Just Another Day In Paradise
Saturday, January 6th, 2001.
It did not look real promising, but Leon called, and I said I was gonna take a look at Shelter Cove - there was a chance for some pre-frontal SW action.
After a second call an hour later, Leon, Humboldt County hang-glider pilot for over 25 years,
employee of Altair Hangliders at Point of the Mountain, and peerless friend and
Humboldt County mentor of
Penguin:
said he would take the drive down (about 80 miles) and be on the 1600 launch around 1.
I met him there about 1:15, and there was some high fog coming in and out. So I cranked out the chainsaw and we did a little more work on launch. Last month, Misha and I had put in about 5 man hours on the 1600, and it was looking good:
but Leon and did another 45 minutes to get the last of it. But the fog was still coming in and out, and being old, non-bold pilots, we decided to go down to the bottom and have some lunch, but stop by the low launch (Landis) on the way.
It was perfect at Landis. PERFECT! 13-15 SW. So I launched my Arcus on it's second flight, and Leon started setting up. I had been soaring the tiny little bowl in front of Landis
about 15 minutes as Leon set up, when lo and behold - out of the fog floats another Arcus.
It was Misha, who had shown up on the 1600 just after we left, saw the beach through the fog and went for it -- only to have everything close in less than a minute after he launched. *NOW* he knows why the old farts don't launch that sucker when fog is about. He could still see the ocean, so he headed north and dropped through the fog, with a few anxious minutes - and emerged to see Penguin soaring the bowl and Leon about to launch. He know great relief and great joy.
Leon got off, and we then commenced to fly together for about 45 minutes as the sun sank slowly into the west, and the fog cleared out, and it got just flat-assed beautiful.
I made a very nice top landing, if I do say so myself; to make up for
the whack back in October, and drove down to pick up Leon, who was making his first flight in over 3 months after an operation.
And while I was taking pictures of Leon and Micha, Micha was taking pictures of
Leon and I:
And my very favorite, which has much to do with why I live up here:
Just another day in paradise...