Just the promise of a good day's ridge soaring was enough to get JB and
Chris Heide to Nympsfield by 8.30am in the rain! (All the best
Nympsfield ridge days seem to involve us driving up the M5 in the rain
thinking "What are we doing here!") Chris had managed to get a seat in
their DG505 with Tim McFadden, ex CFI of Nympsfield, to sample the
Cotswold ridges for the first time. Sadly, in all the early morning
excitement JB forgot to take any cameras so we don't have one photo to
mark the day!
Trevor Stuart, (Nympsfield's main ridge guru) was
forecasting a repeat of Tuesday's weather and set the task -
NYM.BAT.LCL.BAT.LCL.NYM for 360k. Basically up and down the ridge twice
from Bath Racecourse to Lower Clompton, a small hamlet NW of Evesham
lying just below Meon Hill. (Meon Hill is a little 'hillock' which
requires an extra measure of Trevor's optimism to consider as
soarable!) Upon arrival we had a nice cup of tea while Trevor and
Steve discussed tactics with their lead and follow pupils, both flying
DG300's and both called Alan (no chance of any confusion there then
Bruce!)
The rain stopped and we launched into the 23kt wind at
about 11am. Tim and Chris went first and set off for Bath along the
ridge. Thermals were popping off the ridge all along the way and they
were there and back before the rest of the pack set off. Trevor and Alan
flying as one pair, Steve and Alan as the other pair and JB just
mingling. As we all set off for Bath, Chris and Tim in the DG 505 headed
north for Lower Clompton. We all stayed down in the ridge lift for most
of the time and used the abundance of thermals to give us a bit of
extra hight to make the jumps into wind and also to make the run from
Broadway out to Lower Clompton and back a bit more comfortable. The
ridges between Broadway and Lower Clompton are somewhat vague and odd
patches of sink from thermals can cancel out the hill lift, which is a
little disconcerting when you're tiptoeing along at minimal height!
Chris
had a great time in the DG and really enjoyed flying with Tim who he
said is really laid back which helps to build your confidence. Chris
said the 11k jump into wind from Stanton to Bishops Cleave looked
impossible but Tim said "it should be ok and there are lots of good
fields along the way so keep going!" They arrived at Bishops Cleave at
about 200 ft above the hilltop and the ridge was working well, so no
need to use the conveniently positioned airstrip at Cheltenham
Racecourse.
Flying the ridge for the first few times is very
demanding and after completing the first run from Nympsfield down to
Bath and back then north to Lower Clompton and back again, about 180k at
between 200 and 800ft above the ridge, top Chris and both the Alans
decided to stop for a rest. Chris spent the rest of the afternoon on the
cable retrieve and helping at the launch-point while Trevor, Steve and
JB to continued with the second stage of the task.
Trevor had
already turned Bath and was stuck on the way back at Hillersly.
Something was messing up the ridge - probably wave - and he was unable
to get the 800ft needed to make the into wind jump to Wooton Bowl (5k),
bearing in mind that with the wind at almost 300 degrees the bowl might
not work and he would have to continue on to Tinsdale (6k) or even
Stinchcombe (10.5k). Hearing this JB decided to play it safe and use
every thermal he could find along the way to stay high. JB and Steve
shared a thermal just before Bath and took enough height to dive under
the 1500 ft Bristol airspace at 110kts to turn Bath and get back to the
thermal that was still working. Steve climbed up and headed west to Yate
to try and avoid the 'hole over Hillersley'. His ploy worked and he was
first back from Bath, but the sky to the NW did look rubbish so JB took
a good climb and followed the ridge. Trevor had just got to 800 and set
off as JB approached Hillersley getting lower and lower on the ridge to
arrive there at about 300ft!
'Dig in and don't give up' was the
order of the day and after about 10 minutes, which felt like half an
hour, a morsel of lift came along and he grabbed it and slowly clawed
back up to 800ft and set off for Wooton Bowl. A brief dip into the bowl
confirmed that it was not working... so press on to Tinsdale. That
wasn't much better so on again to Stinchcombe. This had been working
well when he went round last time, but this time he arrived just above
the trees and was surprised to meet Trevor at the same height coming the
other way! Hello 621!
Trevor had been stuck there too for a
little while and couldn't get above about 250ft which wasn't really
enough for the 4k jump back to the home ridge. But as JB arrived it
seemed to perk up a bit and they both got to 300. Trevor was off like a
robbers dog, using the side of wheelbarrow hill for a bit of extra
energy before arriving back well below the top of the home ridge. "No
bother, I could have left lower!" he called on the radio. So JB set off
too. These robbers dogs don't half shift and he arrived back on the home
ridge at the bottom of the tree-line with 80kts for safety and a
climbing turn along the ridge which was obliged to work at that height -
the wind had nowhere else to go but up - and as the top of the ridge
came into view it was time to relax and enjoy the view again! What a
bummer - no camera - That last 45 minutes would have made some epic
footage!!
After all that excitement JB decided to abandon the
last turning point and just go up to Bishops Cleave, about 50k less than
LCL. The thought of another
'adrenaline-filled-11k-into-wind-jump-from-1000ft-if-you're-lucky' with
the chance of an field-landing at the end of it, was loosing its appeal.
At last the wave started to be a bonus and after only 13k JB found a
very smooth 6kt thermal that took him up to cloud base, from where he
made a gentle glide out to Bishops Cleave (Nottingham Hill actually)
before following the ridges home for a 120kt final glide from Painswick.
What a day!
Thank you Trevor, Steve, Tim, Dave and all the XC Nympsfield gang for making us North Hill wanderers so welcome! - JB
