. Wings and Whale Sharks .

Wilderness. Pure hang gliding pleasure...

2012-01-10T12:32:00.000-08:00

This is a pic of Jeremy enjoying himself over the Kaaimans river mouth.

I bet this must be getting a bit borring - another day in perfect Wilderness (Paradise!) But I am compelled to share. ;) We had a session on the training dunes first where Brett had another couple of runs in the hang glider (he is def starting to get the feel for this thing). Then the South Easter started to push hard and I was worried that it might get too strong at the Map for the other two enterpret pilots, so we left early. Of course I needn’t have worried. The Map was perfect – not a dangler in sight – and it remained so all day. :)

Devon and Jeremy where up for it and soon they were climbing in the good lift. They pigged out on the great conditions having skies all to themselves. They did multiple runs to over the Wilderness village. After an hour they had enough and both did perfect landings on the beach. It really is so easy to get ample airtime around here…

Jeremy turning over our landing area..

Wish you where here! :)

Wilderness for hang gliding is number one.

2012-01-08T11:18:00.000-08:00

Training and learning to fly a hang glider in these conditions is so easy. It has made life for a hang glider pilot an absolute pleasure. Months and even years of hard sweat and slogging it out are done in a matter of days and progress in the art of hang gliding is made easy. To learn to fly a hang glider, there is only one place - Wilderness. (Maybe the school and guidance has something to do with it too... ;) A few pics of the flying today at Gerrickes. Once again there was not a dangler in sight. Oh such sweet pleasure..!

This is Jeremy having a blast at our famous super-up-rocket-no-ways-going-down-Gerrickes point. Pics just after launch with Pete and myself as wiremen looking on (up!) in envy! (Anthoni is just out of view - he was one of the wiremen).

And later the rewards of classic Gerrickes flying for hang gliders - soaring above the orographic cloud with views second to none... In the back ground you can see Anthoni Divaris on his Wills Wing Sport2. To think that Jeremy was right up there and that after just 8 days of training. This place rocks! :))))

Wish you where here! :)

2012 - Hang gliding training report

2012-01-04T11:21:00.000-08:00

Paradise Ridge Paradise Ridge! It has been rocking for two days solid now. Warm, sunny weather, endless white sandy beaches, blue ocean and a ridge that runs until it disappears! (well when it is a little misty anyway! ;) But this is the kind of training conditions any student dreams of and Jeremy has made good use of it. Of course I always have the privilege of flying the glider down first flight but not before I go for a quick sortie down the ridge. It is always a challenge to scratch up from the 60ft sand dune, gliding along it like a sea gull, eking out the light lift before getting onto the steeper and taller sections. Here the dependable Paradise lift rockets one up in even the lightest of winds. It is just so cool.

Jeremy has been making steady progress the last few days and as luck would have it the conditions just turned on right. An extra bit of a breeze and on only his 5th day of training he pops up onto Paradise ridge for a half an hour soaring flight. It was not that easy. He flew like a star in the beginning, just at the right speed to make it onto the steeper part of the ridge before climbing to about 500ft for a relaxing first soaring flight. Well done Jeremy! We will do some more tomorrow.

this is Jeremy over the training dunes with the Paradise ridge disappearing into the distance in the back ground.

PS: Dirk just called. He did 140km in Porterville today landing other side of Klawer. Apparently it was a very difficult day with many pilots landing because it was too rough or they just didnot want to saty up. This is his first 100km straight line flight. Good one Dirk! It would be great to hear your story! :))))

We love summer! Wish you were here!

Wilderness Wizards Champs finals.

2011-12-31T14:27:00.001-08:00

Richard "Boom" doing what he knows best!

Day four… the finals.

The pilots were tired; three days, 6 tasks and three different sites. Even so, from somewhere enthusiasm was dug up and the boys opted for the traditional dune gooning day – after all, this is the Wilderness Wizards hang gliding championships! Now dune gooning is a lot of fun but it can also be a bit of an energy sapping affair. Playing on the sand dunes with a hang glider might sound romantic but after one carry to the top the idea of romantic is pumped right out of the brain in a matter of a hundred heart beats in less than 30 seconds. Of course the boys where all grins afterwards and recon it well worth the effort.

We started with a thriller – the tandem team task. The rumours of such a task have done the rounds over the years so the pilots looked forward to it but with much trepidation! Only Dirk was qualified as a tandem pilot, for the rest it was a matter of “oh mother!” Of course it proved to be worthy of reputation and no one walked away disappointed, or mentally unscathed. Surprise winners were Richard and Anthony who were the only pair to do a foot landing. They showed the experienced old boys how it’s done and amazed one and all (Including themselves!) by landing a mere 5 meters past the spot!

Richard and Anthoni going for the spot in the tandem task.

Wally and Dirk on the way to the top of the dune busy with tactical chit chat.

Then there was a dune time trial which entailed a flight from the top of the dune to the spot but with a time limit of 60 seconds flight duration. It meant you had to use the lift but only for a very short while or else you will fly for longer than 60seconds! Conditions where perfect. What struck me was that even though the whole of Paradise ridge was littered with danglers, not one of the pilots flew off for an extended soaring flight. Instead they opted to fly the tasks joining in the spirit of the comp. The buoyant conditions made for tricky approaches and the time penalty added an awesome tactical dimension to the challenge. The old boys thought they had it in the bag when Dick and Pete managed to land perfectly just 2 and 1.8 m from the spot with good time bonuses too but then, and once again to everyone’s amazement, Richard landed perfectly on the spot. It made the old boys almost ‘dik-bek’ and to cool off they did a quick impromptu skinny dip in the sea. Almost everyone joined in on that one and it turned out to be a highlight of note!

Pete about to hit the spot.

Summer time beach weather and a hang gliding competition – what a cool combination!

After lunch and a bit of a siesta we all headed off to Sedgefield for a late afternoon glass of flight. Dirk was off first with the task a simple max height gain and then spot to end off the day. Dirk did well with some spectacular speed glide sessions past take of which made one and all, danglers, spectators and hang glider pilots take note. The new T2 sure looks pretty and sounds absolutely awesome! Of course it was late in the afternoon (around 5) and lift was scarce and weak but Wally managed to luck into finding the convergence section on the ridge and long after every other pilot had landed he still managed to buzz take off and then head back to the convergence and climb another easy 500ft ATO or so for another fly past.

That evening we had a chilli con carne speciality prepared by Vangi, Pete’s wife. This has become a tradition for the Wizards Champs and those that have experienced this delicacy in the past always make sure not to miss out. We had the prize giving which was a fun affair. Filled with wine and beer everyone chilled with chilli con carne while we relived exceptional moments of flying with the help of those tiny little camera’s – the go pro. For this season, Anthony of course was the highlight with perfectly positioned and timed camera moments. Anthony has achieved cult classic status along with greats like Richard “Boom” van Niekerk for their epic adventures captured on film. Everyone present had to wipe tears of laughter from their eyes after watching their perfectly executed but unrehearsed performances of what hang gliding often is but should not be like. They are without a doubt our favourites.

Of course the big question is who walked away with the prize of being crowned the Wilderness Wizard Champion title of 2011. This closely fought contest between Pete and Dirk for first place and then the tussle for third between Richard, Anthony and Wally was a pleasure to follow. In the end only one man can be the victor even if it felt like we all were winners. Anthony just got piped from 3d at the very last moment by his impressive wing loading while Wally’s discovery of the late evening convergence gave him a nudge enough to match Richard “boom”s impressive spot performances. Wally and Richard both tied for third place which is probably a very fair result. Well done to the boys.

And then the clincher of the lot – the race for the Championship title and what a contest it was this year. In the words of the new Champ, “the best contest we have had in 5 years”. For runner up in words that epitomises the idea of good sportsmanship he congratulated the Champion by saying, “I did my best and you beat me fair and square but I will get you next year!” A worthy congratulations to our new Champ, Peter van den Berg who out flew most pilots almost every day. So much can be said for experience. Well done Pete!

And then to all the other competitors and visitors – Roelof and Arne from Gauteng, Dick, Grove, Greg and Lennox from the Cape who flew on some of the days and to the ladies who helped with retrieve and some scoring – you are all just awesome. No doubt you will let one and all know what a cool event this is. We hope to see you all again next year, same place, same time.

Wilderness Wizard hang gliding champs 2012 role on!

Peter van den Berg - the new Champion!

Wish you where here!

Wizard Champs day three

2011-12-29T13:43:00.000-08:00

Richard just over shooting the spot. notice the disappointment! ;)

Day three…

I have to start by saying that I have never laughed so much in my entire life as I have done during this competition. Who would have believed that a hang gliding competition could be so much fun!? But the truth is these little go pro cameras are just so awesome – personal funny moments become public property to be enjoyed over and over again. There is some landing moments that are all time greats and it is not just me that think so. :)))

Day three saw the morning start with beautiful cumulous clouds popping along the coast which indicated that the day should be unstable with good thermic flying conditions. The first task then was a cross country run from Sedgefield to the Map of Africa – a distance of about 20km. The flight takes the pilot over lake and forest areas; something that makes the flight far more challenging than the ordinary. Of course for those wishing not go XC the usual height gain and spot landing option as available.

As it turned out the wind quickly backed to the South East, which was not forecasted and the day became rough and turbulent. Less than one hour later everyone had landed, opting to go for the spot bonuses that were up for grabs. Much to Anthony’s own surprise he managed a magnificent approach landing within a wing span of the bulls eye making him the spot victor. At this stage it looks as though Pete might have claimed the height gain prize for the morning flight but not after a close chase from Dirk who is in second place.

After lunch we all headed up to Gerrickes point. Here the awesome view greeted us with a good south east wind – conditions were perfect. An open cross country task was set with a height gain section and then for those that thought flying distance from a coastal sight not possible, the usual spot was made available. Of course competition leaders, Pete and Dirk where the only two that opted for heading out on a cross country flight and from just 1200ft headed down the ridge. Low and behold they both landed within 2-300m of each other, near the klein krans car park after a milky run down the Paradise ridge. It was a brawn over experience moment with experience proving to be the victor – Pete walked away with this part of the contest.

Richard “boom” van Niekerk, our first day leader has been suffering from a bit of sunstroke which has put him slightly on the back burner but I have no doubt that we will be seeing much more of this very talented pilot in the future. Richard is currently in joint 2nd place with our multiple Wizard Champion, Dirk van Loggerenberg – it does seem as though Pete has managed to hang onto his lead going into the 4th day. In the end it seemed that hang gliding was the victor – the many personal best moments for every pilot far outweighing the personal gain of the individual.
Tomorrow shows cross country promise. Who will be the Wizard of the day? Stay tuned to find out. Role on day 4 of the Wilderness Wizard hang gliding championships 2011!

Wish you were here!
:)

Richard "boom" on Gerrickes point showing the long Paradise ridge in the back ground - Dirk and Pete went cross country down that part making almost to near Wilderness.

Day two Wizard Champs 2011

2011-12-28T13:30:00.000-08:00

This is Peter van Den Berg. Leader on day two...

So day two of the Wilderness Wizards hang gliding championships have come and gone. It was spectacular to say the least and one and all nodded their heads in agreement to having flown two great tasks for the day.

It did start with some rain of course, well, a drizzle to be more precise but we were unperturbed and headed to the Map. By 10 all were rigged with not one dangle in sight - heaven! The wind suddenly came up and I having first thought of a speed glide to the bottom decided to allow the pilots to get some airtime. This was something that later on might just become impossible when all the danglers decide to crawl out from under where ever they take refuge at times when there is no wind or if it is blowing a storm. 30minutes elapsed time from the start of your run until your feet touches the ground plus max height gain, plus the dreaded spot - something that has proved to be a slight embarrassment for many of the top pilots. Of course Mother Nature had to throw us a curve ball. Just after everyone got in the air a few clouds upwind along the coast started to produce rain again. This in turn effected the soaring conditions and suddenly it became very light and the pilots had to scratch to stay up. It made for challenging flying and tactful decision making in order to be able to glide in and still make the spot – which most pilots did not make.

On launch again at 13:00 after everyone had a quick lunch. This time around the wind had really switched on and along with that so did all the danglers. I contemplated cancelling the task because of the danger of having a mid-air collision during the pressures of a comp. We all secretly cursed the mother who gave birth to the inventor of this popular inflatable fabric wing. The pilots rigged and we waited, dragging our toes – well at least I did while contemplating a task. Finally the wind was up proper and most of the danglers were grounded so I called it on. One hour elapsed time, max altitude and spot. It turned out to be a great task with conditions dropping slightly towards the end of the time sequence but before the hangies had to battle airspace with the danglers the time was up and they had to go for the spot. I have to say that the afternoon landing efforts where a definite improvement on this part of the contest so far – the calibre of the landings leaving a lot to be desired for at this stage of the game!

The pilots contended valiantly, not just with each other but also with themselves, even if just to improve on yesterday’s achievements. Our early leader was taking things just too casually and lost the lead after task three. Richard “boom” had to make place for Peter van Den Berg. Even in the lower ranks positions shuffled around. Noticeably was the performance of Anthony Divaris who found himself in second place after the first day’s task. Unfortunately he too had to make place as the more experienced pilots started to show their metal.

I have to mention Hanneke and Van Zyl who both, as a husband and wife hang gliding team, did superbly today. Each had their first soring flights which were in the order of one hour and at good altitudes too. Not surprising they were delighted during the customary beer time after all the action.

Well done to the pilots! Really wish you were here! And role on day three of the Wilderness Wizard Championships 2011!

Wilderness Wizard Champs day 1

2011-12-27T17:30:00.000-08:00

Richard "boom" near the clouds, or white room as we call it. He is over our Sedgefield landing zone.

We are running the 2011 Wilderness Wizard Hang Gliding Championships. It is a small, informal and social hang gliding meet from the 27th till the 31st of December, aimed at having fun and just promoting the sport in general. We have been doing it for the last 4 years and believe it or not have had the same winner every time. Could this be the year of an upset? The competition between the competitors are certainly getting better...

The following days will be a report on this fun and friendly event.

After the innitial long term forcast of rain, the fiirst day turned into a boomer. At first we thought we would not even get a leg off the ground but ended up running two full tasks. Sedgefield was the choice and the very large field of 6 pilots made their way to the top where they were greated with a beautiful view - not one dangler in sight. Of course it did not last but for a while it was good. ;)

Our task was simple. Get as high as you can, fly for as long as you can and then do a spot landing. Of course you needed to get airborne first and in what was probably a first in SA (and almost a hat trick for Mother nature!), first Dirk and then Wally broke an upright on their launches. What can i say - rookie mistakes... (Thank goodness that was all that got broken). The result was that Anthony followed with a very nervous but good launch and finally the day's task was under way. Soon Richard, Pete and Anthony were climbing all the way to cloud in what was innitially good lifting skies. After about half an hour everything shut down and they were forced to go for the spot. After collecting these three pilots we were back for task two. It was simple once again - another go at the same thing; get as high as you can, stay up for as long as you can and then do a spot landing.

This time round flight times were much longer and Lennox, Wally and Dirk joined in the fun. Dick in the meantime arrived at the beach hotel and opted for a flight there. He did ok in the light conditions and scratched at take off height for 15 minutes before landing on the beach and climbing those long stairs back to the car park. Meantime plenty of white room time was had by the gang at Sedge and then some very interesting landing approaches to say the least. Anthony mentioned breaking many personal bests - good one Ant! The evening was rounded off with beers and a braai and of course watching the many gopro videos of the days happenings (Great fun!). We will see what the scores are for the day but rumour has it that things are very close with Richard "boom" in the lead. Tomorrow looks to be even better with more pilots joining in the fun. See you up there!

And yes, wish you were here! Wilderness Wizards 2011! Go man!

Frontal surfing

2011-11-19T11:18:00.000-08:00

You could say that Dirk and I were slightly shell-shocked, suffering the expected withdrawal symptoms – missing the warm sunny weather, the smiles of our new friends and of course the predictable routine of flying. The cold South African coastal weather was a sobering reminder too of what we have lost. T-shirt and shorts made way for jeans and track- suit tops and I ended up piling the blankets onto my bed, even sleeping with a T-shirt on. It has been a major change but suffice to say that after ten years I know the drill.

Of course the major concern is getting the hang gliding school back on track, letting people know we are up and running again kind of thing. Some students though, knew exactly when I would be back so not surprisingly the first weekend was filled with flying action.

Van Zyl, a pilot from up country and our local pilots Richard van Niekerk and Guim Pienaar did some refresher training. Only having the weekend to play with we had our fingers crossed for good weather and as luck had it, the predicted cold front was only due to arrive late on the Sunday afternoon. We resolved to drive up and down the hill as many times as we could, the pilots doing as many top to bottom flights as they could.

So Sunday arrives and Richard being more experienced with about 50 flights in total, was not that keen to rig for just a top to bottom flight. Instead he stood around launch, dragging his feet and generally talking shop with whomever was around.

“I want more action!” he said to one and all, the light Southerly winds too light to keep the hang gliders in the air. Of course, to the south west we could see the line of clouds that marked the approaching cold front but it was slow moving so Van Zyl bombed off for a top to bottom ride. By the time we were ready for the second flight, the front was much closer and I quickly send him off for another 10 minute flight down to the beach. At this time Richard decides he is going to fly after all and starts to rig. By this time the front was real close and I urged Richard to hurry up. I was keen to see how Richard was going to handle it – the idea being that he will eventually choose not to launch and stand down, thereby learning a valuable lesson in airmanship.

By the time Richard was on launch and ready to go, conditions were very light but good -certainly enough to fly down to the beach in time before the front arrives. I judged it was not possible to stay up in the light conditions so figured it ok for him to go. Well, needless to say, Richard did not get to the beach. Instead, he flew magnificently. Like a pro pilot he darted to the Wilderness village and managed to remain aloft in tiny bubbles of lift, just enough until the front moved in. On the hill, there was a bit of pandemonium. “He’s in trouble!” some paraglider pilots shouted, pointing at Richard and his blue glider. Of course at this stage everything and anything in the air was going up – including Richard, at a healthy rate of knots. Well, he did say he wanted some action…

For those on the ground things looked worryingly. Richard on the other hand was having a ball, which was not an uncommon situation – things on the ground could be really nasty while high up in the air it was wonderful and of course this was Richard we were talking about. It looked spectacular seeing this blue glider circling up under those dark clouds and I could only hope that he would have the sense to stay out of them once he got nearer.

When Richard made his way to the beach for landing and found he could not come down, only the did the first thoughts of alarm cross his mind. (It's one thing to go up when you wanted to but quite another when you did not want to!) Naturally, being Richard he was cool as a cucumber and still enjoyed every moment. Then the beach umbrellas took off at 40mph down the beach and in some far corner of Richard's mind a bit of urgency registered and then only at the thought of the how difficult it might be to try and land in those winds down there. Still thinking heroic thoughts, he decides to run with the front. “Who knows!?” He said after wards, “ I could have rode this front up the coast for a new record flight!”

Of course, heroic thoughts or not, Richard’s inexperience probably saved the day as he dropped out of the lift and landed next to island lake, safe and sound but in a bit of a gale and rain to say the least. But this is Richard we are talking about. Gale hanging is one of his specialities! (A few privileged pilots will know exactly what I am talking about! ;)

It is quite an exciting start to our flying season.

Wish you were here!

;)

Richard just launched as I look on. And of course the frontal system moving in from the right. Thanks to Dirk for the pic!

Traveling...

2011-11-04T07:21:00.000-07:00

Dehydrated, bleary eyed, fuzzy head – how can people say that airports are great places to blog? I am in transit having just arrived from the Seychelles whale shark season. Not only do I feel woolly from the traveling but I do so in my mood too. How can one not feel a tad blue when leaving a place like Seychelles? Why, just yesterday Dirk and I where cavorting with two lovely ladies on an isolated rock surrounded by the picturesque turquois and granitic panorama so typical of Seychelles. (OK, cavorting is not the right word really ;) but the fact is Julia, Leah, Dirk and I played on this giant rock and the world’s biggest pool like teenagers in the sun. We jumped of the high spot, flopped in acrobatic high dives, (OK, I did!) did multiple swim through’s under over-hanging submerged rocks and laughed just like kids.

Just like kids.

What fun we had…

Leah and Julia - Dirk is in the water.

You will excuse me for feeling, bleary eyed, fuzzy headed and blue for a bit…

But just for a bit.

Wish I was there!

Nearing the end...

2011-11-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

Does the earth seem round to you too..?

Normally at this stage we are so tired that we cannot wait to lay the wing at rest. However, this time around for some reason this is not the case. Both Dirk and I, in a moment of poorly disguised nostalgia, mentioned how aware we were about the privileged lives we were living. Of course considering we were flying a little orange plane over the waters of a tropical island, seeing and recording amazing things; counting sharks, manta rays, dolphins and the like, what was there not to appreciate or like? It was all super cool but even so, I could not help but have some extra spring in my step for what it was that I was doing. It was not just in the job. There was something else too. All I know is that I wanted the season to go on for ever.

After ten years this was a first.

And you are forgiven for thinking we are just less tired than other years – seeing as we have not flown as much due to the bad weather. The fact is that for the month of October we have flown everyday but for five, which is very much how it has been in previous seasons. Of course the real truth is we have flown fewer hours but that does not mean it was less exhausting – in fact quite the opposite. In a previous post I explained quite nicely the stress involved in the decision making process of whether to fly or not and given that we have had more of those kinds of times this season one could quite easily argue that we should be even more exhausted than other times. Take one flight which lasted just 15 minutes for example.

We had just taken off and found ourselves heading due south. To our surprise a very large squall line blocked the horizon from east to west with towering clouds and rain. Even worse, some of the clouds were already pushing fingers past the squall line and rain seemed to be forming in a horse shoe shape all around us. It was an easy call to the tower for re-joining procedures. Of course at that point there were 2 Boeings, 2 twin Otters, a Cessna beach craft and a US U.A.V spy plane all lined up for take-off and us being the smallest had to wait our turn. We were forced to orbit and hold while we danced around in little pockets of clearings to avoid getting wet. Those 15 minutes sure felt like 3 hours.

Dancing in pockets of no rain...

So the fact that we actually were probably more tired than previous years yet regretful to stop made for interesting reflection. The only change this season seemed to be a change of heart and attitude and mulling over this only pointed to the same thing – walking with God. Yes, you’d better believe that. The high’s from our best flights and shark experiences cannot even begin to compare with this walk which I have to add has been the greatest adventure in my life. It has added that cherished proverbial cherry on-top!

Thanks for keeping us safe Big Man!

Wish you were here!

Amen..!

Perspective...

2011-10-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

Marianne, off the planet and happy!

29 October 2011...

Even though I would love to the reality is just that there is not enough time in the day; time to write, time to go through photographs, time to share and time to reminisce. Once again I am of sitting at the airport cafeteria and despite not having had a single drop of coffee for two weeks now, I am completely at ease. (The coffee bit has been far easier than I thought – seems like I am lucky – no addictive gene in my bones!).

The last few days have proved to be somewhat disappointing from a whale shark point of view. We have been able to get up and fly for much of the last days but the sharks have just not been forth coming. Today is Saturday and since I only managed a very short flight this morning – Marianne and I could not get around to the west side of the island where the sharks hang out – the bout trip for the afternoon has been cancelled. It means just a normal survey flight and a bit of a reprieve for me at the airport cafeteria.

Hey! Would you believe, David has just joined me sporting a doughnut and coffee, (Yes, I looked at the coffee – it did nothing for me :) David is of course the man behind the MCSS. Founder, chairman and maker of the MCSS, his passion and enthusiasm of late have become highly contagious. He has come to collect Georgia who has been at a Marine seminar in the Maldives. (Georgia lives in the flat down stairs – David calls her the scary one, which is very amusing to all of us – other than a few extra studs in her ears, very short hair that changes colour every now and then, she is of course anything but scary. Georgia is part of the permanent staff of the MCSS and because she has two surfboards in her room, I think she is way more than cool. :)
David and I have a light and very pleasant conversation before he heads off to meet her.

Marianne and I after her flight.

As it turned out (A fortunate turn of events you can call it) Niki, Marianne's daughter, accompanied me on the afternoon flight. We did not see any whale sharks but managed a few fish traps, a couple of schools of fish and of course, the beauty and perspective the view from the air brings. The whole island is cast out before you as if by magic – hours by car is captured in a single glance and dots are finally joined, even for those you did not even know existed. I allowed Niki to pilot the wing for a while – she turned out to be a natural pilot, flying the wing with ease within just a few minutes, no doubt I am sure, bringing new insight to her own abilities as all new experiences seems to lend itself to.

There was a large line of rain moving in from the south bringing a slight sense of urgency to our flight, often so typical of Seychelles. Even so we managed to get to the north and have a quick look for those very shy spotty creatures. On the way back we took a different route. Instead of moving right around the island we flew back up the west coast and dived through some cloudy layers over Anse Royal. It was pretty spectacular to say the least and seeing the endless smile on Niki’s face made me realise that true perspective does not come from being able to look down on our world but rather it comes from within.

These are the moments that define us.

Wish you were here!
:)

Niki high over Conception island...

Niki - a definitive moment...

Emma's clouds...

2011-10-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

28th October...

It rained hard and continuous during the early hours of the morning. Of course, being a pilot our minds have an eternal connection with the weather – inevitably sleep was restless. I kept wondering about the odds of flying, the unreliable met reports, staring at break-dancing wind socks, fighting strong winds and then rain in a little dacron and tubing aircraft. Interestingly too, the company of a lovely lady does wonders for a man’s soul and sometimes even succeeds to improve the weather. Whether Emma was empowered with some mystical magic or just plain good luck, we had a great day. For the first time in a while the weather held for a complete flight around the island. The wind was light so we could remain low level for the whole trip. It is a whole different ball game when one needs to climb to 6000ft just in order to clear turbulence. In this case we cruised around Beau Vallon bay at 2000ft. Then, we found a spot of convergence and climbed in the mild lift. A few bits of cumulous clouds had formed here.

“Have you ever touched a cloud?” I asked.
“Never!” She half shouted while I could not help but hear there was excitement in her voice. As we passed through the edge of the wisps I reached out and without saying a word noticed the outstretched arm and reaching fingers behind me. It was warm, slightly clammy but real.
“Wow…” Emma said while I echoed that no matter how many times I have done it, this is so cool. She mentioned that she has a thing for clouds and when I looked back I could see this was definitely a moment for her.

And that of course makes a moment for me.

Wish you were here!
:)

Just after Emma's moment!

In one piece...

2011-10-26T06:47:00.000-07:00

Sam and I getting a little bit wet!

Dirk has just arrived back, desponded but in one piece. He said it was his most stressful days flying he has ever had – and he didn’t fly! :) Welcome to the club Dirk! We know those days very well, “Should I fly? Yes! No! It’s definitely not good. Oh, wait. It’s looking better. Yes, it’s definitely better. Let’s go! No! That’s no good. Ah dang!” and on it goes for as long as you want to torture yourself. If you are inexperienced it lasts the whole day and you get back totally exhausted even though your feet did not even leave the ground. There are many days in Seychelles with that possibility which is why you need to be a pretty clued up pilot to make it work.

For holiday makers the weather is absolutely perfect – warm sunny, just a light breeze and they can’t understand why the pilot does not want to fly. Of course if we could take off on that side of the island it would be another story entirely. At the end of the day I support Dirks decision for not flying. It was definitely a pushing the limits kind of day.

The day before yesterday, Sam was my co-pilot. She is a beautiful brunette from Australia, a marine biologists and one of the MCSS interns. We had two flights in the morning – the first we were cut off by rain and on the second the turbulence (and rain!) was too severe. On that day I fell into an old trap – when you look at the windsock long enough and hard enough it will always look better than what it is.

Wish you were here!
:)

Up date...

2011-10-26T03:38:00.000-07:00

Season change with rain too!

Every year we enter a time when the seasons change. Here in Seychelles it is marked by change of the trade winds that swing from south-east to north-west. During this change over period the winds can be light and variable and when it is the flying is as good as it gets. Ironically, it is also during this change over period that the winds can swing to the south- west and bring with it turbulence that make flying as bad as it can be. This year, we seem to have skipped the calm bit and jumped straight into the as-wild-as-can-be bit. Not only is it unpleasantly turbulent but there comes a time when it is just down-right dangerous. The trick is to know when to draw that line.

I know that back home I would not fly in these conditions. It should be an easy decision then but when it comes to work and knowing what is involved – all the bookings of people wanting to dive with whale sharks and the bit of money the MCSS makes during this time of the year to help with conservation projects – it becomes a bit more difficult to say no. This of course is the wrong way of looking at it. It should be easy to make the decision not to fly because the real issue at stake is not the people wanting to dive on whale sharks but it is the life of the pilots.

Dirk is getting his fire baptism so to speak – it is his turn at flying and he has to make all the decisions. Of course I have been getting a lot of phone calls from him – what do I think? This morning was too strong for this wind direction and rightly he decided not to fly. This afternoon he has decided to ‘give it a go’ while I am not convinced. This dice can role so many ways…

Wish you were here!

:)

Update...

2011-10-22T04:45:00.000-07:00

Dirk is flying today. A large rain storm has just passed by, so I tried to call him. He did not answer his phone which might mean he is still in the air. Hhhmm.

He got a whale shark this morning and the boat went out for the afternoon.

I had a hard time the whole of this week. Dirk was off to the Island of Ladigue with his new wife to be - they got engaged on the islands - very cool Dirk and Jana! :) I generously agreed to fly for the week while he tried to dust off - perhaps tried to find is more appropriate! a romantic bone in his body. (Jana said he did OK, which for Dirk is amazing! ;) So, the fact that he was off gallivanting the islands with his soon to be bride and that the whale sharks are scarce and the weather was particularly bothersome made for a bit of a tough week. I am glad he is up there flying and having to make the thousands of calculations while I can up my legs a bit - catch up on the blog and so on.

Last week we got just three sharks. Luckily the Aqua-firma group managed to dive on two of them.

This was what I had to contend with while Dirk was sunning his butt! Spectacular out flow cloud from a large CB cell. To fly or live to fly another day?

Wish you were here!

:)

Which way..?

2011-10-22T03:25:00.000-07:00

“Honey, why don’t you just ask for directions?”

It is human to err.., get lost should I say and if science is to be believed then there are more people that suffer from topographical disorders than we care to believe or admit – which kind of explains a lot of things, I mean what man dares to say, “I am lost!”!? (Perhaps that is why so many resources are being thrown at the problem of navigation – so no man needs to say, “I am lost”! :)

Of course I have no problem in admitting I was lost, once. Thankfully just momentarily and I have to add, it was at 18000ft in my hang glider, high above a very flat landscape with no identifying features and I must have been suffering from hypoxia too – for a brief moment I couldn’t figure out why the sun was now on my right instead of the left before I realised that it probably means I am flying in the wrong direction! Many of my hang glider friends concentrate so much on circling in the rising updrafts that by the time they are high they have lost all sense of cognitive features. (I admit. That must be the most ambiguous sentence I have ever written! :)

Of course for aviators, getting lost it is not a new thing and the seriousness cannot be overestimated – it is no coincidence that billions of dollars have been spent on aviation navigational equipment. The industry is high tech probably second to none. In the hangar that we operate from there are two coast guard survey aircraft with survey and navigational equipment on board that are more than the value of the aircraft alone. (Using sophisticated infrared radar they can read the name on the side of a ship from 10 000ft at ten miles at night!). Around airports you will find even more high tech navigational stuff, VOR’s, Secondary Radar’s, Tracking beacons, transponders etc. But every now and then I get surprised with the ingenuity of man.

Wish you were here!
:)

PS: A friend said, because our little orange plane lacked navigational equipment they did that especially for us.

Cranky...

2011-10-20T02:06:00.001-07:00

Driving over the hill towards Victoria and the airport, the sky towards the east becomes visible. Living on the North of the island does not afford that luxury and even though this is the hip and happening part of the island it often has very little bearing on my world of flying. For me it is the sky to the south and east that counts. It is from there that all our weather systems come from – bar a few exceptions of course and being able to see what’s coming helps in making our local short term weather forecasts. After the change of heart from the weather reports (from dismal to good) I was quite cheery driving to the airport. The ocean on the north showed signs of light winds with flat and calm water making the prospect of flying even more enjoyable. Of course as I came over the hill the dark clouds to the east put paid to the happy ideas of flying. The forecasts have got it wrong, again.

The weather coming in...

Writing this makes me even crankier – I am sitting at the airport cafeteria and have made a pledge not to have one cup of coffee until I am back in SA. It is a kind of experiment, to test my resolve (of course I believe if I put my mind to it I have plenty resolve, so do I really have to prove it? Come on take that coffee, just one! ;), and also just to see what happens. The idea is to find out if my coffee habit is detrimental to my health and overall wellbeing – I am healthy but can I be healthier? And I know one can dig up many arguments about that lot but for now I have decided to head my gut. And even though my gut is wrong at times, l have been around long enough to know it is right most of the times. So it is no coffee for me.

Cranky! (It’s harder than I thought..!)

It has stopped raining. I am going to head down to the hangar again to see what the sky looks like toward the south. As we have become used to saying, “fingers crossed!”

Wish you were here!
:)

Quick up date...

2011-10-19T21:15:00.001-07:00

Would you believe the weather has changed? What!? No..! Yes. and for the better mind you. There is no rain for casted for today but for a bit of wind. We are heading out to the airport in a few minutes. The whole intern team is out turtle hunting this morning. Perhaps I can give them some support from the air in a while. They are trying to get hold of Carol, the turtle and she is actually a very interesting story. But I am off now to go fly. Will tell all later on!

Wish you where here!

:)

Dreams do come true...

2011-10-19T10:34:00.001-07:00

After todays hectic flying I thought I would get up a few pics from the nicer days. Just to kind of make me feel better... ;)

Here is a pic of Ali and I having fun over Beau Vallon bay. Ali is part of the Aqua-firma group and on her first day had a great whale shark encounter. The very next day she booked a flight in our little orange plane. Of course she loved every minute of it and I recommended that she takes up flying. She was very keen on that idea. I won’t be too surprised if I see Ali in the sky pretty soon.

The funny thing is that out of the whole group (I think they are twelve) she is the only one that wanted to go flying. The rest are just into diving! I just don’t get it. Who would not want to do this?

:)))))
What do you think? One of my favourite pics. On one of those perfect days when you can flirt with the clouds…

Yep, you should have been here!

Up date...

2011-10-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

Shoe! Just a short note - today I flew in some of the strongest wind I have ever flown in. It was blowing up to 50km/h in places and the sea looked angry. Of course the problem really was just in take offs and landing and at lower altitudes - it was very turbulent low down. Higher up it was actually quite pleasant, apart from the rain which slowly got worse. Yes, it was all from the outflow of a very large CB cell that covered the horizon. I know, I know, I should have known better but...

After spotting one whale shark in the morning this afternoon was disappointing. We did not get anything...

Wish you were here...

:)

Masks…

2011-10-18T02:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it is good to wear masks. It can protect you from the sun, from the cold, from harmful gas or as in its most common use, just plainly hide your identity. Take for example the day Jana spotted a whale shark.

Now Jana is Dirks better half. She has flown over to visit for the week, which has been good for all of us. Dirk is not cranky anymore and of course Janna provides new and fresh conversation. Inevitably soon she was sitting in the back seat of the little orange plane with Dirk at the helm. He had to show her the ins and outs of the island from the air but also just to be the man – you know, the guy we don’t always see but Janna knows all too well.

Soon, Dirk had shown her the local fish-traps, the turtles that hang out in the coves and those that like the deep water, seemingly just hanging out in the middle of nowhere. And the large schools of fish that adorn the turquoise waters like Christmas lights a city.

“Daars n haai!” (Theres a shark!) OK, I am taking some poetic licence here. Jana actually said, “Wats daai?” (What’s that?) But the gist was exactly the same – could that be a whale shark?
Dirk could see it too and put the little plane into a downward spiral.
“Ooooh..!” Jana shouted from the back seat. (OK, I’m taking more poetic liberties here :) But soon the large brown object became clearer.
“It’s a Manta!” shouted Dirk and the large wide winged creature took flight. They could see its flatness and tip movement and got all excited. Jana was.., OK I will stop adding colour to the story here – Jana is living in our flat and I fear some retribution…
“Ag, dis a palm tak!” Shouted Dirk. (It’s a palm leave) and the two made known their disappointment while they flew on and left the palm leave to its own devices.

Of course later on when Dirk retold the story to me he could not help harping on the size of the leave, “It was not just long but so wide…” his arms went as far as they could while his fingers pointed even further. And that’s what gave it away. You see I know that in order to hide their identity it is not uncommon for the Seychelles whale sharks to hide behind large palm leaves. And let me tell you, they are very, very good at it too…

Wish you were here!
:)

Up date..

2011-10-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

On Sunday afternoon I stumbled upon a lone whale shark. OK, they are loners anyway but this was our first shark in more than a week. Of course the boat was very happy. The sharks proved to be a tame one and kind of hanged around for a while. The Aqua-firma group loved it. It was their first day (Last week’s group left Sat and did not have one encounter for the week…) But this was a good start.

Of course today we tried the same thing in hope. For almost three hours I scoured the ocean surface for anything resembling the likes of a spotty creature but allas. It was not to be. So we are tired but on the way back I managed to get this pic for you. Base leg just before turning on finals. Not bad hey?

Wish you were here!
:)

Update...

2011-10-14T23:12:00.001-07:00

Dirk got back at 8:30 this morning. It is pouring outside and there will be no flying this morning. The met office says the rain is wide spread and only the southern islands have sunny weather. We have just on two weeks left for the official whale shark season. Bar a miracle I doubt there is enough time to recover from the dismal season.

Yep. Still wish you were here! :)

PS: Here are two pics as a reminder of what the norm is for this time of the year. Two whale sharks and two manta rays in the one and just lots of whale sharks. From last years season.

Climate change...

2011-10-13T23:01:00.000-07:00

South Point is on the right. Police Point is in the foreground. A rare gap in the weather allows me to explore the south...

O the irony. For almost a week we have been plagued by a large cell of CB’s hanging about in the south even if the north of the island was having fine weather. That’s where the MCSS office is – in the north and of course when all the marine biologists looked out the window they see fine weather. I can imagine they probably question why the pilots aren’t flying, once again! Of course the danger aspect of flying to the north where it is clear is that these CB cells can at any time move just a tad to the north and cover the airport, cutting us off from being able to get back and land safely. And it has happened a few times too – thankfully we were still safely on the ground (and happy at having made the right decision!)

Then yesterday we decide that the chance of finding sharks in the north is better since there have been higher plankton counts in that area. We set a plan of action and lo and behold, the large rain cells decide to migrate to, you guessed it, the north! So we sat at the airport with bright sunny weather to the south and rain in the north. I kid you not. What is it with the weather this time round? This has to be the worst season we have ever had. We are all frustrated – marine biologists, pilots, interns and tourists alike.

Climate change is real and if what we hear is correct then it is only going to get worse. I was listening to a program on BBC that mentioned climate disasters are up by three times as many as in the 80’s. Even scientists are working on coping measures rather than preventative ones. On the bright side, you might be living in an area that is going to get better weather in the future. Either way, change is upon us and for those businesses affected by the weather these are very trying times. The big question now is how does one set about a strategic plan of action for the weather? Get into a business that is not affected by the weather? Every time I sip a coffee I think along those lines… I have been for some time now. :)

Wish you where here!

Ten love...

2011-10-13T22:52:00.000-07:00

The fact that it was not raining was encouraging. Of course at the airport the stiff windsock and the met office report confirmed that it was too strong. Simon, one of the Aqua-firma tourists handled the news just fine. He understood my explanation with the clarity becoming of a haematologist. Simon was from the UK and worked for the NHS. Inevitably we explored the state of health systems in our respective countries, but soon the weather dominated our conversation again. Coffee at the airport cafeteria was on the agenda and for the first time this year I found some chocolate éclairs that made my mouth water. They were as good as they looked. (Yes, later on I had another! ;)

We agreed that we would try again tomorrow and I dropped Simon off at the taxi. Of course due to the pressures of the program I willed the wind to slack off, which it did – perhaps only in my mind – and at lunch time I made a run for the south to look for sharks. The wind was howling. There were no sharks and I was stretching my abilities.
Must be ten love to the weather by now…

Wish you were here!
:)

Drizzle...

2011-10-10T04:53:00.000-07:00

Racing from the approaching storm. I had just squeezed through a tiny gap between the clouds and the mountain in the background.

I am sitting in the open hangar of the Seychelles Military training academy. It is right at the very end of the runway and offers a great view down towards the south, the direction that most of our weather systems come from. From here I can make better assessments to predict the chance of flying. At the moment it is drizzling and towards the south it is gloomy and grey. For now the prospect of flying is slim to none – at least for the next half hour or so, which is how long it will take given favourable conditions for the system to clear up. Of course it looks more like these systems are taking their time to dissipate.

Normally by 11:30 I have already surveyed the whole island, located the sharks and informed David so that boat crews and passengers can be briefed. Today it is not going to be that easy.

The drizzle has just increased to light rain.

As if the weather is anything to go by, I have just heard on the news that SA lost to Oz in the quarter finals of the rugby world cup. A final score 11-9. It sounds like it was a close game. In a way I am glad I missed it. I am far too much of a Springbok fan to have been able to watch that game without getting worked up. No, it was much better sitting in the car waiting for the rain to clear up so we could go flying. Now what could be better than that? Yes, you are quite right – to be flying!

Later on I managed to get into the air and what an interesting flight it turned out to be. It had all the elements of excitement one could hope for – from a flying point of view: Lots of stormy weather, rain fronts, low clouds, mountains, turbulence. It gets really exciting when you have to calculate all these variables to make sure you can get through a gap between the clouds and a low valley in the mountains before it all turns pear shaped. As it turned out I could not quite get to the boat to offer air support and just to tease them even more, they spotted a whale shark but then lost it. If I had been in the air at that time it would have been a simple matter to get the research team onto the shark. Of course at that time I was sneaking through a low gap between the mountains and cloud with my tail between my legs, before it started to rain all over the show. Perhaps some other time I will bore you with the details but for now, let’s just say I am happy to be on the ground.

Wish you were here!
:)

Quicky...

2011-10-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

This was the rain that moved in at lunch time from the SE.
After the dismal forecast the day actually started not too bad. There were signs of rain but not the kind of down pour predicted. Andy and I made our way to the Airport with light conversation. He is an interesting man, working in the security business concerning CCTV monitoring – no doubt with todays’ technological advances an exciting industry to be in. He had also done a hang gliding tandem flight in Rio some years back. “My friends said everyone took of straight but when we launched we just dropped and disappeared off the end of the ramp.” It was by no means Andy’s most memorable moment. “Well, Andy, this is much more relaxing. No need to run and hurl yourself off any cliffs…” Andy liked that idea.

In the end we had a great flight. Smooth air with very light winds – all the time I was monitoring the CB cells which seemed to be all around us, as if we were flying inside a large horse shoe. The storms where slow moving so we snuck around the whole island without getting wet. Unfortunately we did not see any sharks.

Just before lunchtime, one of the large CB cells to our north east moves in and it starts to rain over the whole island. David and I have a hard time to decide if it is worth heading out or not. We are just so desperate to run trips especially since Dirk had such a spectacular afternoon the other day, even though he only got one shark in the morning.

The rain seems relentless. We cancel the day. The storm collapses and its clear all around. Eish… (The last bit are for all my South African friends;)

The whole gang goes for an eat-out at one of the islands more interesting restaurants, the Hot Rock but I decide to give a survey around the island another go. I manage the whole island and only run into a few drops of rain near the north. Still no sharks. Perhaps then we did not miss anything…

Wish you were here!
:)

Weather to or not...

2011-10-07T07:13:00.000-07:00

If the weather is bad, this is what you miss out on....

We are all guilty of underestimating the magnitude of the role the weather has on our lives. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we are often aware of the effect on our moods but sometimes miss the affects the weather has on our daily physical living – from the threads of clothing we wear to the real threat of living or dying. Even more fascinating are the emotions stirred once we realise the inextricable connection between these two idioms. Rather ironically, if you believe like I do, you can have the one exist without the other but you cannot have the other exist without the one. Be that as it may, I have created a new gadget – a link to “the weather where I am at”, for those that are interested in that sort of thing but also because it is so relevant to my life for the moment. Here in Seychelles our project is so dependent on the weather. Perhaps I should rephrase that to ‘at the mercy’ of the weather, which gives a better description of our current predicament.

Over the years, with the help of the MCSS, Seychelles has developed a reputation as a reliable whale shark ecotourism destination. During the months of September and October daily trips are run with a very high rate of success, probably of more than 95%. The majority of these are multiple encounters with tourists diving with a number of whale sharks in a matter of just an hour or two. The result of this has been repeat bookings for tour operators on an annual basis. This year however, the weather has been so dismal that the Aquafirma tour group, who have booked a whole week of whale sharking, seemed as if they were not going to head out to sea on a whale shark trip even once. They arrived on Saturday and by Wednesday the rain had not let up yet and the forecast for the remainder of the week was bleak. Unexpectedly Thursday offered a reprieve and the boat went out. Of course Seychelles lived up to its reputation and the tour group had a great time (multiple whale shark encounters). However, today (Friday) the rain seemed to have returned with a vengeance. Of course, the forecast for the rest of the weekend looks pretty dismal too.

Earlier this morning, Dirk and I both were woken up by the sharp crack of thunder that rumbled on into the distance. The flash was evident even through my closed eyelids and in my dreamy state I counted the seconds. “One and ‘bang!’ ” – the lightning was less than 600m away! Lying in bed in the dark I knew the odds of Dirk getting into the air today was slim to none. Rain is one thing but lightening quite another, especially if you are flying a tiny, little micro-light.

Still…

Wish you were here!
:)

Rain and rain and more rain.

2011-10-05T07:18:00.000-07:00

Tim and I racing from the approaching rain after studying a whale shark.

Tim and I were unperturbed. Like brave little warriors we headed to the airport even if we were completely outnumbered. The odds were stacked against flying but the pressure was on – so much depended upon us getting into the air. Of course safety does come first – always – but after many days of not being able to get into the air one starts to consider that which is not possible. Perhaps it is possible to make the impossible possible. We spotted a small gap between the rain and agreed to have a go. We were not complete fools – if it was bad we could always come back. Of course the fact that sky was filled with large billowing clouds and rain was falling from almost every one of them perhaps there was still something foolish about our efforts…

By the time we taxied out to the runway even the gap we had hoped for down to the south had disappeared. By then, we were hot and bothered. Double sleeved flight suits, gloves and balaclavas were not the best of combinations for the tropics. Of course up in the sky it was essential.
“Approach we will fly to South Point and then report on our intentions depending upon the weather.”
“Roger, on line clear for take of one three with a right turn”
At that stage all that mattered was to get into the air and get the air-conditioning going.

We climbed to 3500ft in a gap in the clouds and from there could make a better assessment of the approaching weather. Some rain was moving in but we could easily fly around it. The question of course was what lied in wait for us behind it. It did not look too bad so we kept going. Cloud base was at 1300ft and the lack of sunlight made spotting conditions very difficult. We found nothing on our first search but on the way back Tim spotted a nice 7m shark. We did an observational report on it and then tried our hand at a couple of interference transect runs. The idea being to find out at what height the shark responds to the micro-light. Of course it is all official and we record every move. It is actually very interesting and for a few minutes we got totally absorbed in what we were doing.

Hhhmm… A large rain cell snuck in and was almost upon us.

“OK, Tim. Time to leave for the airport.”
“I agree!” he said. We still need to fly around South Point to beat the rain but managed not to get wet.
“Approach, this is Echo Pappa Echo, ready for re-joining…”

All in a day’s work.

Wish you were here.
:)

Slim to none…

2011-10-04T08:32:00.001-07:00

I got this rainbow pic from our balcony the other day...

Outside the airport cafeteria it was pouring with rain. Tim and I had been chatting all morning about various conservation projects, from the Rodrigues Island in the north to the east coast of Africa. Many of these entailed shark conservation projects and that is so my cup of tea. Sharks have really been getting a raw deal with modern man – many large well known species are on the brink of extinction. Of course, in some areas the influence of man has been kept at bay and very healthy shark populations are encountered. We speculated about ones chances of survival when swimming in these oceans – slim to none were probably not far off the mark.

It was lunch time and Dirk joined us after he bravely cycled all the way from home. Of course he was sopping wet.
“If I am not wet from perspiration I am wet from rain but I am always wet!” he says while we tuck into lunch.

Our conversation was laced with the advantages of aerial surveys and what a great tool that was for conservationists. It was well known in African National parks and used even in combating pouching but very few people, including pilots and scientists alike, know about its uses for marine applications. Tim and I dreamed for a while about the possibilities the future might hold, something so typical of pilots and marine conservationists alike.

Three cups of coffee and some cool drinks later Dirk greets us and heads out somewhere on his bicycle in the rain. For a while Tim and I admire his commitment to staying fit. Then we start to feel bad ourselves and stop.
“To be honest Tim, the chance of us flying this afternoon is slim to none.”

He leaves for the bus station while I am left staring at the rain and contemplating the reasons for hanging out at the airport. Even though we have canned the boat trip for the afternoon, the idea is for me to use any clearing to get out to the shark area and see what conditions are like – is the water rough, is the water visibility good and most important are the sharks still there. The rain of the past two days has caused a lot of flooding and there is every chance that most of our target dive areas are covered in brown rivers of fresh water making diving and whale shark trips a complete waste of time. I watch as the water pours from the roof ignoring the gutter. Slim to none I think again before ordering another cup of coffee.

Wish you were here!
:)

Certifiable depressions...

2011-10-02T22:38:00.001-07:00

This is the lenticular cloud we watched above Beau Vallon Bay....

I have been thinking about the word depression. It’s quite ironic that the meaning of the word swings into the same direction in both humanistic wellbeing and weather terms. Their cyclic nature is so representative of life too, the ups and downs, the highs and lows. And to make this relationship even more interesting, you will find the two are inexorably linked with one another. In fact, we are experiencing that very thing. Let me put it this way.

There is a depression over the inner islands and it is raining cats and dogs. Our crew and tourists are suffering from depression that seems to range from mild to bordering on the certifiable.

The truth is that it has been raining for two days already and the forecasts are not looking any better for the coming week. One can only hope that the forecasts are wrong.

Just before the rain started, for the clued up, we were treated to a spectacular sight. If you are a weather buff or a pilot used to using Mother Nature as your power source, the beautiful lenticular cloud forming above Beau Vallon bay would not have escaped your notice. These types of clouds are extremely rare in Seychelles; occurring perhaps less than a handful of times per year. Dirk and I watched with joy (we were happy to be on the ground!) at the fast forming cigar shaped cloud. It was a beaut! The bottom had cumuli tendrils, swirling and curling in random fashion while the tops were ironed smooth in its familiar and predictable lens shape. The winds were gusting to 40knots on the water below the wave cloud – the white streaks of foam were reminiscent of Cape Town’s bays during a storm strength southeaster. To see such ferocious weather action from the usual tropical bliss brought with it a pleasurable awareness. After all, variety is the spice of life.

Wish you were here!
:)

Waiting for the sun...

2011-09-29T04:03:00.000-07:00

By now I have realised that sometimes all you have to do is wait for the sun to go around the earth one more time. While we know that the literal meaning of the words are wrong from a scientific point of view, we certainly do not fail to get the point. And the point or intent is what this life is all about – you know, it’s the thought that counts kind of thing. Of course very few people realise that that is exactly the whole point of the New Covenant but let me not digress too much here.

So we have been patiently waiting for the sun to go around the earth a few times now – every day bringing hopes of finding those elusive whale sharks. Not that they are supposed to be elusive around these parts. At this stage we have had a very slow season with not just a lack of sharks but also a lack in their food stuff – plankton. The waters have been very clean with water visibility around the 15 meter mark in most places. To make matters worse, the weather has also played its part in the delayed start with strong winds and then rain which hampered our efforts to get flying. Of course on the days we have been able to get airborne the lack of sharks was a painful damper to our initial enthusiasm of just being able to get into the air.

Yesterday was our first day of proper success. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I took Darren up for the previous morning’s survey flight and his enthusiasm might have spilled over into the water – his enthusiasm and talkativeness had no bounds. Darren is a new intern that has just joined the project and along with him, or so it seems, the influx of some plankton rich waters. (He did say he is bringing the sharks with him!). Tuesday afternoon was a myriad of action even if the day started slow. Right of the bat I managed to find a whale shark as the boat was leaving the bay, however after just a few minutes the shark dived before the second group could get a chance of getting into the water with it. For almost one hour nothing happened. I searched a large area from Anse La mouche all the way to South point, being greeted only by crystal clear water all the way. Then I spotted some devil rays doing loops. This was a good sign since this is a known method of feeding for these rays – there must be some plankton in the region! I got the boat into the area and for a while the snorkelers chased these elusive rays all over the show, every one managing to get a good look at the looping and feeding activity. At about the time when we thought it was the end of the day a whale shark surfaced. This meant that the second group got a got look before this one too dived but by this stage, we knew our luck had changed. Two more sharks surfaced and both groups got into the water before I left for the airport and apparently the sharks would not go away.

It sure does seem that sometimes you just have to wait for the sun to go around the earth one more time.

Wish you were here!
:)

Cake and coffee... 26 September 2011

2011-09-26T10:56:00.000-07:00

The Cake and coffee flight..!

It has been a few days since I have blogged anything. Allow me to use the common flu as my excuse – if there is such a thing. Thank goodness it is over though (Touch wood!) I still have some leftovers (yes, I know, it’s a bad simile) but the result is that I am holding back on giving things too much effort, you know, like life, which is a grand philosophy actually – giving things your all. I am sure you will agree with me when I say that we have all been conditioned to give it our all during certain events, like sports, or exams or things competitive but this attitude seems to be less stressed upon when it comes to the rest of our lives. Thinking about that logically, it makes no sense. Isn’t the idea of living to make the most of life? Surely then for you to become the best you possibly can be, you have to give it your best in all aspects of your life. Right?

Of course the problem with this philosophy is that it is based upon a choice. That is, you have to decide if you want to be the best you can possibly be. Most people don’t because they have not thought it through properly. Of course once you have it is easy to realise that is exactly what God wants for you. Now before you all go and think my illness have made me lost the plot let me explain why this is on my mind.

I was sick. I felt miserable and irritable. Even lying down did not provide any comfort. Then there was a knock at my door. A friend had stopped by to say hello and I, being in the mood I was did not show the most hospitable side I had. Afterwards I knew I could have done better. A lot better and this has prompted me to make a more conscious effort to improve my behaviour even when feeling ill.

I have just been interrupted by a beggar – or so I thought at first. I am sitting at the airport cafeteria sipping coffee – yes, it is sweltering hot but it is a cool habit for writing – when this teenage girl leaned over from the opposite table and asked, “Excuse me but I am hungry. Buy me cake.”

I had a myriad thoughts run through my mind; why someone could disturb me while it was so obvious that I was deeply engrossed in my laptop; why cake?; wow, a beggar in Seychelles?; God is testing me; don’t be rude now, be nice; this could be a great opportunity for Jesus; talk to the girl, be nice. It quickly transpired that she did not quite understand me. She seemed particularly confused at why I did not want to buy her cake, which of course was not true. I was merely intrigued and trying to find out more about her before relenting to the cake part, something I was particularly interested in – why cake and not a healthy sandwich instead. She looked like she needed to be in school so I called one of the waitresses over to translate for me.

“She would just like some cake.” The waitress said.
“I know that part” I smiled more earnestly, “but I would like to know, how old she is, why she is not in school, where are her parents and so on?”
“Sir” the waitress replied before she lifted a finger and pointing it to her head continued, “She is not quite right upstairs…”
The penny dropped. I remembered too what I was writing about when she interrupted.
“Its fine. I will pay for her cake – she can go choose any cake she wants.”
The waitress had a quick word with the girl at which she responded with a smile before quickly adding, “coffee too!”
“She can have cake and a coffee too.” I nodded while my eyes met the girls’. I remembered her glances at my coffee earlier on, that there was something off about them. I could not place them at the time but it was as if they were from someone about to die from malnutrition. It disturbed me. Now they were sparkling with joy.

The girl jumped up and walked off to the counter.
“She is 25 years old sir…” said the waitress next to me before she too made her way back to the counter.

Later that afternoon, for some reason the flying was particularly sweet.

Wish you were her!
:)

20 September 2011 - Dirk experiences paradise.

2011-09-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

This is Dirk on his first day of perfection. He is flying with Sam, one of the MCSS interns.

Dirk has just arrived back from his days work – all smiles, all hyped up. He is super stoked. This is typical of those that have experienced the tropics on one of those perfect days. No wind. Perfect visibility. He has seen things he has never seen. Come to think of it, he has seen things few men have ever seen. Manta rays, whale sharks, normal sharks, turtles, schools of fish, dolphins – you name it. He can’t stop talking.
Wish you were here! (wish I was better too!)
;)

18 September 2011 The bug strikes

2011-09-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

This is our old hanger roof. This is kind of how I feel...

My quarantine precautions had no effect. I have been struck by the bug. Thankfully Dirk has had three days of rest on the trot and he feels strong and ready to go. I am very grateful for that. Today was a bit of a struggle for me and after this morning’s flight, at lunch time I was just about out. Parked in the hanger I lay on the front seat and fell asleep for an hour and a half before I woke. And I only woke because some dude started a grinder right next to the car – literally! (They were doing some work on a rusted container inside the hanger). For once I could say lady luck was on my side, the wind had picked up and the gusts were reaching up to 32k. It had become just too strong to fly safely. It sure helped me and thankful for the break I headed home by 3. I have been dosing myself with vitamins so hopefully it will all be over in a day or two.
Oh, what am I doing? Did I mention that I took a lovely young lady flying with me? Mandy is a beautiful, blond blue eyed surf instructor and from Cape Town too. Last night she called to say that her boyfriend advised her not to go because he knows these things are extremely dangerous. She wanted to know if it is true. Of course it is, I said, which I could hear came to her as a surprise. You decide what you want to do and let me know. Afterwards Mandy reckoned it was probably the coolest thing she has ever done.
The sea is still devoid of life – we saw no sharks. There is a distinct lack in plankton and the water is quite clean for this time of year. We are all hoping for a plankton brew that is just around the corner.
Wish you were here!
:)

17 September 2011

2011-09-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

Tonight I am tired, so I am afraid I wont be doing much of a blog. It was a hard day of flying. We did not get any sharks even though we sent the boat out while I scoured the ocean for those little brown tadpoles for hours. Still the persistent strong winds and turbulence. The highlight of the day was flying with Julia, one of our pretty interns. Julia is from Cape Town South Africa and I so love the accent. Its like home baked pie. :) Of course she loved the flying.

Wish you were here!

:)

16 September 2011 - six love

2011-09-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

Rain approaching from the south at south point of the island.
Leah and I in my latest on sunscreen fashion.

Dirk is sick. It seems like he has picked up some flu virus. At first we thought it was just a little cold but it has turned into the typical sore body, feeling battered and blue thing. I have turned our flat into a quarantined zone – trying not to catch what-ever he has. Last night I heard him wheeze and cough and ordered him off. He is at home resting. Yesterday afternoon he found a whale shark in the south and that has made us all hopeful for today.

Leah, one of our interns, had her turn at being co-pilot for our morning survey flight. The wind was a lot less than yesterday which was a great relief to me. (I am becoming tired of having to fight this seemingly everlasting relentless spiteful wind.) Looking at the moderated windsock action my mind drifted to our earlier visit to the met office.

Francois is one of the weather office old-timers. We met some ten years ago and while his forecasts have not always been consistent one thing has, his smile – I have never walked into the office without Francois face beaming a smile and more often than not, echoing an infectious laughter along with it. It is always a pleasure to see Francois.

This year there are two new forecasters, two guys from the African continent and while I am not sure which country exactly, suffice to say it has to be from deepest darkest Africa. (What interesting characters!). John is tall and grey, while Said is short, bald with a set of thick spectacles – the bottle thick variety – and a smile with equally large off-white halitosed teeth. (Yes, I know there is no such word but I am sure you get the idea!) This discovery I made one morning when Francois laughter, being the kind it is, induced Said into a gut shaking joyful boisterous fit which sent me reeling for cover. I had no choice but to leave the office in jest – the white lie I was forced to use I have no doubt, washed to pure white even before it left my mouth.

As they say, it is the thought that counts.

But this morning as we walked into the met office and to our amusement, Francois and Said could not stop laughing. (Of course by now I was keeping a safe distance). “What is so funny Francois?” I asked while in politeness we joined in. “Well,” he said, “Do you want to hear the good news first?”
“Sure”
“There is no good news!” He answered while breaking into another fit of laughter.
“That’s not so funny Francois” I said in mocking seriousness. “You mean to tell me the only time I can expect good news is the day I find you crying?” At this Said’s shaking gut made me take a protective step back. It was probably the lightest moment of the day to be honest.
“The winds will be strong but the rain should clear up for the afternoon” he said and it was these words that I reflected upon while watching the moderated windsock at the end of the runway.

Met office zero, Mother Nature one.

Leah and I ended up having a great flight. We had to dodge and weave our way through some rain clouds, but the air was smooth and calm and she loved it. Even though we did not see any whale sharks, the crew decides to send out the boat in the hope of a bit of luck. However and I am sure just to prove a point, in the afternoon it rained and rained.

Met office zero, Mother Nature two. And that’s been the story of the season so far actually.

Still… Wish you were here!
:)

15 September 2011 - Cocos again

2011-09-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

It is not the just the weather that has changed. One of the first things I noticed upon my arrival this year is the cool and familiar immigration stamp. Yes, the sexy (I know I am shooting myself I the foot here) unique Seychelles Coco-de mer stamp is back. It seems that the people have spoken or at least that someone listened and acted. It is a huge feather in the cap for the Seychellois and the country as a whole. (Read the story I did September 21 in 2010 titles More coco nuts…) It sure looks pretty in my passport.
While on the subject of coco-nuts, Dirk and I have been cautious when parking near the beach – always looking up to see if we are not underneath a ripe, ready to fall coconut. We have been joking about the fact that more people die from falling coconuts than shark attacks. If we are so vigilant at looking out for sharks while surfing and swimming why not look up while on the beach too?
Case in point, it sure pays to be observant, which was exactly what I told myself, in chastisement actually, when my eyes met the wind sock – it was straight as an arrow, way past my safety cut-off point. Unlike other times when looking at the windsock from within the safety of the car this time round we were in the airplane, strapped in and ready to fly. I was blaming Dirk of course, but only partly. Ultimately I am the pilot and have to take responsibility for being here. (This morning I asked Dirk to do the windsock check while I prepared the plane. He reported that it was fine which I just accepted. Of course afterwards he mentioned something about looking at the windsock during a lull…) But we were out there and kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. The wind was buffeting the little plane while I struggled to keep control. A small hill upwind was the cause of these gusts and for now I thought it best to get out onto the runway and into the cleaner air. The plane was threatening to roll over from the strong crosswind, leaning precariously to one side. If a strong gust came through it would be all over so my eyes scoured the tilted swaying grass for those approaching unseen gusts. This was an old trick for strong wind flying. By watching the upwind grass you could see the swirling eddies approach and prepare so as not to get caught off-guard.
Behind me, on the back seat was Mark, one of the interns with the MCSS. Mark is a great guy. Not just because he surfs, or that he is an old-hand at air-traffic controlling and knows his way around airport procedures, nor the fact that he is the only male living with four beautiful ladies (they are part of the MCSS intern crew). Despite these experiences Mark comes across extremely modest. Dirk and I like Mark.
Mark made it clear to me too that it would be nice to see what it’s like on the other end of the radio. He could not wait to fly in our little orange plane but this was going to be a bit of a fire baptism. Needless, before he could say much we leapt into the air. While climbing I was being kept busy by the frisky air. It was surprisingly bumpy even for the windward side of the island, a side that is usually calm and smooth given that the air has just passed over thousands of miles of open ocean with not a piece of land or rock to disrupt the airflow.
We rock and rolled our way to 1500ft.
“How are you doing Mark?”
“I’m fine thanks!”
Ah… Sometimes you just have to love the fact that ignorance is bliss.

Wish you were here!
:)

14 September 2011 We are flying

2011-09-14T03:37:00.000-07:00

Reef Rash! I thought before I get to the really nice pics, let me get the ugly ones out of the way. ;) This is me after having paid my dues - I got bounced off the reef on my first surf this season. It was a combination of being rusty and then going out onto a really fast wave breaking on a shallow reef. It is all healed so we are good to go again. ;)

Now, the best news is, were flying! Well, I assume you would realise that since I did not do any blog yesterday. But first, let me tell you about today.

I was wondering what to write about. Of course it is a tropical island and you would think, what is there not write about but finding that something special to share with you is not always that easy. I ordered a cup of coffee and sat down at the airport cafeteria while these thoughts were milling around my head when I spotted a beautiful lady. Of course I kept an eye on her, just enjoying Gods creation in all sincerity. She had long straight black hair, matching thick rimmed spectacles giving her an educated look, white blouse that revealed just enough, tight fitting jeans with black medium healed laced sandals – those that seem to wrap around your feet and then wind their way up around open ankles to a spot somewhere in your imagination as they disappeared under the boot leg denim. Then her boyfriend joined her – not that it changed anything. I was still admiring her, thinking that some woman, are really just born classy. She had a long French loaf in her hand and while the two of them ordered coffee she broke a quartered size piece off the bread and before I could blink stuffed the whole chunk into her lovely little mouth. She couldn’t even close it but she chewed, white French loaf parts sticking out from both corners. I chuckled of course, knowing that not even I could or would do that. In my culture it is considered rude and would that not just be common-sense? What kind of lady would do that? I stopped wondering pretty quickly.

Yesterday afternoon I sent Dirk on his first solo flight around the island. I spent enough time with him so that he could get used to lay of the island, names of important places and the general procedure of flying with the local air-traffic controllers – which is a wonderful story of its own, one which had me in stitches a few times to say the least. But while helping Dirk prep for his solo flight, which at that stage he had no idea he was doing – one always keeps these solo jaunts a secret until the very last moment when just before start up you quickly slip off the back seat, smile and say, “enjoy your flight”! At that point there is no turning back and very little time left for the newbie to fret or worry about the idea of flying alone and they just do it. Of course Dirk was no beginner but like I said his radio work with the local controllers were something else and he liked the back-up company in the rear seat. Needles, as I slipped of the back seat with my customary solo smile – which had the same effect on Dirk, I looked forward to an hour or two of relaxing while Dirk started to earn his keep. Well, by the time he landed I came to the startling realisation that it was much more relaxing for me to fly with him than me being on the ground and worrying if he is doing ok!

Responsibility is quite something. And it seems to be getting more the older I get. Obviously it has a direct bearing on my work – as a hang gliding and micro-lighting instructor but I could not help think that perhaps my awareness of this sort of thing had grown a bit more ever since I had taken over as youth leader in our church. I definitely could not recall being so concerned with anyone flying solo since I can remember.

This morning I took Susie up for the survey flight with me. Dirk was with us but I wanted him to do more solo stuff, until he is more settled. Susie and I did not see any sharks but because of the many days lost due to bad weather we are sending out the boat in any event. David is rolling the dice so to speak – playing the odds of us finding a shark out there given that we spend sufficient time in the air. I certainly hope it works. The interesting thing is that I sent Dirk up there on his own again – he is learning and this makes it easier for me. In another few days we should be settling into a routine of one day on and one day off and that is my idea of island style work. I can’t wait.

Wish you were here!
:)

12 September 2011

2011-09-11T23:33:00.000-07:00

I like spending time with Dirk. Dirk is Afrikaans like me. We were sitting in the airport cafeteria and talking Afrikaans as if we were at home. I guess I like spending time with Dirk because it is like having part of home right here, in a much more cosmopolitan Seychelles. All kinds of languages are being spoken here; the expected French, German, Spanish but also Russian, Check, Ukrainian, Chinese, Arabian, Turkish (and Afrikaans!) In the last two years or so, Seychelles has really become a cosmopolitan society. I like it of course. Like so many others I too find pleasure in watching people and lately the socioeconomic environment of Seychelles has been a smouldering cauldron of change – it has brought on an influx of tourists from many different places which was a feast for the eyes and imagination. Probably the best change has been the opening of the market – it has gone from a closed system to one that is open to market forces, even the local currency has been floated and now boasts international value.
Dirk and I can talk about these things, in Afrikaans. After so many years that I have spent out here on these islands, being able to chat in Afrikaans has added new flavour to my time here; for most the liberty to communicate in your home language is lost and completely unappreciative.This morning we woke to the wind whistling around the roof of the flat. Nothing unusual but we could feel there was just a bit more urgency in the gusts. Yet, “Ek voel ons gaan vandag vlieg!” Dirk’s words were full of enthusiasm while my thoughts were more reserved.

The drive into Victoria and on to the airport was just enough for Dirk’s enthusiasm to loosen my doubts and with an extra bounce in our step we swung open the doors of the Met office. When Francois and Sa-id, the two forecasters, saw us they stared laughing. I took one look at the Anomemeter and groaned loudly which made the forecasters laugh even more. “Wat is dit?” Dirk asked and I pointed to the faint but clear blue recording line – it wasn’t just over 30knots but reached far beyond. 42knots. For the most part the recording paper was coloured in on the wrong side of 30. “Francois” I said. “It is time you guys turn off that wind switch. Enough is enough!” We all laughed.
For a while we joked around a bit about the nature of weather forecasts around Seychelles. Usually in tropical areas the steady trade winds make for easy forecasts – sunny weather and south east winds for tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after and the next, and the next etc. Somehow it was not working here. Today it was supposed to be less windy with chances of more rain while we got exactly the opposite. “I know what we can do!” I said while everyone waited for the words of wisdom to follow. “We can go and drink coffee!”
Wish you were here!:)

Surf pics

2011-09-11T03:03:00.000-07:00

Here are two more pics of our surfing excapades. Glen coming out with the larger set waves looming in the back ground. The other is me on one of the smaller sweet ones and then Dirk, our enterpret inwater surf photographer!

Life after flying

2011-09-11T02:53:00.000-07:00

Glen and I looking at the surf of a potential new spot.

11 September 2011

We have been bombarded with 9-11 news. It is everywhere. Of course one cannot help but think about these things and Dirk and I have been chatting about how the media can create a skewed representation of reality. Since 9-11 so many more Iraqis and Iranians have died as a result of the US invasions – we hear very little of these though. Of course it is tragic either way.

The relentless trade winds are still plaguing us. And it does not help complaining either – these winds are quite normal for this time of the year. Naturally we are asking for a bit of luck, just a slackening of 2 or 3 knots is all we need – it will make all the difference. Instead of 27knot gusts, which we can contend with, we are getting 30knots. Small difference it seems but it matters. We have missed three days now due to the strong winds and everyone is getting a little bit frustrated.

The upside of the winds is that it has kicked up a nice swell – as far as Seychelles standards are concerned. There has been some good 6ft sets coming through and it has awakened the long dormant surfer in me. I have not surfed for probably a year and after a few sessions in small waves of Carana beach my tender ribs (the part you use to lie on the board!) was starting to hurt less. Unfortunately I cannot say that for the rest of my body! The strong wind day made me think of a proper rest however, when a pretty girl asks you to take her surfing what can you do?
It did not take much for Georgia to twist my arm after Dirk and I arrived home in the early afternoon. (We spent the whole morning at the airport waiting for the winds to die down but after the gusts had gone to 37knots I knew it was pretty futile.) Dirk joined us (even if he does not surf). He has a new water-housing for his camera and has been taking some pics of us playing in the small surf but he was keen to try his hand at the bigger stuff.

After driving around for almost 2 hours, looking at spot after spot, I finally convinced the remainder of our party of a wave I know to be near Port Lunette. It is on the west coast and far to the north. There was a gap in the reef and I knew at high tide with the large swell running we should get some waves there. It was pretty intimidating though. The rip current running through the reef pass was strong and I advised Dirk that perhaps it was best to stay on the beach and take some pics from there. It did not take much convincing though – the fast running white water lumps bouncing through the rip made even Glen and I take note! After some heart stopping moments through the rip (could we ever get back out with this I wondered!?) to great relief we found our beach interpretation of the wave to be accurate. Soon we were sitting in the calm current eddy and surprised by the lack of current we managed to get a few of the medium sized waves. The big ones where breaking just too hard and fast onto the shallow reef – the large coral heads looming just under the water surface made my heart race as I sped past them and it made think that discretion is the better part of valour as far as the bigger sets where concerned! Still, Glen and I had a few making the whole trip worth it. Of course as I write this my neck is pretty tender and sore. Perhaps I need to slow down a bit...

Nah!

Wish you where here!
;)

10 September 2011 - Gusts!

2011-09-10T00:06:00.000-07:00

This is Dirk and I at 7000ft over Beau Vallon bay.

10 September 2011

There was a big grunt coming from the front seat. From behind I could see Dirk straining while the left wing kept dropping. It was clear that he was losing the battle so I did what any other pilot would do – lend a hand. Grabbing the training bars I heaved into the wing and with both of us hanging on we got the dropped wing back to level while Dirk muttered a ‘dankie…’ over the intercom.

We were taxing back after our survey flight around the island of Mahe. Now seemingly safely on the ground we had to contend with the ground gusts. In many ways it was worse than being in the air. Up there you can kind of role with the punches but down here you are a sitting duck. Being stuck on the ground one could not move and absorb the winds energy as easily. Whatever gusts Mother Nature throws at you, you just have to grunt and bear it. Keeping the large wing at the right angle was absolutely crucial – just a few degrees off and we could blow over. Don’t get me wrong. Within a certain range you have a fighting chance but once past that, it’s all over and over she goes. And it happens quickly. I know.

The wind was strong – gusts almost touching 30knots. It is a range that allows the pilot to decide if he is willing to risk it and fly. Once the wind gusts 30knots or more the decision is made for you. It becomes black and white and with that a peace of mind. It is stressful to stand there and watch the windsock dancing – then too strong, then not. Over and over again. The decision is made to fly but by then your stomach is pretty knotted and it makes it worse than what it is. It is all part of the job and of course with experience it become easier to separate oneself from the life or death emotions that cling to these kinds of decisions.

There are old pilots and bolds pilots but no old bold pilots.

At Beau Vallon bay, the lee-side of a tall as Table Mountain mountain, we climb to 7000ft to clear the rotor turbulence. Usually 5-6000ft is enough but with these winds we decide to play it safe – that extra thousand foot sure sooths the soul!

Sometimes it can be just as bad up high with some shear turbulence from the usual upper westerlies. But today it’s beautiful and peaceful up here. For a while we forget about the wind and stress and we both enjoy the stillness of our beings in silent reminder of why we do this.

Wish you were here!
:)

9 September 2011 Its windy...

2011-09-09T01:09:00.001-07:00

We have not been able to fly for two days now. Either the winds have been too strong or it has been raining. Yesterday it was gusting to 37 knots with occasional showers – def not flying weather. Of course, this morning dawned nice and blue with fluffy white cumulous adorning the sky which gets everyone’s spirit up. On the way to the airport Dirk and I perused the weather signs – swaying trees, the swirling leaves, ripples on little water bodies, birds, laundry, you name it; the trained eye does not miss a thing. It was still very windy. Stopping at the met office on the way the anomemeter confirmed our suspicions. Already 3 gusts of 30knots…

The last check was the windsock at the hanger. Surprisingly it indicated that it was doable but only just. With Dirk and his fresh strong arms to help hold the wing I thought we can manage! Once in the air it proved even stronger – it was blowing 30mph so we did not go anywhere in a hurry! The main problem was the churned up sea – one could not see a thing in the wild ocean and water visibility was around 1-3meteres for most places. We searched the southern seas of the island and after we had given up, on our way back to the airport we suddenly spotted one. A lone whale shark probably keeping its mouth closed from all the sediment in the water! Of course this makes for a tough call for a whale shark encounter trip. We have the clients but without the plane to spot the sharks or any sharks around, it is just not worth it.

Given the conditions we could fly but only on the wind ward side of the island. The boats could only do the leeward and protected sides which do not make for a workable combination. Word just in is that David has just cancelled the boats but we both feel very disappointed. All we need is a bit of luck weather wise and it will make all the difference. At least it is still early in the season.

Dirk and I are having a quick lunch at the airport cafeteria. We will do a normal survey flight around the island for the afternoon. We need to know if the sharks are here and where. That would help in making decisions. Of course our landing earlier on was as exciting as these things get. Dirk had to hang onto the wing and to be honest if I did not lend a hand at one stage we would have been upside down! ;)

Wish you were here!
:)

6 Sep 2011

2011-09-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

Dirk and I have been flying everyday - long hours and a very steep learning curve for him. The greatest challenge for him is becoming comfortable with the slight Creole/french accents of the air traffic controllers in Seychelles. It is actually quite comical. On most of their calls I see Dirk throwing his hands up in the air before I hear the comment, "Ek kan glad nie hoor wat se hy nie!" which basically means what on earth is he saying!? But it works the other way too. Dirk's answers make me smile while the ATC guys come back with short abrupt responses of, "You are unreadable, please say again!" :)))

We found 4 whale sharks this afternoon while the weather around us was starting to look pretty ominous. We cancelled a boat load of people in the morning for fear of the predicted rain but it transpired into a great afternoon, even if it was just the luck of the draw that we had a nice big gap in the weather to make a flight. The few people that where able to get onto the boat were very happy indeed! We left them with one shark after they had been swimming with it for 15min already (Later they said, they got tired and left the shark! :)

Just before we got to the office to down load the days data, Dirk and I stopped at one of the beaches, enjoyed a Saybrew while watching the sunset. Who knows what tomorrow may bring?

Wish you where here!

4 Sep 2011

2011-09-04T07:27:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update to say our new pilot Dirk has arrived early this morning. I kind of threw him into the deep end - he had just done a midnight flight from South Africa and still bleary eyed, before he really knew what was going on I had him in the back seat of our little orange plane while we did a survey of the South West coast of the island. The irony was that Dirk managed to spot our only whale shark for the flight, bleary eyed and all! :) He was quite happy to say the least.

The afternoon we spend fitting a new sail to our aircraft - the old one had done its time and a replacement was in order. It actually is a lot of work! We are really tired, heading off for a pizza at our local beach sand pizzeria and I am sure the sleep tonight is going to be really good.

Wish you were here!

:)

First encounters

2011-09-01T07:09:00.000-07:00

31 Aug. 11

Today we had our first afternoon encounter flight. Truth is we did not plan it. We got no sharks on the north in the morning flight so we decided to just do some dummy runs to get the new intersn some practice. Lo and behold we end up getting 4 different sharks. They were stoked to say the least. I had a long flight back in some moderate turbulence all along the west coast – managed to climb to 3500ft flying in a cloud corridor to try and avoid the worst of the turbulence. Was pretty cool. Just at sunset we get a nice shower. After the data down loads and log book work I enjoyed a Seybrew on my balcony. Yep. Pretty cool!

Wish you were here!
:)

Shark attack – take two

2011-08-30T06:45:00.000-07:00

Shark attack – take two
(Forgive the un-intended pun...)

1st of August, anse Lazio beach, Praslin – the second largest island of Seychelles. While many people where enjoying the tropical waters of a picturesque little bay, an ageless predator glided through the turquois waters, unseen. As in the movie jaws, people where oblivious of the imminent danger, cavorting just like they have done for decades before, playing, swimming, snorkelling, floating, sunbathing – just another day in paradise.

No one will really know what it was that attracted the large predator to this part of the sea: holiday makers frolicking on the surface, luxury yachts throwing foodstuff over board, fisherman chucking fish guts into the water, a stroke of fate, God’s will or just plain bad luck but for a 36 year old male French tourist it was to be his last swim in paradise. A scream; a large fin; a shout for help; a waving hand; blood – all the ingredients one would expect for such an event.
This was unheard off in Seychelles and with no medical facilities to handle such an event the man did not stand a chance. In fact, even if there were it would not have helped either. It was two local fishermen who raced in with their boat and hauled the mauled Frenchman on board.

On the 17th August, anse Lazio beach, Praslin, a 30 year old Brit was lazily snorkelling some 50 yards off shore. Once again there were many other bathers in the water – all enjoying paradise. His wife was sitting on the beach watching. Once again the leviathan was raised from the deep by reasons unknown, to strike at its victim. Once again a boat hauled him aboard before racing onto the beach. Once again it was too late, however this time around the Brit managed a final eye contact with his wife, a slight consolation perhaps from a colossal honeymoon tragedy.

Like in the movie Jaws, the media has latched onto the name that strike fear into all – the great white. Though it has been mentioned and not singled out, once again this shark has taken the brunt of the blame. I guess it is a name that sells. But the fact of the matter is that shark experts are not certain which shark it is. Three possible culprits have been named. The Great White, the Tiger and the Bull shark – all three notorious man-eaters. One tooth fragment has been found, unfortunately it is damaged and immediate identification was not possible. Given the high likely hood of Bull sharks and Tigers frequenting these waters they are the most likely candidates. Personally, the Tiger gets my vote.

Writing about these events is no easy matter and I have realised I am not much of a reporter to be honest. Reporters need to be callous. To go out and dig for the story from the tragic loss of others would not constitute a way of life to me. I doubt I would do it even if I could. Driving home today and watching all the tourists playing in the shallow waters of Beau Vallon bay during a spectacular sunset, so happy yet so oblivious, I could not help experience a bitter taste in my mouth. Life and death just do not go together…

The weather has been particularly bad for flying. The rain has played havoc with our flight plans. Yesterday the idea was to get the interns some experience but with a spectacular line convergence the clouds produced rain and turbulence right on the spot where we needed to go. Ironically it was clear to the South-west and the North-east.

Today dawned gloomy and wet. The wind was funnelling around the airport corner at over 25knots gusting to over 30knots. Once again we are grounded...

Business as usual

2011-08-28T05:40:00.000-07:00

This is me heading back to the airport after the rain had passed.

28 Aug. 11

I was racing to south point. Below the turquoise ocean sparkled in the last of the sunlight and for the time being the coral reefs were edged against a backdrop of shaded blue. The lush tropical forest and granitic hues made a picturesque scene to the right and for a moment I was captivated by all this beauty. Mother Nature sure knows how to turns things on! The dark rain clouds to the left put more urgency to my flight as I increased speed to 50mph at 1500ft. There was a clear spot other side of South Point, from there I knew I could skirt around this tropical shower.

Of course the best laid plans can go awry and by the time I got to South Point I was forced to just 1000ft to remain clear of cloud while I was being buffeted by some uncomfortable turbulence. It was rather surprising even after thousands of hours of flight experience in these tropical conditions. Of course, the flight up the west coast for the remainder of the survey flight was out of the question. Thick torrents of rain and low cloud in that part put paid to that. And by now, to the north east the rain was falling at the airport too making returning not an option. Nothing to do but wait- I knew the rain, like all things will eventually pass.

For the time being I skirted around the low tide exposed Capuchin rock. It was a favourite whale shark spot but even here there was surprisingly little action. Just the heaving swell swirling around the large granitic boulder while white foamed waves crashed over it only to disappear in the deep water on the other side. Here the water fell to over 40 meters and with the thought of the recent shark attacks the dark depths looked ominous. While my thoughts roamed into these inky depths imagining the size of 5 meter tiger shark cruising the depths, the turbulence shaking my tiny aircraft’s wings went by almost unnoticed.

After 50 minutes the airport cleared and I returned for lunch. All in all just another day’s flying. Par for the course, as one would say, nothing unusual for flying around the Seychelles island of Mahé in a little micro-light. And who knows, perhaps the afternoon might bring some sharks...

Wish you were here!
:)

Shark attack..!

2011-08-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

August 25 2011

It is raining. A good time for blogging – I guess!

In my previous post I mentioned something about a shark attack. Unfortunately there has been a fatal shark attack here in idyllic Seychelles. And it gets worse. There were two. Yes, two fatal shark attacks within just three weeks of each other and to add spice to this whole freak show, at the same place, the same beach.

It happened on Praslin island, to the north of Mahe where I am staying. It’s about 40miles as the crow flies from here. The repercussions of these two attacks are quite staggering to be honest. And I am not just talking about the family and close friends and related industry – personally I have put away my swimming goggles. Getting swimming fit and any hopes of hitting the open sea, as I have been dreaming about in the previous months have been put aside. Even when I covered two dings on my surf board with duck-tape, there was this underlying laxness in my effort.
Naturally the event has been all over the press and where ever I go, people have been asking, “Are you here to look for the shark?” To answer no, at such a time would be callous. “Yes, I will be keeping a good eye out for any large sharks with nasty teeth…” and people would smile and nod heads – happy that something is being done. The fact is every local fisherman has been out in the area with hooks, catching every shark willing to take the bait. Even Helicopter Seychelles have been in on the action, sponsoring and deviating flights to “keep an eye” out for the shark.

Suffice to say, shark is the talk of the town. Rumour has it that fisherman have been taking an unusual amount of large sharks from the west coast of the main island in recent months – apparently a few Bull sharks in excess of 3m’s and two Tigers sharks of 5m each. Ironically this is also exactly the area we do the whale shark encounter trips too! Given the shark hunting history of Seychelles, this is an unfortunate turn of events. With sharks (especially in Seychelles) very threatened this new pursuing of shark leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

But it is not all negative. The Save our Seas Foundation, have brought out a crew to try and put a different spin on the whole shark take. Instead of catching sharks they intend to use camera’s to help identify the culprit. Though I have not been able to establish exactly their technique it should be interesting to see what transpires over the next few weeks. Of course, personally I couldn’t help but feel a slight return of enthusiasm when I put wax on my surfboard yesterday – fewer sharks mean less chance of any biting me!

Wish you were here!
:)

Engine blocks and propellors

2011-08-23T02:54:00.001-07:00

20 August 2011

Seychelles is just as beautiful as I remembered – actually more so. Perhaps it is just that I am another year older and wiser so value beauty and time more than ever. But the fact is that everywhere I look I see the splendour of nature and how the creator managed a masterpiece with these little granitic islands in the Indian Ocean: Seychelles must be the prettiest islands in the world. As usual, man has entered the picture and of course is spoiling the art. I am struck with these two almost paradoxes – the beauty of nature and our planet on the one side and then man and his inventions on the other. For it seems that these two are mutually exclusive. But I am getting carried away here…

The islands greeted me with their usual soft and warm embrace. This time round I feel at home like never before. Driving to Beau Vallon bay we of course can’t help but talk about the latest news – shark attack! Apparently it has been making news headlines all over the globe. I will write more about that at another time.

For now, I have been working on our little orange plane for three days solid, all in prep to get her airworthy for the upcoming season. There is a lot of work and my hands have been tender in the evenings from turning nuts and bolts and things. Amazingly my feet are the worst. Standing the whole day on the concrete hangar floor is not what they are used to! :) The truth is that I am pretty tired when I get home so writing and posting something for the blog has been put on the back burner. As soon as things are more settled my posts will become more regular.

Abbi, Garreth and Laura are here too and it is great to see them again. They will be guiding the new interns on the whale shark program for the season – we have just returned from a pizza at the Baobab restaurant, a lovely little spot where you can wriggle your toes in the sand!

Wish you were here!
:)

Season 2011 - it begins...

2011-08-09T02:32:00.000-07:00

Wow! Another year has gone we are ready for the start of the new whale shark season 2011. For now, we are getting prepared at home (in SA) buying spares for our little orange plane. Of course this is top priority – getting her in shipshape condition for the new season. The success of the whole season depends upon that. (Just a little bit of pressure on us pilots! ;)

We should arrive in Seychelles on the 17th of August leaving us about two weeks to get the plane ready, inspected, paperwork done and then training the new recruits. The interns will be put through their paces to do all the data gathering while entertaining the wonderful guests who help to fund this important project. (You pay to dive with a whale shark :) Of course it is not just the diving but getting inside information of the latest, greatest discoveries of the worlds largest fish. At the head of the MCSS is non other than Dr David Rowat – without a doubt one of the world leaders in whale sharks research and know how. Tourists and interns could not be in better hands!

I will keep you posted as things progress. Personally I can’t wait for a bit of tropical heat – we have rain and snow on the mountains here!
Till next time!
:)

It is done...

2010-11-02T00:43:00.000-07:00

The season is over. It is finished. It is done. I am relieved.

Yesterday Joe helped to pack up the plane. We worked until way after 6 in the evening. Earlier that morning I was faced with the decision of flying or not. As usual it was a difficult decision with border line conditions but in the end my sanity prevailed. The wind direction placed the runway in the lee of the mountains and the risk of flying (I thought!) was just too much. Of course the day was beautiful - warm, sunny with the popular spots having very calm and protected winds. But for those that were clued up, you'd notice a dramatic change in the wind direction. Some beaches were off shore when they were usually side shore - others were now side shore, noticeably at the MCSS office.

While Joe and I worked some strange winds came through which made the wing dance and jump. "I sure am glad to be on the ground!" I mentioned to Joe. Later still when we were done I got this nice pic. It was a lenticular - they are very rare in Seychelles but it was a beaut. Right above the runway. It made my day and confirmed that I made the right choice. It was the best thing to admire the cloud from the safety of the ground. (My flying friends will know exactly what this cloud represents!:)

Today is tying up all the lose ends but not before I am going to lie on the beach and read...

Wish you were here!

The end comes with big risk...

2010-10-31T00:23:00.000-07:00

It is Sunday. The last day, or at least so we thought. As luck would have it we have been send some south westerly winds. These winds are just about at right angles across the runway and makes flying very uncomfortable and if they are strong even dangerous. This morning is one of those days.

Of course the sun is out and it looks like the most perfect day and I guess most people would wonder why on earth we are refusing to fly. It is expected. And it is a tedious and long explenation. Most of it people do not understand because the nature of the conditions are quite technical. There is often doubt. The irony is that the forecast is for the same winds to persist for the next two days. I expected that we would pack up. 5 minutes later David called to ask I don't. He would prefer to wait and see what the winds are going to do.

And that is the nature of this work. Trying to generate funds on the one hand while making safe flying and sensible decisions. Of course David is quite aware of that and does not expect us to fly in anything that we deem not safe. But that does not mean the pressure is any less. The fretting of what the weather is going to do mills in your mind and you are effectively on duty 24/7. It is almost as if one is flying in these conditions in anyevent! It is tough. This is the biggest wear of the job. If the weather is absolutely borderline is it worth taking up someone for a flight? What are you going to do when it is borderline. Then it looks just doable then it doesn't...

Of course I don't believe it is a good thing but we will go through the motions anyway.

You just never know - tomorrow might be perfect...

;)

Wish you were here!

These boots were made for flying…

2010-10-31T00:13:00.000-07:00

It had been a year since our last flight (or as Garreth pointed out, more than a year) but the sense of excitement was just the same. The wind was 5k from the NE so we climbed to 3000ft on the west coast. Still, we got rocked a bit more than what a measly 5k wind should be capable of doing. So with the same amount of excitement and now with the same amount of fear as last year’s flight (We got rocked at 5grand over Beau Vallon bay on that occasion!) we settled into a rather exhilarating flight down memory lane.

You would be amazed at how many people come out to Seychelles with only shorts and T-shirts. Not a jean not a jacket or any kind of top in sight. I guess it must be a tropical thing. I supposed it is not that you are going to need a jacket or fleece, for it never gets cold here. But /it pays to be prepared because you never know what might happen or come up, such as the chance to fly in a micro-light. It can get pretty darn cold at 5000ft and when you hit the likes of 7000ft or 8000ft it becomes a different ball game all together. At these altitudes in an open cock-pit plane, wind chill factors become painful and any exposed flesh takes a beating. Well, especially considering that you are supposed to be in the tropics.

People who know will always make a plan and I guess Garreth was not going to let his toes freeze again. Even if the boots seemed made for clubbing and dancing it was still the most class act to fly in my little orange plane!

Wish you were here!
:)

No sharks again

2010-10-28T06:36:00.000-07:00

Just finished flying for today. Even if the weather has turned (it is good!) the sharks are not here. Yesterday the boat went out but Neil could not find the mornings sharks again. Today we did not spot any either so the boat trips were cancelled. Sherrie and I flew around the island this afternoon and spotted a few turtles, lots of schools of fish, some barracuda and loads of fish fleeing for their lives! Even if the big sharks are not to be seen there is still lots of action! Will give a more detailed update later.

Now I have to catch that beer with a sunset! (Or is that catching the sunset with a beer..?) Oh, heck! I have to go!

Wish you were here!
:)

Rain stoped. Sharks are here.

2010-10-27T02:32:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick entry. The rain has stopped today and Neil found two sharks. It means the boats will be going out this afternoon. Perhaps there is still hope for finishing on a high!

Wish you were here!

:)

Prophecy

2010-10-26T00:50:00.000-07:00

Everybody ready for the jump! This was taken earlier in the season.....

It seems there is some prophetic tendency in my blog. As soon as I mention the word drought and no rain, the heavens open up. It has rained for most of yesterday and last night. This morning it is still raining and the met is forecasting rain for the rest of the day with possible heavy falls for the afternoon. Clearing is expected by tomorrow midday only, or so the met office says anyway…

As if the lack of sharks is not enough, the rain has put out even the last flicker of hope we have had of finishing the season on a high. Of course, everybody is trying their best to keep busy and not think about it too much. It is the usual thing. The end of a great season is approaching and when dreams have been realized it is no wonder that no one wants to say goodbye.

From a statistical point of view this has been the second best season ever. Even if the end has been slow we had a lot of sharks. We saw 42 sharks in just one flight, twice! In total Neil and I spotted 594 sharks from the air while the boat crew had 395 in water encounters. The numbers of experiences are just too many to remember and without the daily recording of the interns almost all would be lost. Meticulous detail of each and every encounter is kept – sharks are sized, sexed, photographed, accompanying fish noted and counted, peculiar markings, behaviour, time of day, area, swimmers in the water among other things are all noted on water proof sheets of paper. Afterwards all details are entered into the computer for easier and more in depth and detailed analyses later on. Add to that the data Neil and I gather from the air and the data sets become pretty impressive to say the least.

The MCSS functions as a team. Without the team effort there will be no success and no progress or reward. Breaking previous records is not just the doings of Mother Nature but also great teamwork from the interns. Of course, I am not saying they are all angels – by no means! :) But they worked well together and this year, once again the team excelled. They will be taking with them treasured lessons and experiences.

In the meantime, we are wet but thankfully on the ground!

Wish you were here!

:)

We reach for the chocolate...

2010-10-25T05:41:00.000-07:00

This is Kathryn sizing up some comfort food....

“Quick! Somebody give me chocolate and no one will get hurt.” Of course the magical properties of chocolate have been a delicious topic over the ages. And while modern science has proved beyond doubt that there is absolutely no magical ingredient in coco to explain the enhancement we feel when eating this elixir-come- aphrodisiac-feel-good delicacy, chocolate debates (and the act of eating it) continue.

Of course, with the extreme lack of whale sharks (note extreme) this kind of indulgence is not just customary but mandatory. It comes at the best of times too. The fact that the whale sharks seem to have made an early departure for this year has been playing on our psyche’s and frustrations. Every day boat loads of people have to be turned away. Painstaking explanations are given to appease customers, as if the words, ‘sorry, there are no more whale sharks around…’, could be construed as if it is a commodity and the shop has run out of stock. Surely with just a bit more planning and better management…

October is the start of the rainy season (Well, a bit more rain than in the other months really) and in previous years us pilots have always had some reprieve from flying on those rainy days. (It was most frustrating since we knew the sharks were out there but the weather was not allowing us to get onto them). This October however, there is a drought. Rain fall is down 70% compared to the average for the month and the met office expects this trend to continue. We have been able to fly every single day but ironically the sharks are nowhere to be found. And while we can’t blame anyone but changing climates and global warming, there is certain expectancy for the magical abilities of pilots to find some whale sharks – though subtle, the pressure is always on us.

Of course, I find solace the traditional way. Who cares about whale sharks if you can have that!?

Wish you were here!

Footprints in the sky…

2010-10-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

I had to use that as a blog caption. It is just so good… :)

It came highly recommended from Kate, one of the season’s interns. (Before I elaborate too much about Kate, let me tell you right off that she is Joe’s, our hero photographer’s girlfriend. Kate and Jo spend some time traveling – working in Oz for a year or so while diving and yachting among other things). Kate has long, dark blond hair, startling green eyes and a personality that is a treasure. When it comes to the notion of a good woman (the movie), Kate is right up there. Let me tell you, she is a rare treasure. After our great conversation for the afternoon I could hardly help not to come to that conclusion. Jo and Kate make a great couple and Joe is a very lucky man. (I hope he realizes that! ;)

Kate accompanied me on yesterday’s afternoon flight – we don’t normally take people up with us in the afternoon flights but I figured the extra eyes would come in handy to spot sharks, which have become scarce. On the way back we flew through the Sarron gap, as it is known to pilots – a low gap in the mountains connecting Beau Vallon Bay with Victoria the capital. We flew around some wispy cumulus clouds while to our right the massive Granitic peak of Morney Seychelles dwarfed the wispy clouds and us. It was on the drive home, while crossing the Sarron gap in the car when I looked up at the mountains and realized our view and experience was way better than those tedious and perspiration inspired footpaths along the cliffs. On a whim I pointed up into the sky and said, “Look! There are our tracks…” It was quite a beautiful moment, especially when Kate, in all earnest followed my pointing finger while she peered into the sky too. It was easy to come up with the notion of ‘footprints in the sky…’ It sure makes for a great title. I wondered about all the foot prints I have left up there over the years in the Seychelles sky. What would it look like if they were all visible?

One day, I will write a book about that…

Wish you were here!

Gone, gone, gone…

2010-10-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

Here is another one of Joe’s pics. Is this the end of the season for views and encounters like this one?

Well, what can I say? For two days we have gone without a glimpse of the large spotted creatures and it seems like the sharks have disappeared. The few weeks we have all been murmuring about the season coming to an early end and secretly, one and all have been having their fingers crossed while we hoped for the best. All to no avail it seems. Could this be the end, while we are still ten days short of the formal end of the season? Perhaps we might get another spurt of activity – a kind of last gaps so to speak before the final curtain call. Of course the sharks and Mother Nature cares less about man’s labels or concept of time…

Wish you were here!

Speaking of the devil...

2010-10-17T07:03:00.000-07:00

Speaking of the devil, the rain is finally here. This morning we woke to the sound of little waterfalls as the water cascaded off the roofs. It was music to our ears. After an hour with no sign of the rain abating, a phone call to the met office, David decides to can the day. Of course just as the decision was taken the rain stops. Slowly the day turns around and Neil flies around the whole island in the afternoon. He finds one whale shark near Theresa Island. That is exactly where we got them yesterday. We all feel we missed out on a good day of sharking.

Yesterday was absolutely awesome. It was one of those days when you had an element of absolutely everything thrown into one. The morning started when I picked up my passenger. Perhaps I should have guessed by then but being a typical male, my passenger’s beauty numbed all other senses. That of course does let the cat out of the bag – Kim is absolutely gorgeous – but that part is a whole different story. Suffice to say we had a great flight and I enjoyed the company of my passenger immensely.

It was a very unstable day. The build-up of cloud over the island was huge and by lunchtime it was raining over the whole of Beau Vallon Bay. This of course was where the boat was departing from and as expected David called – the concern in his voice obvious. I set him at ease; the build-up was localised and over Beau Vallon Bay only. The west coast should be clear. Of course the storm grew throughout the course of the afternoon and I spent my time flying in close proximity of the clouds and rain. The sun bathed parts in sunshine, mixing concern with tranquillity while I danced on the borders of these two contrasts for almost two hours. The lighting was absolutely spectacular and the rain, clouds, turquoise water, island greens, granitic hues, whale sharks edged over white sandy bottoms was a feast that is impossible to put in words. Eventually the rain started spreading towards the Airport and threatened to cut off my return route. It was a beautiful trip back, scenic and completely uneventful too – I had left a healthy safety margin this time. In other cases we would leave just in the nick of time because of the scarcity of sharks. But because the sharks were playing nice and stayed with the boats, it was easy for me to leave earlier, playing it safe. Here are some pics of the scenery – the build up from a distance and inside the action. All in all a grand day I would say!

Wish you were here!

warm cold sharks...

2010-10-16T07:44:00.000-07:00

The sharks have been acting warm cold – oddly so. On one day we would have 8 then just one or two the next day. Then a few more and then just one. It has been quite frustrating, especially for Neil and I who have the job of finding the sharks for the dive teams. Flying around for hours focused on spotting a tiny brown tadpole that is not there, is exhausting. On those evening everyone wants to party, except Neil and I – people find it hard to understand why we are so tired.

On another note, we have had another few days of calm weather. Blissful flying yet the whale sharks again is playing hard to get. I would get 4 sharks in the morning and then only one in the afternoon. Then Neil would get just one in the morning and 4 in the afternoon. Thankfully they all hang around and everybody gets a few turns to swim with the whale shark. David and I are not sure what to make of this season. I somehow have a feeling that the season just might be coming to a premature end. That would not be good seeing as the MCSS has two full boats booked until the end of October. It is going to be frustrating and long flights in the last week or so. Of course, not be too pessimistic, as always we remain hopeful. At least the sun has been shining like there is no tomorrow, which brings to a serious issue.

There is a draught on the island. Yes, a tropical island that is supposed to be experiencing rain (and lots of it) at the moment is having a draught. The dam is the emptiest I have ever seen it. Their dam is not very big but as the water is used, it rains again and fills up. At the beginning of the season I noted the dam being the fullest I have ever seen it. Now it is quite the opposite. It has been dry for more than two weeks and before that not much rain – that is very unusual for Seychelles. Every day the water gets cut off for a couple of hours and sometimes, if your timing is off you have to just take a swim in the sea.

Wish you were here!;)

Shark news...

2010-10-12T23:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a cracker of a day. The winds were down to less than 5knots. Few Clouds and a slight sea. The best part was that the sharks turned up in some numbers. 8 for the afternoon of which a few ended up being real friendly - many dives were made with the same shark and people could look and look. (I have to say that the flight was actually quite turbulent. The wind though light was east and this put me right off shore into the thermal trigger zone. My flying buddies will now what that means!)

One of the interns is a young gun, David. Fit and strong he is very into free diving and just the other day he had quite a remarkable experience. Diving down to 60ft he was hanging motionless in the blue - no bottom in sight, no surface in sight, when he got this sense that he was being watched. Looking around he noticed this long thin body and realised it must be a marlin or something. Not moving, it slowly glided closer at witch time David took a few stroke closer. Right at this moment the fish raised its extra large dorsal fin. A Magnificent sail fish! He had been down for quite some time and still had a long way to go back to the surface so could not hang out for much longer. Heeding the warning of the large sailfish not to come any closer he gently made his way up to the light. He was pretty stoked that day.

Neil, is flying today and the wind is up a bit more and still from the east. The whole west coast should be turbulent and I advised him to fly high... Will hear later how it went.

Wish you were here!

PS: I have published a new web site. Why not check it out. If you like it please spread the news. Comments are welcome too. :) click the link "hangcheck" in the sidebar...

Age, flying and risk

2010-10-11T07:28:00.000-07:00

Pat and I amongst the clouds...

The other day, Garreth and I talked about flying and age. It was no coincidence talking about these interesting companions – I have been around long enough to know a few retired pilots myself. Of course our conversation was not about pilots and age but about the act of flying people that are not so young anymore. I mentioned to Garreth that some would consider my act of flying Pat as nothing but gross negligence and we pondered this notion.

Pat we guessed must be around 80 – I never asked her age but later friends let me in on it. I noticed her frailty when I helped her into the back seat but it really struck home after the flight – after I helped her out of the seat I had to support her while she regained her balance and footing. It took a while and it was during this time that I had a myriad of thoughts on the responsibility and the risk I was taking by allowing her into the back seat of the little orange plane. I cannot even begin to describe the depths of the compassion that flooded me at that moment too and it were these thoughts that really spurred my conversation with Garreth.
We jested of course about what family might say, “Are you crazy granny! You are too old to do this kind of thing. You might die..!”
“What do you mean I might die? I am dying right now! Come on sonny, lets get up there…” and we both chuckled about that.

Of course the reality is that when it comes to the aged we get hung up about risks far too much right at about the time when the other side of the coin should be considered more. We argued that it is worth considering the risk when you are young – losing one’s life at that stage is quite tragic, (not that we think it is not tragic for an elderly person to lose their life, just perhaps less so) but consider for a moment that for the aged the benefits become even greater. Making a tick on a bucket list is far more than a mark on a piece of paper. In the same way we will never really know what it must have meant to Pat, being up there, enjoying vistas and sensations for real that she had spent her whole life dreaming off. And what about the aftereffects of such an experience? Is the spirit lifted? Is life made lighter? Is living made more sensible? Surely all these things must be worth the possible chances of dying.

It was then that I remembered the movie ‘second hand lions’ and the truth struck me that there is value even in the act of dying. If I were aged and got the chance of dying while flying in a micro-light I would jump at it in a flash. It sure beats lying in some old age home waiting for death, hands down.

“Get out of my way sonny! I want to get into that seat!”

Wouldn’t you?

Wish you were here!
:)
J

Good weather and risk

2010-10-06T23:31:00.000-07:00

This morning Neil left with a surprise on his hands. The flying he is about to experience will be of the best he has ever done. The sea, if it can be called the sea for it is so calm a baby could float on it. (Have no idea where that came from! But you get the idea :)

Yesterday I had a taste of it with the wind steadily decreasing from 5 mph in the morning to zero that afternoon. Many would say this can hardly be called work. But it is. Much of my work constitutes the stress of flying innocent people (OK, they have agreed to get onto the back seat voluntarily so that can hardly be called innocent) however, I know most people are completely un aware of the risks, even if you explain it to them. Of course, I am. This is my work – the stress and worry of ‘what if things go wrong..?’

I flew two dear ladies this week – they loved it like there was no tomorrow. (Now there is some truth in that statement I tell you!) But these were the kind of ladies that I knew would be useless if anything should go wrong. Like landing in the sea. It would be game over for them. Of course we fly out over the sea for most of the time…

But the enchantments of tropical waters, the magical colours that seduce even the most ardent and steadfast adventurer is triumphant once again. It is so impossible not to be lured into the tranquil beauty that it is a sin not to make use of the moments. Going lower for some high speed flying resembles that of a speedboat skimming along the water. Just better.

Oh magical indeed!

Wish you were here!
:)

The sharks are back...

2010-10-06T23:26:00.000-07:00

This is one of those pics you just have to love. Does it not fill you with a sense of awe? It should. This type of agrigations are very rare and I was lucky to be in the right place...

We have had a bit of a spurt of whale shark activity. Yesterday we encountered 8 sharks in the south. The two boats with full passengers (that’s two groups on each) had a great time. Some of the sharks just did not want to go away! I saw quite an amazing thing. After years of flying this was the first time I witnessed such a thing.

I spotted a hammerhead shark of about two meters, cruising near the surface. This guy was swimming about, seemingly at random, I guess sniffing the waters to find out what is going on. At the same time a whale shark started to surface not far from the hammerhead shark. I could see the hammerhead shark was on an intercepting course. The whale shark, about 6-7meters in length rose out of the clear depths like a living submarine – its dark outline becoming clearer every second. The hammerhead was closer to the surface before it spotted the whale shark. At this stage I could only imagine what it must feel like to look down and there, slowly rising out of the inky depths is the biggest mother shark you have ever seen. I too would not hang around to ask questions. That hammerhead burst into action with the fastest U-turn, running away like a yelping dog with its tail between its legs.

It was hilarious!

What about the sharks...

2010-10-05T04:11:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic of a big whale shark next to the boat. The boat is ten meters long...

I have been very secretive about the sharks this season. (Actually, I have been quite silent when it comes to most of our groups doing for the most part). But after an initial boom period of sharks during September the beginnings of October has seen some slow days. The sharks have been few and far between for the last week. Most days we have sighted 1 or two in the mornings and then have multiple encounters on just two sharks for the afternoon. It means that the tourists are still getting their share of swimming with the worlds biggest fish but it is hard work for the group. For Neil and I as pilots our eyes are not given much rest - we are constantly scanning the sea surface for any movement or suspicious shape to give away the presence of a whale shark.

On another note, one of the interns, Jenny is leaving us today. She has actually been one of the party animals, no that might be too wild a description, perhaps energetic and outgoing is better, of the group. She will be dearly missed I am sure. (she is doing her masters in the UK on shark matters...)

The weather has also been warm and sunny yet the winds have been wanting to go to the southwest. As I have explained the southwest winds are very turbulent around the runway and Neil and I have been flying very cautiously. It has actually been quite stressful. The actual direction has been between 180 to 200 degrees which is turbulent but manageable around the runway, however if it switched just 20 degrees more we would be in trouble. The air around the runway becomes that of a washing machine. It has been difficult to relax knowing that the wind could change, (unlikely but it could!). It has made us ponder if it is worth the risk on many a time...

Still, we have not been having those windless calm days. That is something to look forward to!

Wish you were here!

now it works....

2010-10-01T05:04:00.000-07:00

What the!? It worked! OK here is another...

The pics are from the water in Anse La Mouche bay and the other from the air next to Bay Turney. This is as far as you can get from the airport on the island! :)

No pictures on this blog host...

2010-10-01T04:54:00.000-07:00

Still not able to upload pictures - workingonthe problem. Perhaps it is from the blogger website. I notice quite a few people are having the same problems... I am going to try just pasting it onto my blog from Word...

... errr... (should be GRRRR..!!!!) It is not working. Maybe I should think about changing my blog home page....

No wind, lots of rain

2010-09-29T04:16:00.001-07:00

One of the interns for the season is Joe Daniels. Joe is passionate about photography and his pics so far are amazing. He is a really worthwhile photogropaher to watch. Here are a few of the pics he has taken this season. Pretty hey! :)

Oh! Is that not just like murphy! I am having difficulties iploading pictures. Will keep trying but it does not seem to be working for now...

Of course, the beauty of these calm days is often off set by rain. And the rain can come down in buckets – the likes of which few have ever seen. The torrents are so overwhelming that it often makes you sit up and take note. At this moment I am sitting on my veranda and admiring the rain. It seems to soften the green edges yet those yellow coconuts stand out even more as they shine and glimmer in the wet. I do admire the rain but perhaps it is not a thought shared by those who want a tropical island holiday and the associated sunshine one dreams of. It does dampen the whale shark trips and prevents aerial support. For locals I guess, it fills the few fresh water dams, something the island desperately needs.

Talking of fresh water, this year it has rained more than any of the previous years for as far back as I can remember – a fact that the fresh water lake I often fly over testifies to: it is fuller than I have ever seen. That does not mean it is full – something I wonder if anyone has ever seen, but the rain is needed by locals. They still have serious water restrictions with water supplies being cut off at certain times during most of the days. It is hard to imagine a country with so much rain to have a water shortage. Of course it is also something that obviously is born from bad management. Private freshwater tanks should have been part and parcel of each house right from the beginning. Ironically, the country invested heavily into a desalination plant some years ago. Even that has not been sufficient to fulfil all their needs and all the rain bucketing down just flow right back from where it came – the sea.

Another change the calms and rain bring is the swing in wind direction. The southeast will eventually make way for the northwest but before it does it can bring those dreaded southwest and westerlies. When these arrive the flying becomes horrible. (To get a good idea of what I am talking about check out last year’s entry in October – I think it is called the event of the year. It will give you a good idea of the kind of conditions I am talking about. Besides it is actually a cool story too. ;)

But the fact that the southwesterlies are coming is a clear as day. The only option we have is how we negotiate them. Fingers crossed!

Wish you were here!
:)

What calms...

2010-09-27T02:20:00.001-07:00

It seemed I spoke to soon.

Yesterday the wind came back with a vengeance. Even worse, it rained too. The stormy weather put a damper on things but senses prevailed and the day was cancelled. Just as well. even later in the day the winds pick up even more with frequent gusts over 30k at the airport. I sure am glad to be on the ground.

Eisha, a young local dive master who works for the Dive Centre was suppose to come flying with me. Instead, all we could do was watch the weather and talk. Of course I am always up for a chat and it did not take me long to carry the conversation to God and the importance of making Him part of your life.

Especially if you are going to fly in a tiny little plane like our micro-light.

Naturally.
;)

Wish you were here!
:)

The calms are approaching….

2010-09-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today I noticed far towards the north the mirror calm surface of the sea. These are the days of zero wind, absolute calm when not a ripple is in sight. Can you believe it is a promise of even better times to come..?

We have been moving towards the end of September – the end of the South East Monsoon season. This marks the end of the windy season. The last week or two have seen a steady drop in wind strengths – the usual 15 knot plus days making way first for 10 to 15 knot days and then the 5 to 10 knot days and now, finally the days with less than 5 knots. These are the days when the island life become the best there is. I am taking nothing away from the windy seasons that carry its own special charms but there is just something that mirrors the soul when these windless calm days reflect not just the drifting boat or the rocky point but part of you.

It is a funny thing this calm reflection. It does seem to be part of being human. Somehow we all long for some peace of sorts and in whatever form your life needs it, it is brought out by these tropical reflections. Everybody is happy.

Neil and I have been sampling some of this good weather and it has been a bonus – adding to the joy of this work.

Here is a pic I got of some of the whale shark action yesterday. (There is a shark in there too!) The wash was strong towards the rocks and in the effort to get away from them some of the snorkelers put in a few extra kicks in a bit of a panick to get away from the rocks. Of course, as experienced divers we know what frantic panicky kicking does in a wild ocean – an ocean with sharks. Out of the blue a few black tip reef sharks appeared and rushed at the divers. They circled the brightly coloured fins for a while and I guess not finding any trace of blood, (OK, I am dramatizing here! ;) disappeared into the depths. But for a while there were a few pounding hearts doing the rounds! The tourists loved it though and after diving on 8 sharks swear the experience was the best they have ever had.

Wish you were here!
:)

Coco nuts and dogs

2010-09-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

Spot the rabid dog...

23 September 2010

Today I went for a walk to the internet café. I had been brooding about updating my websites and finally decided to pay the exorbitant browsing fees these old age internet shops charge. (They are still on a time basis and not a data rate – which is made doubly frustrating because the connections are anything but fast. (No such thing as broad band here).
I (or the webhosting site!) made a hash of things and ruined a whole hours’ worth of work. It was time to call it quits and retire to a more off line based web design package – one where I could take my time and not have to pay for it.

Well, the walk is what is quite cool. It is a short cut and you end up walking through the rural back yards past little homes on a little access footpath that winds its way down the hill towards the central part of the village. It is quite an experience. Steep in places (very steep!) that make you kind off catch your breath about slipping and falling, and every now and then you walk right by a back yard with a line full of washing. Invariably you lower your eyes in case they wander inadvertently into a kitchen or bedroom and see something private.

It was on the way back while brooding about the internet woes, that I got bitten by one of those stupid Seychelles dogs. They have a bad reputation let me tell you and I am no stranger to these temperamental dogs. Anyway, I got a good squeeze on my right calf and two neat holes where the long K-9 teeth sunk in. In a way it was my own stupidity and I am perhaps more peeved off with that than the fact that the dog bit me.

She was a black half breed of medium size and quite obviously breast feeding. She just jumped into the road out of nowhere and growled. It was a warning to me – I should have known her pups are nearby. Yet I kept on walking, ignoring the stupid animal thinking that I am not scared of dogs – also nothing wrong with that but my mistake was as I passed I looked away, just for a second or two and that’s when she took her chance. There was this sharp pain in my calf and before I could react she was gone, down the slope and out of reach. No amount of cursing from my side could undo the two blood seeping holes. And no amount of calling in any manner could get her to come back towards me (She knew what I had in mind!) Of course it is not her fault. I was supposed to be the intelligent animal and failed miserably.

Plastered up with Bactroban I should be ok but for my dented ego. What on earth beseeched me to turn my back on such an obvious dangerous animal – a breast feeding mother!?

Oh the woes of paradise!

Wish you were here!
:)

PS: Neil had a fantastic days flying – light winds and he is stoked. We should get a pic from him soon too.

More coco nuts...

2010-09-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of a Coco de mer in its more common state. It is de-husked.

And my price-less immigration stamp.

The Coco de mer is a seed and not a fruit as some people think and the biggest in the world at that too – sometimes weighing as much as 20kg. (No wonder you die if it falls on your head!) It is unique to Seychelles and not surprising has become an unofficial National emblem. My pass port is full of coco de mer stamps too. Every visit for the past 9 years the immigration officials have adorned the inside pages of my pass port with this priceless stamp. I have come to like these cute little stamps with growing affinity. This year however I got a different stamp. I almost want to call it a traitor stamp. A bland stamp. A stupid stamp. Have the local officials gone nuts? What on earth could have persuaded them to discard this priceless stamp?

After some inquiry, it turns out that an Islamic leader complained that the stamp was too “explicit”. Apparently it reveals too much of the nature of a woman. Of course I can’t help but think it takes a foul mind to think like that – even if there is a striking resemblance.

Hey Seychelles government. What’s up with that?

It of course brings me to another subject. A more controversial one and one that I am probably going to put my foot into, no matter how delicate I try to handle it. Consider the fact that Islam extremists have burned heaps of bibles and nothing happened. So one Christian Pastor wants to burn the Koran and all hell breaks loose! (Pardon the pun.)

Poor Pastor. I mean, think about it. He is probably very aware of the Islamic influence in his country and of the 9/11 disaster and of the heaps of bibles that has been burnt and one can understand how perhaps he has just had enough. It is of course NOT the Christian way of doing it (The modern Christians do not go about burning other religious books) but heaven knows, I can sympathise with the man!

Double standards?

It seems the pastor is not the only one who is getting fed up. Apparently the French have banned the wearing of the traditional face cover for Muslim women – with a 200$ fine and up to a year sentence for men who are found to have enforced their wives to do so. Of course I am aware that this has nothing to do with the Islamic religion either but it serves to illustrates my point.

Interesting indeed!

:) Perhaps this is what I should write about to get some feedback. Let’s see…

Yes, I know this has absolutely nothing to do with flying or sharks…

Still. Wish you were here!
:)

Risky but fun...

2010-09-20T06:17:00.001-07:00

Well, here is another pic. Far out to sea... But Abi seems very happy and enjoying the experience. She is one of the MCSS teamleaders and certianly knows the score! ;)

Risky business…

2010-09-19T07:17:00.000-07:00

The last two days have been hard days – strong winds and rain storms. The flying has been extreme and it is no wonder that only the most experienced pilots can do this work. Although Neil is not very experienced when it comes to micro-light flying he is very experienced as a pilot. Not only is he a commercial helicopter pilot but he has been flying paragliders and hang gliders for a number of years. It is on these grounds that I chose him for the project in the first place. Of course the fact that he flies hang gliders was really what swayed him in favour of the project. You see, I know what it takes to fly a hang glider, not just because of the knowledge you need of micrometeorology but also being able to judge glide angles and being on the lookout for landing areas and the mind-set that goes around flying these types of aircraft. I do not believe any pilot can get a better foundation for any flying career than starting with hang gliding.

Needless, Neil is still enjoying a very steep learning curve.

The day before yesterday he pushed it a bit – according to me. Of course he is the pilot out there and making the decisions, however inexperience sometimes can make you shave off safety issues in favour of the whale shark project. I know. I was there once too. Of course the truth is nothing is worth compromising your safety.

This brings me to another topic – that of the nature of the flying with the whale shark program. Let’s get one thing straight. This is not a passenger commercial flight service. There is absolutely nothing in our flying that is geared towards flying passengers. If anybody comes flying with us, it is as our guests, non-paying guests at that. They get to see what the marine survey pilots do, how we do observational sampling and gather all kinds of information pertinent to a project of this nature. They certainly do not get a “how cool is it to fly!” kind of stuff. Instead they get a briefing about the dangers of the type of flying we do – that it is for research purposes and not with the safety of the public in mind. We take risks, (As Neil told a lucky guy who was flying with him, “We break almost every rule in the book…” which made the poor guys eyes bulge! Neil quickly set him straight though. We do not break every rule in the book. Just one – we often fly out of glide of safe landing areas.) What I am getting at here is that after having made a statement of ‘nothing is worth compromising your safety’, we find ourselves involved in a project of this nature. This seems quite contradicting, and it is. But let’s make sure who ever comes flying with us, is aware of that. They are putting themselves at great risk.

It can also be a pretty damn cool experience too…

Wish you were here!
:)

PS: The pic shows the flying - stormy rain clouds and out of glide of beaches...

continued...

2010-09-17T07:48:00.000-07:00

Today looked like a difficult day. The wind was blowing near our limits for the morning. I sure hope Neil is coping. Yesterday I had a nice day by comparison. The morning was clear with few clouds. Only by late afternoon did some large rain cells move in from the south and I had to run for the airport. It was a great afternoon though – a south day. The two groups on the boat had a, wait for it, here it comes.., a whale of a time! :) (OK. I won’t use that cliché again) Here is a pic of some of the action we had. Can you see the whale shark?

Has the whole world gone nuts?

2010-09-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

While on the subject of coconuts, I am sure you must have heard of the famous Coco de mer? For those that can’t speak Arabic, it means “nut from the sea”. This was what they were named when these very peculiar nuts washed ashore on the northeast African coast some 1000 plus years ago. No one had any idea were the nuts came from except that they were from the sea, and highly sought after. Trading in these nuts was a lucrative business. Sometime later a few Arab traders must have decided to try and trace the source of them and followed the trail “up current”. It is believed these traders were the first to discover and set foot on Seychelles. Of course because the traders were secretive about their sources, they kept no record of it. However, it is pretty official that they traded in fresh Coco de mer’s , indicating that they must have discovered its source. That they discovered Seychelles perhaps as early as 500AD remains the unofficial version. This is a pic of a few Coco de mers in their natural habitat.

Wish you were here!
:)

Yellow coconuts...

2010-09-14T06:15:00.000-07:00

There are a couple of bright yellow coconuts hanging from a tree outside our apartment. Though they have been there ever since we have moved into the apartment I only really noticed them from the comfort of my hammock. You would forgive me for saying that they have been on my mind and thankfully not on my head. You see, I have strung my hammock between the said coconut and a hefty jack-fruit tree and it was whilst lazing in my hammock that I looked up and noticed the bright yellow coconuts. Of course the first thought that crossed my mind was the fact that every year more people die of falling coconuts than shark attacks. Quite a ridiculous thought actually but it set my mind into action. I wondered too if most of these people were lazing in hammocks at the time of death. Of course it is authentic and traditional to string your hammock between coconut trees. In hindsight it was perhaps not the most intelligent of ideas but one can understand the temptation to use coconut trees given their usual idyllic locations. My trees too are strategically placed, offering a splendid view of the bright bay of Beau Vallon – the turquoise waters just adding that extra dimension to a session in the hammock.
I pondered too if hammocks were traditional to times of sailing – you know, in those old pirate ships, where below deck strings of hammocks with smelly, farty old sailors come to mind. Perhaps those same hammocks were strung between two coconut trees after a shipwreck and that was where the coconut-hammock tradition started.
A sudden gust made my hammock sway soothingly from side to side. The coconut tree however creaked ominously. In a quick scramble I made an about turn. It was an easy solution. By placing my head under the canopy of the jack-fruit my toes were left to ponder the notion of falling coconuts.

I’d say, a worthy sacrifice with this kind of view…

Wish you were here!
:)

PS: We have had some good flying and great whale sharking. I spotted 42 whale sharks in one flight the other day! Not bad! :) Today is windy and rainy and tom looks like more of the same. It has been a slow day for all...

8 sharks without eyes in the sky...

2010-09-09T06:20:00.000-07:00

As you can see from the caption the boat managed to get onto 8 whale sharks without aerial support. It was Neils turn to fly and the regular rain cells coming through was enough to keep him on the ground at the airport. So sounds like he missed out. He sure seemed glad for having stuck to his guns and staying on the ground. It is easy to be pressurised into flying when it is not really safe to do so. Of course I support Neils and his decision completely. Here is a pic of Joe on his birthday. Pretty good gift hey!?

Wish you were here!

:)

Storms and sleeps...

2010-09-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic of the two of us near Conception Island. There is a little glory on the cloud below...

Neil and I have the windows open while we sleep. The south east breeze blows through the room all night which helps to cool things down a bit. Right next to our room is a small bit of tropical forest. There is a tall Casuarina tree, a Bodiman tree, an exceptionally large mango tree, a Jack fruit tree and some others I am unfamiliar with, the leaves of which orchestrates into a scary rumble when a wind of sizable proportions comes by. It serves as a warning to those sailors taking to the seas or sky – beware the swaying trunks and rustling leaves spell. A spell that sometimes creeps through your sweet sleep we so desperately seek. Our desperation is evident too from the ingenious ways we have found to block off the outside world, even while you are smack bang in the middle of it. I for one have the most softest and sound proof earphones for my MP3 player. With these babies in my ear and my black eye patch cover on it can be midday while the party is my room and I would sail away to another world… Well, you get the idea at least. Of course sooner or later you need to switch of the music – which has happened sometimes an hour or two after I should have been sound asleep. In semi-wake mood the player is switched off and the pillow ear plug removed. The upper ear is still needed for those pesky and irritating barking local dogs. They really are a problem on this island.

Sleep is hard won.

Later I walked into the MCSS staff house with the words, “Right. Who ever does not get scared easily can come flying with me…” Outside the ocean was white with spray. Leaves where swirling about inside the kitchen. Suddenly everyone was busy or ‘still sleeping’, and 2 minutes later I left – alone. It was of course just a tease from my side. No one was actually going to fly today…

Ironically I managed to get airborne just after 3 in the afternoon managing a great flight around the island on my own. Coming back I flew high above the island and clouds – the usual safe and turbulent free route.

Today Neil is up. Though windy it looks fine. Some developing clouds around but sunny mostly. I am sure he is having a great time and will sleep well tonight.

It is 7:30 in the evening and it is raining outside. Neil's flight went well but he said he just managed to scrape into the airport before this mother of low clouds with rain swept into the airport. It has been with us for a while. Like I said. Sweet sleep for him tonight.

Wish you were here!

:)

Steep learning curve...

2010-09-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

4 September 2010

It is Neil’s turn to fly today and even if I thought of going with him yesterday the good weather made me think otherwise. He was sitting on our balcony overlooking the bay. From here you could see the strength of the wind lines.
“Looks good.” I said as I joined him with a bowl of Pronutro.
“Yes. Nothing too bad.” He answered.
“I am not going to go with you but you can take one of the interns with you.”
“If it is ok, I would prefer to just fly on my own first.”
“Sure. You get settled and when ready the guys can join you.”
“Is it ok for you to come with me just to the airport? That way at least you can use the car…” It was a generous offer but probably more a ploy to entice me to go with. Smiling, I politely said no. It was time to cut the apron strings.
“Call me if you are not sure but go out there and enjoy yourself.”

Of course the weather turned nasty. A big storm approached from the south east and before 11 in the morning I had received 2 phone calls and three sms’s. It poured and the whale shark trips have been cancelled for the afternoon. It is now after 1 in the afternoon and Neil is still at the airport weather watching. No doubt his learning curve is very steep today…

Wish you were here!
:)

Word just in is that Neil did have a flight later in the afternoon. He said he only managed to do the survey on the south of the island before he had to scuttle back to the airport as another rainsquall moved in from the south. This is his first for the season and you can bet it won’t be his last!

PC problems..

2010-09-06T07:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I have written a few entries but somehow managed to undo my wireless connections of my laptop. I am doing this from the work PC. Thought I would just let you guys know that we are working on the problem.

Today started with the bats going backwards and trees blowing over our high way. It was way too strong to fly, up to 35knots at times. But very late in the afternoon I managed to get a gap and did a survey around the island. It was a wonderful (and exciting!) flight. Managed to get 5 whale sharks on the north side near Conception island. Finished off with a very bumpy but aced landing! ;)

It is Neils turn to fly tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will bet better.

Wish you were here!
:)

Solo pic...

2010-09-03T06:41:00.000-07:00

This is a pic of Neil before going on his first solo around the island. I did the usual cheeky last minute, get off the plane move. It was a great day for a easy intro the the place in his own....

Eureka...

2010-09-03T06:32:00.000-07:00

For more than twenty years teaching has been part of my life. Of course since most of that has been teaching pilots the art of hang gliding it will come as no surprise that my most favourite method is through a process we call self-discovery. Oh, I like other methods too but nothing quite equals that moment of eureka when your pupil suddenly gets it – with just a bit of your guidance he had worked it out for himself – and you as the tutor can relax for a moment.

Neil of course is not new to flying but I have been showing him the ropes to our air survey program and have answered the usual questions as he is getting used to the flying conditions around this Indian Ocean tropical island of ours. It can be very demanding at times. After his morning solo flight around Mahé I was looking forward to catching a snooze while he goes out for his second solo of guiding the boat onto the whale sharks. He had already done two of those flights with me and was fully capable of doing it on his own. Of course it was then that David advised that he had two boats going out. Now directing two boats at the same time can be a different ball game and putting my ideas of an afternoon nap aside I thought it better to go with him. You know. Just in case. So sitting in the advisory back seat position I settled in for the three hour flight. Neil soon got the hang of it though and I relaxed a bit, finding the time to have a snack – a chocolate to be exact. (On these long flights I often take a chocolate bar or two). And later when things were quieter still, I hooked my feet over the foot rests and snoozed.

Imagine that.

Oh, and would you believe, it was actually quite comfortable too…

Eureka! Wish you were here..!
:)

All in a days work...

2010-09-03T06:29:00.000-07:00

2 September 2010

I flew one of the interns this morning – in fact it was the first intern to go up in our little orange plane for the season. Karen is a beautiful brown eyed brunette. Originally from the eastern side of Australia, Brisbane, she got bored of her job as the Marine biologist for a popular tourist resort. The internship with the MCSS was a nice change in scenery, before she decides what to do next. Of course we had a great chat.

The weather was real border line. It put a certain ominous anticipation in our trip to the Airport. Even so, our conversation was light and easy. Then would you believe we got a flat tyre! It took a while to sort that out – the fact that we did not have a spare did not make things easier either. And then in my own way I pondered if God was perhaps giving me a sign that I should not be flying today… (Many times too I have told God that I am a thick skinned man and if he does not want me to do something to please hit me over the head with a large pole so that there can be no confusion! ) Of course all the time I was making light conversation with Karen. At the hangar it was drizzly but we went through the motions of preparing the plane – if we got a gap we could get up within just a few minutes. When it stopped drizzling some low level cumulus clouds whizzed over head at high speed but the wind was almost plum down the runway so up went.

Surprisingly it was rather good. The sun came out, the clouds parted and we had a clear run to the south. Once again, in my own way I relaxed knowing that God honored my usual request the other way round too. (If we were meant to go he would light the way:) Far to the south east the horizon was grey though. These rain clouds would not get to us in another hour at least. Of course Karen was overjoyed and who could blame her. Even I had that usual tinge of sincere appreciation of this work. It sure has its moments, often and then some!

At South point the wind turned on to nearly 30mph. No doubt those stormy clouds to our south east would be upon us a lot faster than I thought. Already they were just 10 miles away and looked pretty dark and intimidating – Karen had no objections to heading back earlier either. This is the nature of flying in Seychelles on those stormy and windy days. It does take a fair amount of experience to know the conditions and to judge just how far one can push it.

I let Karen fly back and like a seasoned champ she surfed the clouds and the rising winds.
“Just think of it as a surf board and ride it back home…” I said. Well, I just assumed she would know something about surfing coming from a coastal city in Australia. Either way, it worked and I took over just for the landing – the gauging water lines from the gust-front and driving rain just a mile or so away not even noticeable to her.

Safely in the hangar with smiles coming from the both of us, I realized that that was way too easy. Outside the rain was pouring down. Whether I had made it look easy or that God was looking out for us was not the point. Rather the fact that it was not easy at all. I pondered too the notion that perhaps I have become complacent. That perhaps others who look on could be deceived into thinking that this is easy…

God can be very subtle too. Perhaps tomorrow I’d better go to the airport with Neil…

Wish you were here..!
;)

What a Spring gift..!

2010-09-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

1st September 2010

(It is my parents anniversary today..:)

Neil has just taken off on his first solo flight around the island. I figured after three flights with him he knows enough to do it on his own. That is the best way to learn in any event. The winds are light. Looks like nothing more than 10 knots. The skies are over cast but with high cirrus clouds. There are a few scattered cumulus clouds around but nothing too threatening. It is perfect for him to go around and get the feel of the place on his own. He is a grown man and perfectly able to make his own decisions. (Well, so I argue anyway! ;) It is 10 in the morning and I expect him back by 11:30. So it’ll be a bit of a wait.

Here is another shot of Neil and I on our way back from spotting whale sharks in the north west corner of Mahé. Pretty spectacular hey! By the way it was just as a spectacular day. We found two aggregations of whale sharks feeding actively within two schools of bait fish. There were at least 8 sharks in each group. Neil loved their spots when we went down for his first closer look. Unfortunately I did not have my better camera with me so we did not get any pics… I will work on that!

Wish you were here!
:)

Oh by the way, if you do like my blog and posts, please join the followers section. It makes a great change to know there is someone out there that is actually reading this stuff!

Spider spider on the wall...

2010-09-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

Almost there…

Neil loves the bats and the spiders. On our arrival while sitting in the open aired airport cafeteria at 9 in the morning, in broad daylight he sudden dropped his yaw and asked, “Am I just tired or did I just see a bat the size of dog flying past in broad daylight..?” He has not stopped his fascination.

Neil is a great help. Thank heavens he has some electronic training too – we made short work of some faulty connections of the intercom and the magg switches on the plane.

Our accommodation this year is in the old Beau Vallon flats. They have been used on a yearly basis but mainly for the general staff, interns and volunteers for the program. Last year I moved into the top of these flat but it was just for the last half of the program period. (In the beginning I lived in luxury. Air-conditioning, satellite TV, washing and cleaning services. What happened to that?) The two of us have moved into the bottom right side of the units. It is a two bedroomed flat with a lounge, kitchen, shower-bathroom and a nice balcony. Four of us are staying here. Yes. Gareth and his girlfriend Laura has one room and Neil and I are sharing the other. Certainly nothing wrong with sharing but certainly nothing wrong with wanting your own bedroom too… It sure is taking some getting used to getting my mind back to the army days of sharing a room. Thankfully Neil is a gentleman. Even if he snores occasionally (he warmed me about it – I too warned him of being pelted with anything within arm’s reach at the time too!) but it seems to working out ok.

Upstairs we have Caiara, Abi and Jenny. Caiara and Abi are old-timers to the program – this year they are team leaders, while Jenny is new and one of the interns.

The interns went out on the boat on Friday morning for the first time. Would you believe they found three whale sharks!? They had a fantastic time by the sounds of it and have been on a real high ever since. On Saturday night we had our official welcoming bash at David’s house. As usual he excelled with a great feast. I loved the ice-cream and his special homemade chocolate sauce. Out of all the years in Seychelles I met another interesting person. Laura (I never got her surname) but she is doing some research into the socio-economic changes within the nature reserve areas of a few Indian Ocean Islands. And if that was not enough she turned out to be a balloonist (I’m sure there is a word for that?) What a grand time we had. Would you believe that Neil worked for a Balloon operator when he was 16 for 6 months, chasing around the country side for him and never even got to go for a ride once? Is life not just like that!?

Wish you were here..!
;)

More oil business...

2010-08-31T07:28:00.000-07:00

Here is Neil in his hightech sunscreen mask (and suite). Ninja turtle go!!!!

Oh and the rig...

Oil in Seychelles...

2010-08-31T07:23:00.000-07:00

To cut a long story short...

We are flying. It has been epic flying too. Loads of whale sharks and loads of turbulence. :))) There is a big oil rig anchored on the west north west side of the island. Today Neil and I managed to get a closer look...

27 August 2010

2010-08-31T07:22:00.000-07:00

It was a stunning sunset – pinks and blues that Picasso could not have imagined. And then bats; oversized bats descending onto fruit trees from everywhere. It is quite reflective of life – the beautiful and the not so beautiful and quite accurately reflected my mood. I don’t think I have been so stressed in my life. For three days in a row I had a headache – woke up with a headache – went to bed with a headache. And then yesterday morning David and I clashed – big time. I know him quite well and the worst thing one could do is to argue with him or go against his wishes or ideas. But I did. I took a stand. Of course it was never going to go anywhere good. I knew that too. In the end all my standing ground and having my say lost its meaning with the words, “Well you have a warped sense of reality then…” There was no need for me to comment since nothing would change. So I kept quiet. But I was so fuming mad. David was fuming mad too. Stress is a different sort of a character…
Is one not supposed to feel better after such a blow off?
Anyway…
We have run into a problem with the renewal of our Authority to Fly. To help those that are not familiar with the workings of the civil aviation authorities let me try to explain it, briefly.
Every aircraft needs an annual inspection for airworthiness. This inspection must be done by a so called Approved Person or AP. The AP signs the forms which are sent to CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) and after the aircraft owner has paid both the AP and the CAA, the CAA issues a certificate of airworthiness for the aircraft. In the case of the micro-light it is an Authority to Fly certificate. Our problem this year is that we have no AP person to do the inspection. Our plan was to use our good friend Peter who is a qualified AME (Aircraft Maintenance Engineer) but as it turned out, Peter does not have the appropriate rating (cloth and tubing rating). Unfortunately we only discovered that on Tuesday – the day after my arrival.

Of course, the back-up plan has always been to fly an AP out from South Africa but this was as a last resort only. It also meant that it was going to take a few days to get all that organized. In the meantime we are missing out on flying and surveying days which of course is making everybody edgy – especially David and me. (We are both ticked-off by the whole predicament…)

Our alternative was to ask special permission from the South African CAA to do the inspection – given my experience and that Peter has agreed to help (even though he is not cloth and tube rated). It was worth a shot but this in turn opened up more cans of worms. We needed to write motivational letters – agreements from Peter, formal flight permission letters from the Seychelles CAA giving us permission to fly in their air space (which though has always been openly accepted by the Seychelles CAA it has never been put in writing), proof of experience etc and all of these needed to be emailed to RAASA (Recreation Aviation Association of South Africa) who has been delegated by the SACAA to look after the airworthiness of micro-lights. RAASA in turn needs to have a board meeting and decide if we could do it or not. All of this of course takes time and it has been a difficult to decide which of the two options is the better - one is more expensive but a certainty (flying an AP out to Seychelles) the other is cheaper but not a certainty at all. To be honest, we didn’t even know when RAASA will make a decision nor if they even would say yes in the first place. It is small wonder we are stressed.

And if you did not follow one bit of that – don’t let it bother you. It’s just business and politics. Like me, I am sure you are interested only in the flying and whale sharks. J

In the meantime we have been doing loads of maintenance on the micro-light. It was quite necessary too. Surprisingly the wing is in great shape. We did a major inspection of her today and frankly did not even need to change one bolt. The undercarriage required some attention. Would you believe I discovered a smooth patch on the front tyre! (Pointed out by Peter!)

Wish you were here..!!!

We are here but still with red eyes...

2010-08-27T04:50:00.001-07:00

And red eye it was – or still is... It is Monday night and we are all hanging out in the lounge after a long day. Laura, Gareth, Neil and I. Each with a book, laptop, iPhone. Own thoughts. Own ideas of the day and tomorrow. We are all knackered. Neil and I more so since we have had hardly any sleep from last nights flight. We have pushed through though and will have sweep sleep tonight. In spite of the dogs – that are already barking – and the three blonds from upstairs, who’s music and chats are youthfully piercing the tropical night. Thank God we are tired…

Today Neil and I have done some good PR work. After the introduction to the new interns, including happy hugs from last years in-turns now turned group leaders, neil and I managed to get our flying show on the road. Visits to Airtel – reactivating the mobile, then Frankie from Air port security for the nec permits and permission to enter the appropriate gates and access to the airport grounds, Chatting to Donn about hangar permission and then, the real problem for the season. Visiting IDC and Peter. We need to ask Peter to do the AP inspection on our plane. He was not there so will give him a call. Person to person is so much better.
Afterwards we had a great chat and coffee with Glynis and David at their house. Got odds and ends of the plane – radios, intercoms, new prop blades etc. (Tom we will sort through all this.) We finished the day with a pizza at Baobab but would you believe they had no chilies!? This was almost sacrilege. But we endured and in the end it was the local brew, Seybrew that helped to finish the evening.

Old friends that shared the evening included Abi and Caiera. So it was a bit of a reunion…
Its lekker to be back!
Wish you were here! (Really!:)

On the way....

2010-08-22T13:34:00.001-07:00

I am sitting at Jhb International waiting for the red eye flight to board. It is 10:30. This midnight flight is a killer. (Arriving in Sez with red eyes in the morning is a certainty!) Of course I have just had to send off a few emails to try and get a few last minute glitches rearranged. We are missing a small spares box - this will have to be placed on the next flight to Sez (which is only on Friday!). This is a bit of a nuisance but not insurmountable. In light of the start of a new season these things seems to be par for the course.

I met Neil a while ago. He is our new pilot that will be helping out this season. Understandably excited but surprisingly he arrived with just one small bag. (Oh yes, I expected the small spares box to be with him so even more of a surprise to me) But it seems he has decided to travel minimalistic - something I have never been able to do. Even if I vow to do so every time, next time. Neil's girlfriend, (Monique) was seemingly not impressed with him galavanting off so early on in their relationship. Apparently they only started dating 2 and a half months ago! Of course I know too that she will be on a flight to Sez in the not too distant future too! They both seem like a nice couple.

I look forward to seeing old friends and meeting the new gang. It all happens tommorrow!

Wish you were here! (Well, almost!;)

Snow on the NZ mountains...!

2010-08-09T15:56:00.000-07:00

I have 5 min to post this! Need to rush! ;) I am in NZ and trying to tie up loose ends for the up coming whale shark season in Seychelles. Tricky when internet connectivety is intermittend! I can tell you guys one thing though - I sure am lookiing forward to the warmth of the tropics after this visit past down under!

We have had the ussual roler coaster ride with gettign things organised for the whale shark season. one has to wonder what it is about the human race that can make life so difficult for themselves. It leaves me speachless to be honest. Simple things just needs to be made a big deal - people cant just do what they said they were going to do. Do you experience the same? I have no doubt you do. Of course I see the devil at work in all these things! ;)

Anyway, we are just about there with the organising of everything. A few minor (perhaps major but it depends how you look at it) still needs to be ironed out but I am sure it will come through.

Now I know I have just written like a politician. Wrote a lot of words but said nothing! No details... (Devils is int he details...) I will let you know a bit later. just not yet. Dont want ot annoy people at this stage of the game! ;)

Anyway, my internet time is up. Got to go!
:)

that tima again...

2010-07-13T10:54:00.000-07:00

Yes! Would you believe it is that time again. The whale shark season for 2010 is starting in one and half months time. Everyone I have spoken to is just as excited as I am about this. Nothing like a tropical Island break in the middle of our winter! Seriously though, it is hard work and every day we are getting the logistics in order; nuts and bolts, tools, new engines, odds and ends and making sure all these items go into the right box. Of course there are also those items that comes to you after the main lot has left port - at this stage we are trying hard not fall into that trap.

But we will keep you guys posted at least once a week about our progress. Please sign in and join the post that I will be sending out. Apparently it makes a difference in the "ratings". ;)

Chat soon!

J

3 March

2010-03-03T00:47:00.000-08:00

We are home. Who could have thought there could be such meaning in such a simple phrase. Lying in my own bed it felt more than a home coming - it felt as if I have arrived. That place we all seem to be searching for, what ever it might be for you or me for that matter - that it is a specific place is irrelevant. The importance is in being in that zone where one can feel it in your soul that you have arrived. Arrived after searching for all your life. There is such comfort in that feeling. Perhaps there are some out there that know what I am talking about.

The adventure of living on a ship, flying over what can only be described as breath taking scenery everyday for a month is over. As is usual the hardships are forgotten and what remains are the good stuff. The pleasant memories that makes one want to return and do it all again. We did have great success. For Fred, John and Mick their flying adventures have really just begun as they embark, now unsupervised, on filling their bags with experience. This is were the real flying starts and we wish them lots of extra luck. (Remember that bag of luck story? The aim being to finish your flying career before your bag of luck runs out..?:) Other than the flying I can already say I miss Evelyn's cooking and Maria's friendly smile, doing laundry while the smell of softener lingers around your nose. For a bachelor like me that was a special treat...

The flight back home was another story. But I am here and already having dipped into our cold ocean with a spot of kite boarding. Needless, today I am sore and stiff from the exercise - def became even more unfit during the month on the ship but it is a step in the right direction.

Strangely, on this Wednesday I am filled with a sense of urgency to work. How strange...
;)

Pictures...

2010-02-27T20:25:00.000-08:00

Our mess table and the name...

The boys go solo...

2010-02-27T19:48:00.000-08:00

(John and I in the air the day before his solo flight. My beloclava is the best sunblock and the only thing that works!) Also the two happy faces of Mick (front seat) after his first solo and Mike equally happy.)

There is always something special about a solo flight. That triumph of man over machine, the sweet taste of victory after weeks of disciplined training - it is something that few understand and fewer still experience for themselves. The sacrifice two new pilots have made to join the rank of those that can justifiably look down upon those that have never gone solo, though big has been well worth it, especially looking at their faces. Mick the SOS Capt did his first solo flight day before yesterday. Then John followed with a solid performance yesterday (27th Feb). Well done and congratulations! (Could this be the start of the SOS Air Wing Division?)

Today we are going to see if Fred can get there. He has been struggling a bit with those landing, which is the most difficult part of flight. Looking at the CCTV monitors the weather seems fine and the only excuse left must be his lovey girlfriend Maria. (I would be distracted too Fred! ;)

Mixed in with this sense of joy is some nostalgia. Our time on board the ship is coming to an end. Two weeks of mingling it up with the crew and they in turn having made us feel like part of the family makes it hard to say good buy. We got a SOS ships T-shirt which is cool. (The crew members wear them all the time). We will miss this time and the new friends we have made. Of course life on the island is just like that - people come and go. On the other hand, I am also so ready to go home too - I can not wait for that familiarity of my own bed! I start my journey home on Monday at lunchtime. It is going to be a long trip since this time round I fly to Mauritius first before connecting to Jhb. The end result is that I will only arrive back in Grg on Tuesday the 2nd (it must be the longest trip ever from Sez to SA!) Naturally I think it is worth it...
;-)

27 Feb...

2010-02-26T20:50:00.000-08:00

Flying around rain cells. There is good reason for the whites of Mike's eyes!

27 Feb
It was still a struggle to get up. 5 o clock is just not my cup of tea! The usual morning ritual followed – having a pee, washing the face, running hot water, shaving, showering – all in an effort to shed the comatosed state of those that have been deprived of sleep. Still, when I walked into the mess and greeted John there was undenyable effort to keep the eyes wide and bright. Even John looked the part – we were both longing for that sleep!

Every morning we wish for rain. It is not that we do not want to go flying, just that there is this desire to stay in bed longer – well at least till its light. This morning flashes of lightning greeted our eyes from the mess room. Even from the CCTV it was clearly visible without needing to go outside. Of course by now we were up and kind of awake. The feeling of being cheated enters the mind. I could have been sleeping. Then we would not have known it was thundery outside. Ofcourse, but maybe we could have looked first before going through the wake-up ritual. Even that would not have worked. Getting to the deck involves some stairs (effort) and it’s still too dark to see anything. One needed some light to see if the clouds were really threatening or not and by the time you can see that it is good you need to be at the airport to take advantage of the early morning air. Even with the signs of lightning one could not be too sure of its distance – the activity could be far away and flying at the airport quite good. No, the notion of being cheated is well grounded and for a moment it lingers in the mind.

We waited till 6:30. By his time it was light enough to see what’s going on. We walked out on deck and looked around. The sky was filled with CB cells. Big ones. A new one was developing over the airport and I could see the rain falling from its base clearly. The tops were billowing upwards at a healthy rate of knots. It’s an easy call. My bed is so snuggly and comforting…