Bridgend - 6th May 2016

It's Friday. NE to E forecast. Strong maybe so a plan was formed to take a look at Bridgend.

Gerald got to the hill first. Sorted his harness out and had a few wee flights. He then posted to the group: "Looking grey dark now still a good breeze though, all action news reporter here at bridge end"

Rob was at the bottom and gave me a call. "Looking at the sky and thought F__k that there are big clouds embedded in the haze. I might give it a miss. Ohh... Gerald seems to be launching !?! but maybe groundhandling".

I think then turned round and started driving home but glancing back at the hill from the east end of the loch things looked better so turned back and decided to walk up.

I left lockerbie at 5.30. There were BIG clouds hidden in the haze. I did wonder WTF I was thinking but at the same time I knew things should be flyable later and the clouds would dissipate as the evening progressed. The sky was very dark at Moffat. A couple of spits of rain but as I started heading east up the Moffat water valley.

Got to the hill. No sign of the guys but they appeared as I was walking up.

Doh! Rob's flying straight out and down. It must be pants! ahh well at least I'll get a fly down.

Got to the top and Rob was back at the hill. he'd been checking the lift band... Very lifty. Disconcertingly lifty.

Another wee flight and he was happier nothing untoward was happening. Chris McColgan had arrived at the bottom by this time and was equally convinced Gerald and Rob were flying down. He worked it out eventually.

I had a fly about for 45min or so. There were lifty bits. Occasional sinky bits. I never ventured out front as far as Rob. I get nervous if I leave known lifty areas so trying to do it a bit more. It's boring soaring otherwise!

I was getting quite relaxed floating about seeing where and how high I could get. After a while the wind started to drop a tad and although it was still perfectly fine me and chris were starting to set up a bit of a circuit and it felt like we were slowly (very slowly) working lower. Rob and Gerald had packed up by now so I headed down to join them. Chris was up for another 10min or so.

It was a cracking evening fly at bridgend. Nothing to complicated or spectacular but good practice all the same. Would have been great on the tandem but Dave didn't escape Edinburgh till late (He still got 30min on hillend which you can't complain about).

Jamie