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26+ miles @ Governador Valadares

From: Sharon Sweeney
Activity_Date: 2/11/02
Remote Name: 4.43.171.237

Comments

Thanks Brendan for such a cool synopsis of the trip! I wrote some cryptic notes about my 26+ mile flight on the 11th that I thought I'd like to share. This is a big deal for me but I found it funny to see what stood out for me that night.

2/11/02. Flying in Brasi.
Waited to launch till afternoon. Pretty hot. I'm nervous. Tony coaching me on the way up to launch...Stay in lift, don't leave it. Wind got very light. Tried to pull up and brought the wing down on a German guy's head. He didn't think it was funny. When I first layed the wing out it was upside down. Lady pilot who gave me a ride the previous day wished me a good flight. It really helped. All my buds were trying to launch too so no one was near me. Good launch, headed out.

Tom B. was screaming at me but I thought he was just saying hello. I ridge soared (which I later found out was dangerous), and got way up (notice how technical I can be) and took out for the road. Then I ran into a cloud. Got 5900 at the highest. A little scary but I ducked the cloud then went up in a thermal. Stretched it to where Dan was circling quite high. He barked something about sharing his thermal. Robb barked back but no one could hear him as he wasn't plugged in right. Someone was off to my left but I couldn't figure out who. I thought it was Tom B.(after all we had "chatted" during the flight).

I kept going up. Dan left the thermal saying he was off. I followed later (remember Tony's instructions...don't leave if it's working) but by then Dan and Zvi were sinking out which was easy to do. I thought I was done but I hooked another thermal right near where Dan had landed and had a ball. I started laughing and singing. I went over rolling hills, valleys, forests and enjoyed myself. Robb ended up on the ground (he was the guy to my left) and I watched him as I just kept flying. I landed way down the road after hooking some more thermals in a field of stuff much taller than me. A little boy found his way through the stuff to help lead me out. I met the whole family at the barn. They waited with me for the retrieval truck.

I was stoked to find I had outdistanced some of the competition pilots and their superfly wings. For me, it was a thrill as it's been a long hard journey in a sport that hasn't come easy for me. The "buds" in Brasil couldn't have been more supportive and always helpful. It was great fun to celebrate all the outstanding flights by all the pilots all week long and share incredible stories. Thanks to everyone there for being such good traveling and flying companions. I learned that there is much more to know, especially about flying according to the clouds, not the land.

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