Tandem Girls from Berkeley

Click image for more photosMelanie, Xiofy, and Cheryl fly Tandem
And Kuno gets back in the air!

Paul and I took an early ferry to Saltspring where we meet up with David, his two daughters Melanie and Xiofy (Sophie), his wife, Cheryl and their Saltspring friend Michelle. The plan was to do tandems with the girls and Cheryl but the weather wasn't looking like it was going to cooperate (overcast, light drizzle).

Kuno met us in the LZ and, since the van was low on fuel, he offered to let us use his truck while he ran to Ganges to refill (thanks Kuno!).

After a hike through the surprisingly-tall and dense alder, we arrived on launch to find the wind light but over the back and rain. Ugh.

After some 'parawaiting' we were just about to pull the plug when the rain stopped and a light cycle came straight in. Paul quickly helped me lay out and Melanie and I were off together before anyone knew it! As it turned out, Melanie had seen paragliding at Saleve in Switzerland during a visit there and had always wanted to fly.
Her sister yelled off after us, "I get all of your money!"

Melanie was quite relaxed in the air as she pointed out deer and other wildlife during our smooth flight. You lead the way Melanie and you did great!

After landing, the crew meet up down in the LZ and we loaded up the van and headed back up. This time nice cycles were consistently rolling through. It was Xiofy's turn to go and she and I launched off together on the first attempt and were soon soaring out front above a bald eagle, looking back down on the takeoff! We continued to climb in the thermals drifting towards the hangglider takeoff, before heading east down the ridge and out over the valley. Xiofy was a bit more animated than her sister during the flight and we landed together in the very same spot, just before the windsock.

Click image for more photosAs Paul drove down, Kuno launched off for his first high flight since the winter in Hawaii and he set up for a nice touch down beside us in the LZ. Way to go Kuno!

Back up for a third time and the sun came out for Cheryl's tandem and we launched well together, before finding the valley wind had started to kick in, breaking apart most of the useable lift away from the mountain. Regardless, Cheryl enjoyed her flight and we touched down together quite gently to end the flight.

Paul wasn't far behind us and Kuno rounded out the day with a second flight, complete with a soft landing.

David was tempted to have a tandem flight himself but due to time constraints, we decided to hook up someday in San Francisco and fly the 'Dumps'. Great to spend time with you all and looking forward to seeing the photos you took!