SAFA Skysailor Magazine

4 SKY SAILOR September | October 2019 W hen I arrived at Sellicks, there were a few pilots there, but no one was setting up. I checked the conditions – moderate NW on launch (about 20 degrees off to the north) – I thought that was good enough for me, so I set up. By the time I was ready, about six pilots were there, but none had yet started to set up. There was plenty of beach and I could cope with the wind direction, but it had had dropped off a bit (to about 10 to 12kt). The group was lined up watching me and a video was recording as I struggled to get my Rev’s wings level, into wind and balanced. 1 After re-locating, I was off and doing a few passes of the cliffs to gain height. The cliffs were soarable, but only just. I flew ‘round the corner’ to the southern, higher section of the cliffs – which normally work better, but I lost height. So I returned back in front of launch – about 50ft below the top. Eventually, I scratched back up, but it was enough to put off the rest of the pilots there. After a few more passes, the lift improved and I was able to get high enough to cross ‘Cactus Canyon’ and reach the cliffs to the south. From there, I got into the NW-facing bowl where the coast changes direction – usually a good source of lift. I took a few photos here – including some of the large Buddha statue overlooking me. 2 From here, I was able to try my luck on the Myponga Cliffs which face north to NW and extend about five kilometres westward. I was pleased to find them soarable and continued to the W/WSW. My aim was to soar the back ridge – the hills circa two kilometres downwind of the cliffs. (I hadn’t done this after starting from Sellicks launch before.) I was able to stay up while flying to the west of our old launch site. After about 2.5km (with no easy bottom landings), I reached the ‘sweet spot’ – a spur which is a good point to gain height for an attempt on the back ridge. There was better lift here, and I worked my way back and arrived close to the top and was able to negotiate spurs and bowls on the way up. As I got higher, the lift got better! I was flying in about 20kt of wind, square on and smooth, so it was quite comfortable to gain height at minimum sink. I eventually topped out at just over 2000ft asl and looked down on Myponga Reservoir – happy and very scenic! Wanting to put my height to good use, I decided to see howmuch further I could fly to the west. This involved crossing the bay at Myponga Beach. I knew this was possible, but I wanted to contact ridge lift before heading out of range of the beach landing. I crossed the bay okay, starting at about 700ft asl. I contacted the top of the ridge lift about 500m past the other side of the bay, but it wasn’t strong. After another kilometre in marginal lift, I decided to turn back while I still could. (I was about 10km from my preferred landing spot/car.) The return trip was easier with a tailwind component behind me. There were many sections of cliff with no lift, so I slowed to top up where spurs were into wind. Once I got back to the main NW bowl where the cliffs change direction, it was easier. I took a few more scenic pics in front of the Buddha, then flew back to Sellicks launch. When I arrived, no pilots or gliders were there. I’d been in the air for over two hours. (I later heard that a few had flown briefly, then gone to the pub!) I had stacks of height to reach my preferred landing site – a grassy reserve about one kilometre north of launch. (The beach looked unfavourable as the tide was coming in and there were people/cars on it.) I thought the air would be smooth since the wind was quite light, but recently a load of houses have been built NW of the reserve. The air on ap- proach wasn’t exactly rough, but I experienced very In late July, I saw and took the opportunity to fly along and above one of SA’s premier coastal sites – Myponga Cliffs. Access to our former launch site has long been lost, but in the right conditions, it’s possible to fly there after launching from another nearby coastal site – Sellicks Beach (about 200ft asl). by Pete Bolton (aka Pebo) The ‘Forbidden’ Flight