I was keen to get some more airtime on my new wing, and along with a bunch of the usual suspects, was on launch ready to go around Noon.
Around ten minutes past the main group launched and I tried to follow, unfortunately I cocked up a couple of launches, simply by not following my usual routine, so eventually launched about half-an-hour behind the rest.Stefan launched not long after and we soared the ridge looking for the elusive "ticket" over the back.
It was a good 30 minutes before it appeared, after a below launch save that had me on the face trying to soar back up. But that was behind and Stefan and I thermalled up together until Stefan decided to run for it. I duly followed hoping to work together to find the next lift.Chasing him across the sky as he wandered he would sometimes be way above and then way below, until he hit a good thermal over the glasshouses on Woodcocks Road.
Entering below him I soon overtook him as for some unknown reason, rather than sticking with me he glided off toward Warkworth. Staying with the thermal I topped out at 3200ft just as Stefan landed just North of Warkworth. Silly boy!
Going on glide toward Mt Tamahunga, I thought I would try to follow my plan, hoping to intersect with the seabreeze convergence that was forecast to be somewhere near there. I was flying parallel to the range of hills that stretch form Kaipara Flats through the Dome and Tamahunga to Cape Rodney, there was a light cloud street above it but I wasn't game to test my luck flying under the clouds and over the forest and bush.Unfortunately I wasn't to find any substantial thermals, and as I approached Tamahunga I decided to play my last card and see if the ridge running perpendicular to the wind would trigger a thermal or at least supply some ridge lift.
I left the clean paddocks behind and ventured over the bush covered slopes to find nothing, turning around I decided it was prudent to make for a landing, picking a nice paddock by the carpark for the Tamahunga Summit track I came in to land, breaking my PB Moirs site record by 100 metres.Walking about 2 kms to the Matakana Country Park, I finally got picked up by Trisha and Chrissy, and finished the afternoon with a drink at the Matakana Pub before heading home.
I found out later that Wayne had landed in the same paddock only 26 minutes earlier having taken a slightly different route but 30 seconds longer. He too had also tried the ridge on Tamahunga to no avail. Cue Twilight Zone theme music.
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