Tim Ettridge <timothyettridge> writes:

Kathryn took me to a beach south of Sydney a few days ago to try a
bit of dune soaring on a single surface Malibu that the Moyes factory loaned me
for the day. As my new harness was still under construction, Steve Moyes
graciously offered me his own.

To amuse ourselves while we waited for the forecasted winds to show up, Kathryn
and I base-barred our gliders without a harness on the edge of the small hill
and then each took a short sled ride down to the beach, just in case that was
all the flying the day would allow.

The winds finally came, however, and Kathyrn easily launched and swept back and
forth over a stretch of the hill perhaps two hundred meters long that was steep
enough to form a narrow band of lift. Twice she made it look so easy and twice
she top landed, coming to a halt right by where I stood.

Next it was my turn. In the aftermath, she was kind enough to claim that the
wind had died somewhat and that I did, after all, weigh much more than she did.
The truth is it was nothing more than my foolishness of committing a few seconds
too many to where the lift should be (but obviously wasn't) that had me landing
deep in the surf, soaking not only Steve Moyes's harness and parachute in salt
water, but half of the glider as well.

As it was, I'd been trying to figure out a way to have a glider to fly during my
extended stay here in Australia and had been contemplating buying a floater. The
salt water landing seemed to make the choice obvious. I bought the glider I
trashed. Gerolf now calls it my Water Rat.

I've always been impressed by Aussie hospitality but the Moyes factory has
outdone themselves. They just shrugged their shoulders at my treatment of their
possessions and offered me the space and a water hose inside their walls to
thoroughly rinse off my soon-to-be newly purchased glider. Bill and Steve
themselves even joined in on the task. After we rinsed Steve's harness and
washed his parachute and hung it off a high point to dry, Steve then helped me
break down my leading edges to clean out the sand he suspected I might find
inside. It was there, more than I would have believed.

Steve makes a good point about water landings that I feel compelled to share. As
I approached the water to land, I was already mentally preparing for my escape
if the surf turned out to be deeper than I had anticipated (luckily it was only
thigh deep). I had planned to hold my breath and reach back to unlock the
carabineer and unclip as soon as possible.

Steve told me others have tried this in pool simulations with safety divers at
the ready. No one, however, has been able to accomplish unclipping before
running out of air. The closed cell foam inside the harness is so buoyant, it
will pin you to the sail. The fastest way to escape being drowned beneath a
suffocating sail, he explains, is to unbuckle the front, unzip, and swim out of
the leg loops without even trying to unbuckle them, leaving the harness
altogether.

Decisions of one's approach to an escape from a water landing need to be made
before launch, not in the handful of seconds one has before realizing a landing
on water is inevitable. Gerolf also pointed out that a decision to make a 180
degree turn back to the beach the moment the anticipated lift was not found
should also have been made before taking off, not in the air while a few seconds
of pointless optimism takes that option away.

All and all, the outcome was good: a new glider, a good story, a lot of
learning, and an even better impression of the Moyes family (if not all
Australians).

http://ozreport.com/13.021#0

http://ozreport.com/13.034#0

http://ozreport.com/13.039#0