A beaut of a day at Kommetjie…
The SW was perfect, with white caps all over the sea, as Eric and I arrived at Kommetjie. We rigged on the road overlooking Soetwater and as we finished a rain squall blew in. We hid under our gliders on the side of the road while it rained and laughed at how crazy this must have looked to the drivers-by.
When the rain cleared, we got ready to launch. At this site, the launch is in a compression, backed by a cliff. The upper winds were hitting this cliff and probably directing some air downwards. This mixed with the air blowing upslope and made ground handling and launching very difficult. This combined with minimal landing options below, make this an advanced site.
Eric on the Soetwater ridge. Ahead lie Albatross Ridge, Scarborough and Cape Point.
I launched first, and had to deal with a large right wing-up one step into my launch run. I committed to the run and came off fine, albeit it not in the fashion I would have liked. The one good thing about this launch site is that the slope is steep and there are no ground obstructions, so my left turn off launch was not problem. Within 2 passes I was above the ridge and enjoying the glassy air. Eric launched soon after and had a much better launch than I did. Well done in the tricky conditions.
Eric "Thunderbolt" van der Walt
For the next hour and a half, we boated around the ridge, getting under the perfect little cummies that were blowing in from the ocean. We jumped back and forwards to Albatross Ridge, getting to about 2800ft ASL above Scarborough with a fantastic view of the whole Cape Point Reserve to the point itself. We even saw a whale in the bay.
On the way to Albatross Ridge
Almost a Scarborough, with the Cape Point Nature reserve stretching out ahead. In the far distance is Cape Point itself.
Eric above Scarborough
After crossing back and forth a couple times, we both landed in an empty field in Kommetjie. Very lekker indeed.
Heading back to Kommetjie. Witsands beach below.
When the rain cleared, we got ready to launch. At this site, the launch is in a compression, backed by a cliff. The upper winds were hitting this cliff and probably directing some air downwards. This mixed with the air blowing upslope and made ground handling and launching very difficult. This combined with minimal landing options below, make this an advanced site.
Eric on the Soetwater ridge. Ahead lie Albatross Ridge, Scarborough and Cape Point.I launched first, and had to deal with a large right wing-up one step into my launch run. I committed to the run and came off fine, albeit it not in the fashion I would have liked. The one good thing about this launch site is that the slope is steep and there are no ground obstructions, so my left turn off launch was not problem. Within 2 passes I was above the ridge and enjoying the glassy air. Eric launched soon after and had a much better launch than I did. Well done in the tricky conditions.
Eric "Thunderbolt" van der WaltFor the next hour and a half, we boated around the ridge, getting under the perfect little cummies that were blowing in from the ocean. We jumped back and forwards to Albatross Ridge, getting to about 2800ft ASL above Scarborough with a fantastic view of the whole Cape Point Reserve to the point itself. We even saw a whale in the bay.
On the way to Albatross Ridge
Almost a Scarborough, with the Cape Point Nature reserve stretching out ahead. In the far distance is Cape Point itself.
Eric above Scarborough
Heading back to Kommetjie. Witsands beach below.
posted by AGW at 5:58 am
1 Comments:
Hey Ad,
Thanks again for all the support you've given in getting me back to the point where I could share a day like this with you again. Here's looking forward to many more.
Eric
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