12 Jun 08

12 Jun 08


Double Bubble
Ariane was on duty as P1 today. Storms were forecast once again, though now restricted to the Italian border leaving only showers elsewhere. Three tugs and an early start caused a rather rushed take-off but we managed to get away from Hongrie and establish ourselves on Authon. Cloudbase was lower than yesterday at about 6500ft and a heavy shower was already visible over the Cheval Blanc.	Another fine day


Cousson	The way was clear down to the Lac Ste Croix so we headed off down there to enjoy somewhat better conditions. We returned via the Bleone valley between Digne and St Auban and onto the Vaumuse, where we picked off a thermal just off the ridge that got us back onto Authon, allowing as a further opportunity to explore the Sisteron cuvette before landing back at base.

Also on today's agenda was a flight for Evan, our house-guest. I took command for this one and we launched straight onto the Gache which was now working a treat in the 15-knot north-westerly. A quick climb took us to 6500ft where I tried to find a way to get to the convective clouds frustratingly just out of reach. The day was cooling and the local thermals were no longer working that well, so I went for Plan B, a wave hunt in the direction of Chabre.

Wave-hunting

Amazingly, for once my plan worked as we hit 8 knots of wave over the gorge de Meouge, which we took from 6000ft up to the base of the airway at FL115. We pressed on to the north to the Rosan and Aspres valleys, looking for the big wave off the pic de Bure. Alas, a couple of attempts there both failed and, as time was getting on, we retreated back to base for a late landing.