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Sisteron Town
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We
played the usual game of "Launch-point Spoof"; persuading the
gliders in front to take off immediately to give those of us behind a
chance to assess their performance and re-align our own plans. So, Bob
disappeared on a long tow to Trainon. Roger disappeared on an even longer
tow to somewhere even further east: in fact, it was such a long time
before his tug returned that a brisk north-westerly wind had appeared, making my choice
really easy: short (and cheap) tow to Gache, please Monsieur Tuggie. To
be fair, I didn't have great hopes for today. A brisk wind from the wrong
direction would make working the parcours and the Ecrins tricky, so after
climbing away off the tip of Gache I made for the Lure to see if there was
any wave about (I know, I know....). Even if there wasn't wave, at least
some good looking cumulus lay over the Baronnies to give me an
alternative. |
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Pic de Bure
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There
were some great streets leading north and I reached as far as the col des
Claps before they petered out. By then I was close enough to the pic de
Bure to start probing for wave. It was only when I reached the eastern
face that I found 3 knots or so which helped me up to about
13,500ft. I still didn't fancy
the Ecrins from there; the cumulus tops were being torn by the wind (which
was around 33 knots NW where I was) so I stayed closer to home, finding
secondary wave bars near Montserieux, and further weaker bars further east
until they disappeared past Blayeul. I landed shortly afterwards - not a
great flight but still worth the launch. |
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Descending
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But wait - the day was not yet over. Back
at Noyers, the main road through the village had been closed so that the Bar
Centrale could hold its moules-frites evening for the locals. The guest
singer was Julie Jourdan who, during her set, built a great rapport with the audience
while belting out an eclectic set of French and English songs, both old
and new. This turned out to be a really enjoyable evening for all concerned,
especially when Julie provided me with some personal hot feather boa action... |
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Bar Central
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Julie Jourdan, feather boa resting
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