Hang Gliding and Paragliding Volume 44 / Issue 2: February 2014 | Page 46
ABOVE Davidson DaSilva on glide after
Mansfield. BELOW Davidson, Joe and Steve–
the locals.
Topless, and Rigid.
About 40 pilots registered for this
year’s Classic, with pilots from as
far away as Massachusetts, Hawaii,
Alberta (Canada) and California
making the pilgrimage. Several
Canadian paraglider pilots who were
driving home from the Woodrat Rat
Race, held the week before, decided to
check out Chelan. So they just competed for one or two days, as drive-by
pilots.
Saturday, June 29: Warm-up
Day
It was too windy for any of us to
attempt warm-up flights. All pilots
would have to begin the meet the following day from a cold start.
Sunday, June 30: Day 1
The first day was a rocker, but perhaps
one that slept in a bit. Launches
were later, and the lift was weak but
steady. For those ready to go XC,
points were available. In the Topless
class, Jeff Beck and I flew identical,
73.4-mile triangles—Farmer, Sims
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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE
Corner and a return all the way back
to tag the Chelan Butte waypoint.
Another Topless competitor, Wayne
Michelsen, knocked out the nearly
equilateral 49.9-mile triangle—
Farmer, Mansfield, Soccer Field LZ.
John Taylor set a personal best by
flying Farmer, Mansfield and almost
to the halfway-back line. Still others
on their second flights used the new
waypoints at Lamoine and the Knee
to put points on the board. Mike
Daily in the Rigid class also flew
Farmer, Sims and back, but his pri-
mary GPS went kaput and his backup
GPS only could prove that he did an
out-and-return to Sims Corner—
bummer! Frederick Bourgavalt, one
of the drive-by Canadians in the
paraglider Serial class, knocked out
a 61.3-mile out-and-return to Sims
corner with enough altitude to fly
farther west up the lake and get a
good view o