I arrived around 11:30 to find Chris, Enzo and John Simpson set up. It was just slightly north and building nicely. Enzo took to the air and it look good. Soon it was a solid 15 WNW. The ocean showed nice even texture, without big whitecaps. It was straight and strong with no sign of blowing out. I was amazed that there was not anyone else there, but didn't waste much time wondering about it.
There was not any beach to speak of. Usually I am very cautious about flying in such conditions, with no bail out options below the cliff. But with clear visibility and steady, steady winds, it was a no brainer that couldn't be missed. I launched and soon joined Chris down at Westlake.
Perfect DayWe spent over an hour chasing each other around the sky. Full VG, making high speed passes, hitting some wingovers and flying close. Too much fun.
Eventually Urs joined us and we flew South, past the dumps flying fast to stay below the SFO airspace. Leaving the big cliffs and heading towards the Pacifica Pier I continued to climb in what must have been a small shear. If there had been any beach it would have been a day to fly down past Shelter Cover and try to soar Devil's Slide.
After a couple hours we brought it in for a break to eat and warm up our hands. Ben Dunn loaded his course onto our varios and we headed back out to give it a run. The course starts with an entry cylinder around the North end of Funston. Trick is to get up high at Westlake and start a high glide into the cylinder at just the right time. I played it cautious wanting to stay above the mass of gliders back at the Fort. Then it is back to the paraglider launch at the Dumps, and then to the "White Roof" North of the gap. I got stuck there not being able to get high enough to get back over the house. That cost me 5 minutes or more making my total time about 18 minutes. Looking forward to trying it again.
Not a Bad Place to FlyAll in all in a perfect day. Great air, good friends, awesome flying.
Flights: 2
Total Airtime: 2:50
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