Best way to come back home

Since we did not stayed at the party on the last day of Croatia open my head was clear enough to visit a home flying site at Kobala already at sunday right next day after the Croatia open. It is always nice to come back to the home site after flying somewhere else and fly with out puting the points in, choosing the best time to start and so on. Just relax and race the take off :)

Croatia open 2010 (The video)

This time it was very interesting as I didn`t saw what was filmed with a camera until I came home. I could imagine but try to remember 1 hour of different cuts...

GoPro did it again, the voice is a bit strange due to the housing of the camera but can be fixed, quality of the video is yes the GoPro quality.

Enjoy the vid and look at it in HD

Croatian open 2010 the final countdown

Today we ended up the race of Croatia open 2010. The last task was set short due to big possibility of local showers. We finnaly started from Raspadalica take off. What could be better to rig the glider and take a shower before briefing. Magic :)

We spent some time in the air as a big shower moved towards us and the first lightening showed. They cancelled the task so I landed together with Primoz and Alan. Primoz won overall before bombastic Carol and Balazs on 3th place.

It was yet again a nice relaxed comp as it can only be in Istria. I messed up again on one day and spoiled my result to a 9th place, yesterday I ended 4th. Next year it is time to repair that.

I want to thank Regina and her space shuttle for driving us all over Istria and of course Jelena for retriving our car down and us.

I was shooting videos on GoPro so I have no clue what has been filmed, I need to wait until I get home to a computer and try to make a new video of it.

Now we are driving back home where we will stay for 14 days before Europeans at Ager Spain. If someone would ask me I would make a turn already now and get on the road to a bull country. Vamos :)

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92 km task Croatia open

Ucka, again...

We were on the take off where it looked like it will be a big possibility for thunderstom or local showers later. They set up a task of 92km and we scepticly started with second start gate. I flew realy nice and smooth with Balazs and Primoz. Over the second turnpoint we got low but we climbed back up and started our voyage to a blue sky on the flats. The sea breeze killed  every cloud in the sky, so we where brushing the tops of the hills from one small landing field to another. I landed on third turnpoint on 48km, two other pilots a bit in front and Primoz on 60km. Don't know how he managed over the plato but I think he saw a big part of it very up close :)

Carole Tobler landed in the same field as me, she is realy patient as she was rubbing the hill above the landing field for a long time. It was imposible to confront the sea breeze.

So, one more day tommorow.  

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Third day in Croatia

How can someone be so stupid as me... :) they took us to Ucka starting place with better forecast and 82km task. I started with the first gate and been soon left all alone but was doing nice before I head out to the flats. How can you be so stupid to go in to the flats all by yourself. I soon found myself on the ground in the middle of the task. I waited for more then half an hour to see first ones who came above me to a better conditions. They thermaled here to the cloudbase and follow the cloud street to the goal. WITH OUT A TURN. More then half pilots in goal, with me far behind. Carole Tobler did a good job and ended up 3th behing Primoz and Balazs. We can hear her all over the camp :)

Nice day, nice flying but for me too short....

Tommorow is a new day

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1. Task Croatia open

Huh, finnaly flying :) They sent us to Ucka take off as here on usuall start Raspadalica, here was still wind from the back. On Ucka they set up a short 55km task but it was too much for everyone. We slowly started as the wind was from the back from the sea side, but then it was, from Ucka thermal, like gliding contest. We were shatered in two valleys so I presume very very little points today. Lets hope for a big day tommorow.

Regina broth a slackline with her and now all camp is acting like a big circus on it. Good balance training do.

All in all we had a nice view again today over Adriatic sea and I am sure we will see it again tommorow, again from air :)

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Hotmail: zmogljiva brezplačna e-poštna storitev z Microsoftovo zaščito Pridobite storitev zdaj.

Second day in Istria

We had a cold night under the tent in strong east wind. Even now it is still blowing but with clear skies and nicer temperatures. This means only one thing, tommorow we fly for sure.
There are pilots coming from Dolomiti open as they reported 20 cm of snow on the take off. Strange weather this year.
Today it is time to check the gliders, maybe have a flight in the evening and then wait for a big day tommorow.
Pilots, it is still time to move to the south :)

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Croatian open 2010

Today we should have our first task at Buzet but as we predicted that weather will be too bad for a task we stayed at home one more day. We are on the road now to Buzet with hope that tommorow we maybe could fly. Seems like strong east wind will be in Istria tommorow but we hope for the best. Otherwise we have Adriatic sea to cool down for one day.

On Saturday I recived a terrible news of the accident of my good paraglider friend, a member of our club, who was hiking in the morning and sliped in to the gorge. It is unbelivable how unpredicted life can be.

Rest in peace my friend.

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Hotmail: zanesljiva e-poštna storitev z zmogljivo Microsoftovo zaščito pred neželeno pošto Prijavite se zdaj.

Croatia open 2010

Few more days and the summer part of competition season is starting also for me. On Sunday we are packing for Buzet in Croatia, already a traditional competition for us. Who can resist to drive only for 3 hours from Alps and fly the flats of Istria. Traditonaly well organised competition will this year bring pilots from Hungary, Czech and more. Too bad that it is in the same time as Dolomiti open, but hey, if weather doesn`t cooperate in the Alps now you know where to turn :)





When we come back I have 14 days of exams in scholl and then we are of for Ager. 5 pilots from Slovenia are leaving with a van and 2 girls who will take care of us on the ground.

1. Primoz Gricar
2. Franc Peternel
3. Alan Sattler
4. Stanislav Galovec
5. Matjaz Klemencic

Buzet will be a playground to look at the glider and make it perform as best as it can so we will be all ready for the Europeans.

Let the show begin! :)

A flying weekend in Tolmin

There where numerous competitions around Slovenia this weekend, Austrian open in Austria and Carlo Zachentin in Italy but we needed to be here in Tolmin for a one day league competition. I was surprised to see Regina on top who came from Austria to enjoy flying in our valley. I got a nice present from her, thank you Regina :) Well we still had a nice 111 km task here in my home valley. I sticked with first Peternel trough the race but made the mistake in the end and landed short of goal few kilometeres. Too bad but still it was a fun flight trough the day.
There where numerous pilots from all over country here in Tolmin so it was nice to see that season actually started also on Kobala. We flew also on sunday where I took my time to take some pictures in the air.
On monday we got a nice visit from Timothy Ettridge who was in Austria at the competition, but we managed to get him here also :) We might take a flight today in the evening with him.

Cross Country magazine

As almost every other company, also the world known magazine Cross Country, steped in to the world of Facebook. They made a monthly competition of readers pictures, which can be published at their site and then pictures are voted by people who look at the Cross Country facebook page.
I got a chance to win the monthly competiton twice by generous help of my friends who where clicking the like button and won me first the heated gloves and this month a yearly subscription of Cross Country magazine.

There is a long history of this magazine in our family.
My fother was getting the magazine already when I was a child. I was able to read about endless combats of Manfred and Thomas, see the areas of the competitions trough the pictures and dreamed about taking part of it one day. Today this is reality so I am able to fly with Manfred, 15 years ago, this was a dream to me.
Even more, now I can see the picture of my self in the magazine :)

So how to say thank you to this generous gift I recived 14 days ago. In the package there was also a Travel guide magazine next to Cross Country so the idea was born.
I went to take off with an Atlas since I had my glider away at that moment, positioned the camera and whola, here it is.

No need for GPS anymore just look at the guide :)