Johnblog

It’s been a strage day. The soaring weather has been a bit changeable. Yesterday I had a rest day because the weather was not brilliant. Today was looking better. 

Everyone said they would be launching about noon, so after preparing the glider I went back to town to get some mineral water from  the supermarket. The town water tastes a bit strange. I carry a couple of litres of water in a Camelbak for drinking in the glider. It’s so hot here you have to be careful about dehydration. When I returned to the airfield there was a long queue of gliders waiting for a launch. Bummer.

I joined the queue. Then a strip of fabric tore off the tug plane (Piper Pawnee)  and there was a delay while repairs were made. I finally launched at 3pm – too late to do a long distance. My next mistake was releasing the tow early thinking I had found some good lift. D’oh! Back on the ground in 14 minutes. Bugger!

I felt a bit better after a shower, two beers at the pub and bangers and mash. I’ll try it all again tomorrow.

I’m having fun at the Southern Cross Gliding Club’s annual camp at Cootamundra in country NSW. It’s bloody hot out here – 36 to 40 degrees. That’s good for thermals and good for gliding. But not for everything else.

I’ve had a five-hour 360k flight in the club’s most basic low-performance glider, the PZL Junior. That got me a lot of kudos with other club members. It was also a very enjoyable flight – details here . Yesterday the conditions weren’t so good, but I had fun with a 150k trip to Grenfell. Today was forecast for showers later, so I did a quick trip to Grenfell and back, having to dodge lots of showers on the way back and land in a howling crosswind.

I’m still hoping to fly 500k to get a Diamond gliding badge, but that needs a good thermally day and a good glider. Fingers crossed for later in the week. We pack up on Sunday.  

Must go now – we’re all meeting at the Central Hotel (Pub) for dinner and drinks – and lots of tall tales from flying!

Nephew Alexei has departed on the next leg of his travels. He’s in Cairns for a Daintree experience then he’ll be embarking on a “liveaboard” diving trip on the barrier reef. He’s an experienced diver and is looking forward to it. (He learned to dive in the freezing cold flooded gravel pits near Heathrow airport!) Then he’s off to Perth to stay with his sister for a while.

We had a farewell dinner at Fratelli in Majors Bay Road with Viv and Chris and Alexei. A great Italian restaurant. We hadn’t been for ages because it changed hands, but must go again. Good vibe these days in the heart of Concord, lots of restaurants and cafes. It’s been good catching up with Alexei – we hadn’t seen him for a long time.

Then we were out again on Thursday night with Pam and Steve. We had a drink at their house in Drummoyne first. They have a balcony with a nice view over the water at Iron Cove.

Then we went to a nearby Japanese fusion restaurant – Umii Modern Izakaya. Very good grub. Some Japanese classics with some interesting variations.

Life changes for me today as I head off for Cootamundra for 10 days at gliding camp. I’m hoping for some good hot weather to trigger big thermals and help me reach my goal of a 500 kilometre flight. The food won’t be quite as good there but there’s some great cafes and good coffee.

Here’s a good pic that Chris took of our gathering for Viv’s birthday (see previous post).

Eunice, me, Jan and Viv at the birthday gathering.

We had a quiet New Year’s Eve, watching the Sydney fireworks display on television. Been there on the harbour, done that. But it is still very spectacular on TV! 

On New Year’s Day we hosted a barbecue with Viv, Chris and Eunice as guests. Alexei turned up later fresh from his trip to Alice Springs and Uluru. We exchanged chrissie presents with Eunice who had been away on holiday with Ben and Jack in Bali at Christmas.

Happy birthday Viv!

BBQ started with grilled haloumi and asparagus spears. The main course was steak Florentine style (but not size) sliced in oil plus chorizo potatoes, roasted cauliflower, tomatoes with fetta and stringy salad (zucchini and carrot passed through the spiraliser). We had extra sausages and a couple of hamburgers just in case.

This was also an early celebration of Vivienne’s birthday – a significant one! There were more presents, then Eunice provided an amazing cake – orange poppyseed with lots of icing. It had candles on top, in proportion to the years of existence of my sister.

Hot days and hot nights in Sydney. The aircon is getting a workout at home, but it’s a great time to be at the beach. Jan, me and Alexei headed to Fisherman’s beach near Long Reef for a dip.

It’s always quiet there, even in the holidays. There are rocks offshore which break up the surf and create a reasonably calm place where you can swim. We staked out our spot on the sand – umbrella, beach towels and a couple of chairs – then headed into the water. It was reasonably warm 23C compared to, for example, Newquay in Cornwall which has about 16C in summer. Even so, there were a few oohs and aahs from me as I waded in.

Pale bodies at the beach.

The swimming was lovely, although the water was quite shallow at low tide. There’s always plenty to see there through the binoculars – fishermen off the Long Reef rocks, stand-up paddleboarders, parasailers along the cliff, snorkellers and seabirds. The De Havilland Beaver float planes fly above on their way from Rose Bay to Pittwater. This time there was even a small drone flying above the waves – maybe someone’s Christmas present?

After a sunbathe, doze, and another dip, we headed into Dee Why’s beachfront cafe strip for a late lunch. We went to Girdlers Cafe for some superb buckwheat crepes – Alexei had tacos with added haloumi. There was a long wait for service, but they apologised and gave us a couple of free coffees and a smoothie to make up for it. Dee Why beach was very crowded, we were glad we went to Fisherman’s.

Today Alexei headed off for a few days in Alice Springs and Uluru. He’ll be back with us on Sunday.