
Forecast for Friday and Saturday a little less wind but maybe more clouds and rain..
But on Monday, after the task was canceled a group of pilots from Chile and Argentina organized a raft trip and I managed to get invited along... A nice van came and picked us up at our hotel and we drove about an hour or so to the Southwest of Pocos de Caldas eventually stoping in a small town to sign a waiver, pay the fees, and be fitted with helmet and life vest.
We then boarded a large old bus which was much better suited to wet bodies and clothes and such and headed down to the river which was only another 15 minutes or so away. We received very detailed instructions, not a word of which I understood, and loaded into 3rafts and were on our way. It was completely mellow and I figured I was in for a nice easy afternoon of rafting through the beautiful Brazilian countryside.
Not 5 minutes later, we were directed to stop paddling and "everyone get in the river". Hmm, ok, I guess.... Not too worried about Anacondas, alligators, piranhas, or whatever else might be lurking I obliged along with everyone else and over the side I went. We then spent quite a bit of time learning how to manage ourselves in the water and inside the raft when it has been flipped over, and how to get ourselves and each other back on board. Of course we also practiced flipping the raft back over...
Ok, fine, it's a beautiful afternoon, the sun is out, the water is warm and I'm enjoying myself. We loaded back in the boat, and not 10 minutes later I see that the river uphead is kind of disappearing, and I don't me around a bend. Ah, our first rapids. Once again, 50 meters or so before the rapids, "everyone into the water". Hmm, this raft is feeling pretty good so why do we want to go back in the water now? apparently this was the next step in our training... practicing floating through the rapids with feet near the surface so they don't get snagged on anything. Close your mouth and cover your nose so you don't get water up it. This was where I learned that it is apparently ok to drink large quantities of water from this particular river. I kind of enjoyed being free of the raft and just racing down the rapids when they started getting a little bigger, and apparently my life vest was kind of worn out and didn't do so well at keeping me on the surface. Sure I would eventually come up, but at one point I was driven really deep under the rapids and it was completely dark and I didn't come back up for a REALLY long time...
I'm a good swimmer and can hold my breath for awhile but this is where I started thinking, "they'd never be able to pull off something like this at home".
Back in the boat we all climbed and it's really beautiful with the dense vegetation enclosing the river on both sides and it wasn't too hard to imagine yourself on some river deep in the Amazon Forest. Tropical birds, beautiful flowers, and bananas and other fruits growing wild along the shores where it didn't look like anyone could ever reach them.
So now that we've all been aclimated to being in the river instead of on it, and tested to make sure we won't drown too easily, it's time to start playing with the boat in the rapids. Apparently it's not enjoyable enough to just paddle down the rapids... now after we finish a stretch of rapids, we immediately paddle into one of the side back eddies and work our way up to the last rapid. I'm in the front of the boat and I'm game I guess. The closer we get paddling upstream back to the rapid, the harder we must paddle to keep making progress. Are we gonna like surf the rapid or whats the end game here? It didn't take long to realize that the end game was to drive the front of the raft into the rapid and see if we could keep it from being flipped over.. Well, no, not even close... bodies and paddles flying everywhere to the apparent delight of our guide... Of course we get to keep trying this maneuver until we eventually figure out how to throw our body weights into the right position to counter the barrage of water which drives down the front of the raft. When we succeed after several tries we are all shreiking with delight while we thrust our paddles into the air in an act of total conquest of the rapid...
We float idly for awhile watching the other two rafts repeating what we had done. Then we all enjoyed another half hour or so of gentle waters and beautiful scenery. We then pulled up to the shore and I wasn't clear if we were done or what but we climbed up the grassy bank and were met with some nice cold water and then told to head down the trail along the river... Apparently the river was far too dangerous ahead to attempt in a raft so we would walk around and they would porter the rafts for us. We enjoyed about a 10 minute walk along some pasture land and then turned back through the woods to the river and some very big rapids where the river had really narrowed. The first thing I noticed was that the rafts had now been located UP river in a small side eddy from where we stood along the rocks and rapids. Hmm again. Apparently there was more to our last 'exercise' then I had realized. It was final preparation for the grand rapid finale....
But not quite yet! We're not ready and still one more bit of training to complete before we're ready to raft down this "something much bigger than a class 3" rapid. I don't know what the actual class was and don't really care... just clearly much more of a rapid then I'd ever been in... I can see the plan now. The last exercise is to get us actually into the serious rapid so we don't panic and freak out if we end up in it during our last stretch in the raft. Out on the rocks we climbed one or two at a time to where one guide had a rope which went around your wrist which you could grasp with that same hand. Down below and farther down the river were the two other guides firmly anchored with the other end of the rope. One after another we went with most really enjoying the exercise. Some would jump way out and plunge down feet first so that it looked like the two guides below were pulling up some large heavy object from the bottom of the river.... I had to do this very carefully so as to not further injure a frozen shoulder so I jumped out and did a 'back flop' so that I wouldn't go too deep.
Nothing to do now but put our trust in the guides and go for it in the rafts down the last stretch of this large rapid. I was genuinly uneasy but they had us far enough down the rapid that if you did go in you could hold your breath long enough to get swept down to the bottom... and we were prepared now right! We were the last raft in line so we had the pleasure of being able to watch the first two rafts to see how this was going to play out. There was a rope tied to an island in the river and one of extra guides helped to guide the raft out into the river by holding onto the rope and moving the raft out in the eddy of a huge boulder. Then away they went and immediately 4 of the 6 were in the river being swept away. They were soon all acounted for and apparently no worse for the wear... The 2nd raft made it with all on board so that was encouraging, and we followed and made it as well but it was very exhilerating to say the least and I was glad it was done and had enough. If this had been training for a bigger rapid I think I would have cried uncle and bailed...
The rest of the trip was through gentle rapids and calm sections which we were able to enjoy from within the raft with no more 'training'. After we finished and walked back to the bus we were each given a small plastic cup and poured some very sweet wine to toast our successful adventure...
I had almost stayed to lay around the hotel and was so very glad to have enjoyed the area from such a different perspective....
Sunday clouds and rain
Monday clouds and lots of rain
Tuesday I think it was clouds and rain but can't be sure....'
Wednesday nice skies and beautiful cumulus clouds but too much wind..
Thursday more of the same...
Forecast for Friday and Saturday a little less wind but maybe more clouds and rain..
But on Monday, after the task was canceled a group of pilots from Chile and Argentina organized a raft trip and I managed to get invited along... A nice van came and picked us up at our hotel and we drove about an hour or so to the Southwest of Pocos de Caldas eventually stoping in a small town to sign a waiver, pay the fees, and be fitted with helmet and life vest.
We then boarded a large old bus which was much better suited to wet bodies and clothes and such and headed down to the river which was only another 15 minutes or so away. We received very detailed instructions, not a word of which I understood, and loaded into 3rafts and were on our way. It was completely mellow and I figured I was in for a nice easy afternoon of rafting through the beautiful Brazilian countryside.
Not 5 minutes later, we were directed to stop paddling and "everyone get in the river". Hmm, ok, I guess.... Not too worried about Anacondas, alligators, piranhas, or whatever else might be lurking I obliged along with everyone else and over the side I went. We then spent quite a bit of time learning how to manage ourselves in the water and inside the raft when it has been flipped over, and how to get ourselves and each other back on board. Of course we also practiced flipping the raft back over...
Ok, fine, it's a beautiful afternoon, the sun is out, the water is warm and I'm enjoying myself. We loaded back in the boat, and not 10 minutes later I see that the river uphead is kind of disappearing, and I don't me around a bend. Ah, our first rapids. Once again, 50 meters or so before the rapids, "everyone into the water". Hmm, this raft is feeling pretty good so why do we want to go back in the water now? apparently this was the next step in our training... practicing floating through the rapids with feet near the surface so they don't get snagged on anything. Close your mouth and cover your nose so you don't get water up it. This was where I learned that it is apparently ok to drink large quantities of water from this particular river. I kind of enjoyed being free of the raft and just racing down the rapids when they started getting a little bigger, and apparently my life vest was kind of worn out and didn't do so well at keeping me on the surface. Sure I would eventually come up, but at one point I was driven really deep under the rapids and it was completely dark and I didn't come back up for a REALLY long time...
I'm a good swimmer and can hold my breath for awhile but this is where I started thinking, "they'd never be able to pull off something like this at home".
Back in the boat we all climbed and it's really beautiful with the dense vegetation enclosing the river on both sides and it wasn't too hard to imagine yourself on some river deep in the Amazon Forest. Tropical birds, beautiful flowers, and bananas and other fruits growing wild along the shores where it didn't look like anyone could ever reach them.
So now that we've all been aclimated to being in the river instead of on it, and tested to make sure we won't drown too easily, it's time to start playing with the boat in the rapids. Apparently it's not enjoyable enough to just paddle down the rapids... now after we finish a stretch of rapids, we immediately paddle into one of the side back eddies and work our way up to the last rapid. I'm in the front of the boat and I'm game I guess. The closer we get paddling upstream back to the rapid, the harder we must paddle to keep making progress. Are we gonna like surf the rapid or whats the end game here? It didn't take long to realize that the end game was to drive the front of the raft into the rapid and see if we could keep it from being flipped over.. Well, no, not even close... bodies and paddles flying everywhere to the apparent delight of our guide... Of course we get to keep trying this maneuver until we eventually figure out how to throw our body weights into the right position to counter the barrage of water which drives down the front of the raft. When we succeed after several tries we are all shreiking with delight while we thrust our paddles into the air in an act of total conquest of the rapid...
We float idly for awhile watching the other two rafts repeating what we had done. Then we all enjoyed another half hour or so of gentle waters and beautiful scenery. We then pulled up to the shore and I wasn't clear if we were done or what but we climbed up the grassy bank and were met with some nice cold water and then told to head down the trail along the river... Apparently the river was far too dangerous ahead to attempt in a raft so we would walk around and they would porter the rafts for us. We enjoyed about a 10 minute walk along some pasture land and then turned back through the woods to the river and some very big rapids where the river had really narrowed. The first thing I noticed was that the rafts had now been located UP river in a small side eddy from where we stood along the rocks and rapids. Hmm again. Apparently there was more to our last 'exercise' then I had realized. It was final preparation for the grand rapid finale....
But not quite yet! We're not ready and still one more bit of training to complete before we're ready to raft down this "something much bigger than a class 3" rapid. I don't know what the actual class was and don't really care... just clearly much more of a rapid then I'd ever been in... I can see the plan now. The last exercise is to get us actually into the serious rapid so we don't panic and freak out if we end up in it during our last stretch in the raft. Out on the rocks we climbed one or two at a time to where one guide had a rope which went around your wrist which you could grasp with that same hand. Down below and farther down the river were the two other guides firmly anchored with the other end of the rope. One after another we went with most really enjoying the exercise. Some would jump way out and plunge down feet first so that it looked like the two guides below were pulling up some large heavy object from the bottom of the river.... I had to do this very carefully so as to not further injure a frozen shoulder so I jumped out and did a 'back flop' so that I wouldn't go too deep.
Nothing to do now but put our trust in the guides and go for it in the rafts down the last stretch of this large rapid. I was genuinly uneasy but they had us far enough down the rapid that if you did go in you could hold your breath long enough to get swept down to the bottom... and we were prepared now right! We were the last raft in line so we had the pleasure of being able to watch the first two rafts to see how this was going to play out. There was a rope tied to an island in the river and one of extra guides helped to guide the raft out into the river by holding onto the rope and moving the raft out in the eddy of a huge boulder. Then away they went and immediately 4 of the 6 were in the river being swept away. They were soon all acounted for and apparently no worse for the wear... The 2nd raft made it with all on board so that was encouraging, and we followed and made it as well but it was very exhilerating to say the least and I was glad it was done and had enough. If this had been training for a bigger rapid I think I would have cried uncle and bailed...
The rest of the trip was through gentle rapids and calm sections which we were able to enjoy from within the raft with no more 'training'. After we finished and walked back to the bus we were each given a small plastic cup and poured some very sweet wine to toast our successful adventure...
I had almost stayed to lay around the hotel and was so very glad to have enjoyed the area from such a different perspective....
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Pocos de Caldas Brazil 2010
The first round of the PWC is being held a few hundred kilometers north of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in a city called Pocos de Caldas. The pwc always runs from a Saturday through the next saturday, with the first Saturday being registration and practice flying, and the comp beginning on Sunday. I've come a few days early to fly in a 2 day local Brazilian mini comp at a site about 45 minutes south of here.
Travel down here was pretty good. United treated me well as always but had mechanical difficulties getting going out of Chicago. We left about 3 hours late but the 10 and a half hour flight was very pleasant. I was thinking that they were going to have to cancel the flight all together so I was very happy when I heard the announcement that they had made repairs and we would be on our way soon. Made pretty easy connections in Sao Paulo for the bus ride up north to Pocos de Caldas - about 4 hours. I did have a few moments in the bus station where I had to climb stairs with my 2 50 lb duffels to purchase my ticket and just couldn't physically do it while trying to be easy on my frozen shoulder. I managed to look pathetic enough that a nice young man noticed my predicament and carried my glider for me....
Pocos is nice and the people are very friendly as seems to be the norm in the smaller cities of Brazil. This town seems to be quite old and is a resort town of sorts with many large old hotels and spas and even an old decommissioned monorail which runs along the river through the city. There is a huge city park just across the street which we walk through to get to the gondola which takes us up to the launch area. In the center is a large water jet display which shoots all kinds of water jets high into the air from the center of a small pond. In the center of the pond is also a small building from which is played all kinds of classical music. I can't really tell if the water jets are meant to be timed with the music or not but it's entertaining none the less...
Weather forecast is not looking good so it may be challenging to get in some good racing.
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