© Copyright Paul Klemond 1997
7am: (10pm in Seattle): wake up. The nine of us Americans are sharing a 4-1/2 bedroom flat with one bathroom. (Only a few teams have it any better!) I'm the captain so I have some extra duties early in the morning, so I get up 30-90 minutes before the pilots most mornings.
7:30am: walk 1/4 mile to Meet Headquarters. Good chance to check out the weather. At HQ: connect laptop computer to the internet. Early a.m. is the only time the Spanish internet isn't a total traffic jam. Also, check printed resulted from previous day's task. File complaints if a team pilot's photos didn't pass scoring.
9am: walk back to the flat. Quick breakfast: stove-top espresso and some cereal.
9:30am: team captain's meeting, 2 blocks from apartment. Receive briefing from Meet Director Jordi Salvat. Listen to issues, and voice any complaints. Receive weather briefing. Run back to apartment...
10:15am: finish loading US pilots onto truck (brand new Fiat/Ducato diesel minibus, a perfect paragliding vehicle!) and depart for launch. We leave on time every day, 15 minutes ahead of the big slow buses that some other teams must ride. The dirt road up is long, steep, windy and dusty. Put in a tape with some loud music.
11am: arrive on launch early. Stake out some prime real estate 200 feet down slope, near the front so we can take off fast once the window opens.
11:30am: wait in line to get team's film, backup film (we purchase for 300 pesetas per roll), beverages and bag lunches. These vary in quality: good days are an apple (I can't wait for a good Washington apple again!) and a single thin slice of chewey pork on a good baguette roll. Bad days are sweet pastries in celophane like you might get at a gas station. These have become less frequent after some complaining.
12 noon: pilot's briefing on launch. The task is described. See photo. Mark the task turnpoints on my map. Head back to the wings (yes, 182 wings lay cooking in the hot sun for hours purely to protect some precious position on launch!) Strategize (see photo) and help the pilots get ready...
~12:30pm: launch window opens. Nearly all 182 competitors will launch within five minutes. It's pretty chaotic! If a US pilot blows a launch, I scramble to reset the wing.
12:40pm: heavy sigh after all US pilots are away safely and thermalling. Take some photos of the incredible gaggles, then drive down and prepare for the afternoon.
2pm: double espresso in town. Mount the magnetic 5/8-wave antennas on the roof: one to monitor the meet frequency for safety announcements, the other to communicate retrieves on the team frequency. Head toward the first turnpoint.
2:30pm: serious hard fast driving on narrow winding mountain roads, to get to any pilot who lands first short of goal. The pilots can share strategy info on the radio, but I cannot (against the rules) so I get to the first downed pilot ASAP, and they can then report valley winds, progress of the lead gaggle, etc to the rest of the team still in the air.
6pm - 8pm: last pilots are retrieved and all have checked-in their film and pinned their location on the map at Meet Headquarters.
7pm - 8:30pm: team debriefing (see photos). Heavy sigh, have a beer, cook some dinner. Maybe get a visit from the wayward French, Australian, Canadian or British pilot. The comraderie is unbeatable.
© Copyright Paul Klemond 1997
