Back in the saddle.. Waddell.

Spring is on.. Went out to Waddell on Saturday. 20 or more kite-boarders and a dozen surfers below. I was the only hang-glider out though. Sweet 3 hour flight with a couple of red tails to chase and a few whales migrating below. Right in my backyard, I will never tire of this view...

Istanbul

I had a great opportunity to head out with Mele to Istanbul last week and explore a bit. We stayed in the Bebek and Sultanahmet neighborhoods on the Bosphorus. I really didn't know all that much about Turkey prior to the trip, but the experience left me wanting to explore much more of the nearby regions/countries.
Mele was busy the first half of the week, so I went off and explored the coastal areas of the city. I found the Turks to be very hospitable, and even with only a handful of phrases I made my way around the city easily. The history in this city is incredible. A true crossroad of East and West. On the one hand Istanbul feels like a European city, cobbled streets wind through neighborhoods, great (I mean incredible) food can be found everywhere, and people are always decked out in their best. The influence of the Muslim religion is all around you and Mosques seem to around every corner. The Imam chants broadcast from the minarets (5 times a day) called the faithful to prayer starting at 5 in the morning each day.

One thing that I'm always reminded of in Europe is the importance of focusing on one thing at a time. Even/especially when that one thing is kicking back and enjoying the day.
Below is a picture of the Bosphorus bridge which is artfully illuminated with blue lighting at night. The bridge connects the two halves of the city and links the continent of Europe to Asia (Turkey spans both).
One thing Istanbul has an abundance of is vagabond bands of cats and dogs. The cats were everywhere. As Mele put it, Bob Barker would have a field day out there. Mele came to Istanbul to interview with Bogazici University for an associate professor position (Hoja) teaching in the department of Science Education. She had made contacts there during a previous conference visit and they flew her out and put us up on campus.
Bogazici's campus was originally started by the US in the the late 1800's as the first American University abroad. It has since become Turkey's most prestigious state university. The campus still has some buildings with American style and names. The students are nearly all Turkish, but classes lectures are in English.
Her interview consisted of teaching class, a job talk and an open presentation on informal learning. All of which went very well and I have a feeling the offer will follow in the next couple days. After Mele fulfilled her time at the University we stayed a couple days in Sultanahmet and visited some of the local sites. Below are a few pictures of the inside of the Blue Mosque, a significant site for Muslims. The Mosque is enormous. Six minarets surround the massive dome roof line with intricate design and paintings throughout.

Entering the mosque requires everyone remove their shoes. From that point on the men and women have a very different experience. Men proceed to the main prayer area in front of the Imam. Women who enter the mosque must wear a head scarf and be covered in clothing. They then have sit behind screens to perform their rites. This in the same city where mini skirts and winter boots are presently in fashion. The contrast in this city and in Turkey in general is stark.We hit the big tourist destination known as the Grand Bazaar for an afternoon as well as another spice bazaar. The Grand Bazaar has been around since the late 1400's and houses over 1200 vendors. It is an indoor market (once a stable) that covers numerous city blocks. Below is one of the many entrances.
We also stopped off to watch a potter work some magic.
Overall, it was a lot packed into a short vacation and really got the travel bug back into my blood. I can still taste the food. Visions of evil eye charms, backgammon, tea glasses, sardine fishermen, insane cab drivers, ablutions, and the people of Turkey will stay with me for a while. Can't wait to plan the next trip abroad!

Cabo Pulmo

Over Thanksgiving Mele and I went to my Aunt's new home down in Cabo Pulmo (Sea of Cortez) for a week. Gary and Melissa flew down from New Mexico to meet us there. I've spent a lot of time in Baja and every time I visit it takes less than a day to unwind. I think we should consider trading Texas for Baja. I went out on my first dive this trip, pretty amazing coral reef in Pulmo, the largest on the East side of the Pacific. After getting out of the water we cruised up along a few humpbacks. Incredible days.
Right alongside this beautiful underwater world is the desert of Baja Sur. This has been a really wet year (more than 8" of rain). I made a few attempts to find a trail I'd been on a number of years ago before we finally found our way. (Mele and Melissa on photo safari)
Below: Nice use of rocks to warn drivers that the road is gone.
Some spectacular light shows while we were there. Thunder, lightning, rainbows and sunrises over the Sea of Cortez. Last shot was a sunset South of Todos Santos on the Pacific side. Can't wait to go back. A couple more pictures here.

Thanks to Deb & Pat for setting us up with home, car, and a turnkey vacation - Cheers!

Test day at Waddell

So somehow John Taylor managed to get a glider for $50 on ebay and as it turns out it was really a steal. He flew his new RAM air today for the first time after driving to Santa Barbara to pick it up from some guy who got it from a tow truck driver... The story goes on, but as it turns out John got himself a sweet new ride for the coast.
I spent the other evening downloading a firmware hack for my Canon G9 camera so that I could do more wing mounted shots and make use of other features not presented by Canon. The hack is on Wiki called CDHK and has tons of great uses for Canon powershot cameras. The next project is to convert a wireless doorbell into a usb remote for the camera. I've got the parts laid out just have to set aside one more evening to finish it up. The wingmount worked out great and I ended up with around 100 pictures to sift through from this evening's flight. Great fun out there today!

Slide Mountain

After seeing the forecast for Slide this weekend Trey and I bolted up there for a quick two day trip. We left around 5:00am from Santa Cruz and got in two great days. The lift was punchy down low but the thermals were big and smooth and I topped out both days around 14,000'.
Above: Kings Beach from South of Slide.
Below: Looking SE from slide over Washoe Lake to McClellan.
Trey had a personal best getting up well over 13,000 and hit 100 hours of flight time looking out over Tahoe. Stephane put us up for the night in Kings Beach (always good to hook up with old friends) and we hit the hill again on Sunday morning. Conditions were a bit more challenging though and I spent a good half hour working rotor off the South spine just trying to stay up. A large flush sent a lot of pilots to the LZ and then some potent thermals started to break through.
Above: Looking West to Slide from over McClellan.
Just when I thought it was over I hooked a corker that took me over the top of Slide and I pulled on the VG and raced across the valley to McClellan where I quickly got back up to just under 14k'. The 360 view from there was incredible. The Sierras were laid out in front of me to the West with Tahoe peaking over. To the North and South the valley stretched out as far as I could see and the lift was glass off smooth at the top (but chilly!). In the East was an enticing XC Mecca.
Above: West to the Sierras from behind McClellanAbove: Grin of a glutton heading over Duck.
It was late Sunday and unfortunately we hadn't arranged for a driver because it was a perfect day to fly XC. This was my first loop around the Washoe Valley though so I was very content to work an out and return. I made it all the way around and came in just below launch at Slide before working light lift and heading to the LZ after 3 hours of airtime.

Above: Cross Country Paradise to the East.
Jimmie and David came up for their first taste of big mountain air and skyed out for personal bests. Both of them charged their launches, had great flights and flawless landings.Grins and coldies all around in the LZ. The locals showed us some great hospitality, and showed us how it's done. Steve flew home to Minden Sunday. It was good to fly with Jeff again and Nile is getting good fast. A big weekend full of epic stories for all of us. Good Times.

The Home Front

Spent this weekend local. Hit the fair and got some of the local flavor with Mele. I hadn't been to a county fair in quite a while and Watsonville does it up. All kinds of 4H, rodeo and racing.. oh and fried foods. Some classic carnies and lots of graffiti art prizes. We had a really good time. Saturday got some airtime in at Waddell, just average conditions, but Mele got some nice pictures (below). I can see I've got a little work to do on my harness, but overall its pretty clean. I'm still blown away by the speed and glide of my new glider. It just goes.

St. John, Indian Valley, San Benitos, McClure... Summer has flown by..

I've been flying a lot over the past month. Mele took off to spend time in Turkey following a conference and I've been home all alone with my hang-glider. The Sonoma Wings put on a great fly-in as usual at St. John and I had some gratifying flights out there. Conditions were smokey but cross-country flights were in order and beer suck propelled me into 1st on the short race on Day 2.

Labor Day we headed up to Indian Valley and spent a couple days hiking during blown out days, followed by a good day with localized lift that allowed us to drift in the direction of Lake Almanor before cruising back down to a nice field near Taylorsville. Quite a turnout this year. Great to see all the Sonoma, Bay Area, and Reno pilots converging for a good party at a spectacular site. Lots of inspired new pilots on hand as well.
Above and below: Lake Almanor from South of the Burn Launch.Ben, Wayne, Joe and Mario (driving) down near Taylorsville enjoying barley pops on a country road after landing out.This past weekend we did a double-header. Went South with Tom (Dogboy) deep into the San Benitos. The forecast had fallen apart on us, but it ended up producing a rare glass-off that lasted late into the afternoon. The terrain down there is incredible, potential still immeasurable, and the 200+ quarter-horses in the working ranch below remind you all the while that you are in a special place.Above: Ben and gliders at launch.
Below: Cruising around 4-5k' in glass-off conditions Big Sur/Coastal range in the distance.Topping off the weekend we got a call from Chris Valley to rally for a one day trip up to McClure. Chris' intuition was spot on and the conditions were great. McClure is always challenging. The landing zone is the primary thermal generator most days and always induces some exciting approaches and landings. As a result this site breeds some of the best most aggressive pilots in the Golden State. Some really great guys to hang out and fly with. You can't beat a day when KM gives you a nod as you core up with him on his turf. Good to get in an overdue day in with the Ma'Lode clan.

Above: Trey and KM at launch.
Below: Looking past launch (left ridge) over Lake McClure.
Above: Trey hooks up with a thermal in his, my, and previously Chris' experienced U2. In capable hands.
Below: Looking out over Don Pedro Lake.

A great month of flying. Flying frequently with Ben this summer season has really helped me to become a more knowledgable, and competent pilot. Hang-gliding is one of those activities where there is no substitute for experience, but having good flying mates sure does speed up the process.
Mele gets back into town tomorrow! When life is good, it's really, really good.