Paragliding XC from Mount Caburn to Ripe

Описание: A short 8km cross country flight from Mount Caburn to Ripe. The conditions weren’t perfect for flying as the WSW wind was quite strong and fairly cool. There was definitely an influence from the coast.
After one good thermal I had to top land and try to get away again.
It gave me chance to chat with Ash Barnes and say hi to Tim Cox from Fly Sussex.
Thankfully the second flight was better and I found a good thermal together with Chris Townsend over the top of Mount Caburn. It appeared to be worth taking as high as possible as there were other pilots circling directly above.
I watched Richard Still take a small asymmetric collapse on his left side just above me. Thankfully my wing wasn’t affected.
After taking this thermal to its limit of around 1300’ I decided to glide towards Glynde village.
I could see Sam Tolton and Steve Purdie going up in a thermal ahead of me. I pushed on speed bar and found the thermal which eventually took me up to them.
For the remainder of the flight we worked hard together finding a variation of thermals. Some weak, some broken and others punchy.
Eventually we split and I landed just beyond the small airstrip at KittyHawk.
I’m currently training for the Dragon hike and fly competition in the Brecons so decided to walk the five miles back to Glynde.
Bizarrely every other vehicle stopped to see if o needed a lift! I felt pretty guilty turning down the generosity and explaining I needed the exercise.