A lot of rock

The other day I was sitting on the balcony, having a beer, when I decided that the 3 palms next to the pool had to go. They were ugly, provided no shade and were blocking the view. So I got up and in a couple of minutes I chopped them down. I then spent 2 days digging out the roots.

This patch of garden became my new holiday project. It was time to do some landscaping.

We went up to Australian Natural Landscapes to get a few bags of pepples to cover the patch of garden. The guy told us that it was $30 a bag and we needed 8! There was no way we were going to pay that much for rocks. He then said that we could get 1/2 Ton of river rocks for $30 (because we had the trailer). So next thing we knew, there was a front end loader dumping a mass of rocks on the trailer.

The only problem with this was that I then had to spend the rest of the day carrying the rocks, a bucket at a time, down all the stairs to pool. 2 days later and I am still sore.

But it was worth it, as the garden now looks a lot better.

Sydney to Hobart on Google Earth

Just found that you can get a Sydney to Hobart feed for Google Earth. It updates every 10 minutes. It is very cool.

A Christmas Kangaroo!

Happy Christmas!

I am sitting on the couch, post lunch feeling stuffed while everyone else sleeps - my favourite part of Christmas.

We have had a successful Christmas so far. James did well on the present front. For the last few weeks he has been wanting Santa to bring him a rabbit toy... and he did. However when he unwrapped the rabbit, he exclaimed "A Kangaroo!".

I think the plan for the rest of the day is to relax, swim and eat/drink more. Perfect.

Dog on a Plane

100 impressions in 4 minutes

A not so wiggley Saturday

Saturday morning...we were all dressed and about to get into the car for the highlight of James' entertainment calendar - The Wiggles Concert at the Entertainment Centre. James has been very excited about this for weeks now.

I pick up the tickets and for some reason just happened to look at the date.

"Um...Kath, we are a week early. It is next weekend"

As soon as I said this, my mind went into fast forward mode to work out an alternative activity to suggest before James worked out that we weren’t going to the Wiggles for another week. Luna Park.

So we went to Luna Park.

Talk about a run down, expensive, boring place to go. I think we spent about $40 all up and the best thing James went on was almost the equivalent of a ride you can find at most supermarkets.

But, he enjoyed it and $40 (in my mind) was well worth the money to avoid a weekend of disappointment.

Souvenirs

Check out Michael Hughes' photo project at Flickr, it is fantastic!

So am I happy?

Alright, I have had time to think about it and I am not overly happy with my 44th at the Worlds. I think I would have been happier if I ended up in the 30s. I was 394 points short of that, so I guess I was close.

However, looking back at Australia's results at previous worlds, my 44th does not look too bad.

I am now really excited about the Nationals in July. The last time (prior to the Worlds) that I flew an actual competition was the Nationals in 2003, so to actually start having more regular competitions is fantastic.

I know that it seems to be a bit opposite, however I am going to use the Worlds as a warm up for the Nationals.

Another Worlds Video

Some video from the Worlds

Here is a nice marker drop from Markus Pieper from Germany.

No TV for a week!

Oh my god. We just had a thunderstorm and there was a lightening strike near by. As it happened, our Foxtel (Cable) TV went dead and didn't come back. I just talked to Foxtel and they can't get anyone over until Thursday night.

As we don't have an aerial, we are reliant on Foxtel for all TV (including Free To Air). Oh well, I guess we will just have to talk and read.

Its all over

I haven't posted for a little while. We have been a little busy finishing the event, packing up gear and sending it back to Australia (and partying a bit too).

We came 44th. Is that good or bad? I don't really know yet. It is kind of disappointing, but it is my first Worlds and I didn't really have any expectations of where I would end up. In the end, the US and Germany dominated the event. Australia's results were:

Paul Gibbs - 18th
Edwin Michell - 31st
Sean Kavanagh - 36th
Andrew Robertson - 44th

It is our last day in Japan. We are flying out tonight. I will blog more tomorrow when I am back in Australia and had a little more time to reflect on it all.

We landed in a canal!

We just landed in a canal. Fortunately it was only 1 cm deep with water, but it was a 2 metre deep drain (about the width of the basket). Once again it was a case of take what you could get when landing today. We had just done 4 tasks and fuel limitations gave us little options before forest. So we (my observer Dottie and I) landed on the edge of a cliff, up against a soft tree and slipped into the canal. We keep the balloon out of the mud, water and off the tree. So basically it was a good chance to wash the mud from yesterday off the bottom of the basket.

The morning (again) had mixed results. It was a PDG, JDG, JDG, FON. I got 3.2 metres on the PDG. About 10-15 metres on the first JDG. The second JDG became unachievable so I got about 1.2km with a lost marker in the forest. Then the final FON I would have got about 2.8km. I think there will be some interesting results for the last 2 tasks. The weather really changed and did not give many options.

Total score wise, we slipped down to 49th position. It was a bit of disappointing result, but not unexpected after yesterday's stuff up.

One more flight to go.

A really hard morning.

We have just returned from another tough flight. There were 4 tasks - FIN, JDG, FON, FON. The FIN was not too bad, probably about 20 metres. The JDG was a bit annoying, in that another balloon got beneath me and pushed me out of the way on approach, resulting in about 100m. The 2 FONs were a balls up. I did not set my last one far enough away to give me time to think about it...considering we were moving along at 50km/h. It resulted in 620m. The last one really sucked, as we chose one (in a hurry) in a valley too far to the east. By the time we got into the valley we were too far south. So the result (observered because the marker was lost) was about 2km.

The landing was really hard work. With only a golf course (out of bounds) and a forested mountain between us and the end of the map, I managed (after some fairly tense flying) to put the balloon down in a wet paddock between powerlines, a radio antenna, a train line and a highway. The crew, god bless them, were there right when I landed and we managed to pack the balloon up on a tiny bank and kept it dry and clean. We are all pretty tired now after a big carry out.

Some good news is that as of last night's flight we have crawled up to 42nd. So we are in the 40s. We actually have 3 more flight slots left. They are going to have a flight on Saturday afternoon. So I was hoping we might be in a chance to crawl into the 30s. But I think the 2 FONs this morning might have made that a bit ambitious. But you never know.

Well we have 2 hours to get food, fuel and over to Haga for the afternoon briefing.

Another day, another 5 tasks

What an exhausting day. We flew 4 tasks this morning (JDG, ANG, FON, JDG). The flight went for about 3 hours and a total of 48km. It was pretty hard work and we did not have much fuel left when we landed. The second JDG was about 25 km from the launch site and most people abandoned it. I had some troubles with my Angle (ANG) and was outside the pack, so I decided to abandon it and get as many points on the second JDG as possible. In the end I got 4km from the the JDG before fuel became a consideration. At the time of landing, I think only 3 or 4 balloons managed to get closer, so there should be some points in that task. This will make up for the other 3. My path (see image) shows what sort of steerage we had. There were a lot of long zigs and even longer zags.

Tonight we just did a MIN (minimum distance) in Utsunimya (by the river). I think I managed about 80 metres, which will put me way done the rankings for that task.

Last night was a much better result. I manage to (finally) get a marker within the arms of the cross (2m). It was good enough for a 5th place and 970 points. I then dropped about 80 metres for the PDG and picked up another 516 points.

So where does that point me in the scheme of things? Who knows, I have been slowly crawling my way up the rankings. Today might have done me some damage, but we will see. I am hoping to get into the 40s.

There is meant to be some rain coming in tonight. It sounds like it will be light, so we will probably get a flight in tomorrow morning. So 3 more flying slots left.

Finally a better morning!

Finally I had a flight that I felt pretty good about. We had 5 tasks this morning and my estimated results were as follows:

PDG - 87m
JDG - 15m (about)
FON - 350m (not so good)
JDG - 15m (about)
FON - 92m

After sitting on the launch field for an hour waiting for the green flag (due to fog in the river valley), I took off mid field and kept to left of the pack for a fair distance. This paid off when I got to the first PDG because most people were struggling to stay left when they got to the river, where the drainage was cranking along at about 8 knots to the right.

I then stuck in the river and did well on the 2 JDGs. I didnt do so well on the FON, but needed to sacrifice it (as my result was not going to be too good anyway) to keep on track for the second JDG. This worked and I scored quite well on the JDG. I must say it is nice to see targets close up (finally). The final FON was a bit too far to the right, so it was a bit of a struggle to get across to it.

So all in all, a good morning. I am finally feeling like I am on top of things and in the groove.

Last night we had a FIN and a FON out at Haga. Sean and I sat up at 5500 feet for most of the flight (next time I think we will both take jumpers...it was a bit cold up there in just a t-shirt). My FIN result was in the bottom half of the pack (around 260m). The FON was a bit better, placing just above the median at 183m.

So as of last night I have moved up a few places to 56th. I am hoping this morning will have a big impact (in a positive way) to my standing.

Bring on this afternoon.

Flight 2

Wow...that was a heck of a flight. We just got back from doing 2 tasks... a HWZ (Hesitation Waltz) and a FON (Fly On). We launched from the very wet Twin Ring launch site, in a mass ascention. This was the morning to get used to flying amongst a lot of balloons again. A bit different from flying out in the boonies in Binalong on my end.

The wind on the ground was very light and variable, but kicked into about 45km at 1000 feet. The flight consisted of rocketting down to the south, bombing into valleys to wash off speed and hope to get some kick in the right direction. Unfortunately for the first target the valley I chose gave me right instead of left. This meant I had a real struggle to crawl back to my track. After riding some curl over off one of the hills, I managed to get a slight turn, but not enough. In the end I dropped about 870 metres from the goal. I added about 15 metres will quickly changing my declared FON goal before dropping my marker (which was a very good move).

The second goal was the same sort of story. In the end I ended up 138.4m from the intersection. There were quite a few closer than me, but I think there will also be a lot penalties applied. A number of pilots look liked they landed within 200 metres of there markers. It will be interesting to see how that all comes out in the results.

So what did I learn today? This place is a bugger to fly, but a lot of fun.

Check out the photos.

Only way to go is up

Ah crap...I am coming 3rd last. But we have only had one flight and we already knew that the results would suck....but not that much.

We haven't flown since yesterday morning. The entire countryside has just turned to mud and puddles. We just got notification (by pager) that this afternoon's flight has also been cancelled. So it will be another afternoon of relaxing and doing nothing (which is getting pretty frustrating now).

However, as I write this, the sun seems to be starting to break through the clouds. So hopefully tomorrow will be better.

We spent the morning having a lazy breakfast, doing some laundry and buying gum boots (ready for a muddy rest of the week).

I am trying to fight off a really annoying and persistent cold. I am hoping that come tomorrow (with the help of a lot of Codral) that I will be feeling 100%. I have to say, it really sucks having a runny nose in a country where it is not considered polite to blow your nose in public.

The other problem with not getting to fly is that all we (Sean and I) can do is sit around and think about the 1 flight we have had and as much as we are trying not to do, mull over the stuff up with our distance infringement.

Anyway, it is only early in the week and we hopefully will get a lot of flying in once the rain goes away.

Worlds Flight 1

We just got back to the competition centre after the first flight. We had 3 tasks (PDG, FIN, FON). Sean and I teamed up together this morning and took a completely different approach from the rest of the field. It was a good tactic, however we just worked out that we were about 400m outside of the maximum 10km. This means we will probably get a considerable distance penalty added to our results for the FIN.

My results for the three tasks were 29m, about 30m (probably plus 800m for the penalty) and 50m for the FON. The are not great results, but hey...it is the first flight and I am just getting myself into the swing of things.

The weather (rain) looks like it is going to move in this arvo, so we might have a day or so of no flying.

Finally in the air

Excuse me if my spelling is average. I am sitting in the back of the van, driving to the competition centre to register for the event.

We finally got in the air. It seems like it has been a long journey to get to this point, but I (flying solo) had a stunning flight out of the Twing Ring race track this morning. I managed to drop a couple of practice markers (one under 5 metres) and fly over a few practice goals. So I am feeling good about how I am performing at this stage.

Yesterday morning was too foggy to fly. A few people waited around for a couple of hours for the fog to clear, but we really did not feel the need to do that, as we had plenty of logistical things to do (e.g. going to a bank, eating etc.). The afternoon was then too windy to fly.

Our accommodation is fantastic. We have 3 small houses between Sean's and our team. So the Robertsons can sleep in one, the Kavanaghs can sleep in the other and the others can not sleep (i.e. drink and dance to the music from a laptop) in the other.

James is doing really well. He is doing a lot of sleeping in the car and in various restuarants.

So all in all, things are going really well and spirits are very high. Competition starts in 2 days, so hopefully we will continue that way.

Another day in Tokyo

I am sure I said in the last post that the mission was not to exhaust ourselves. Well we failed at that. We did a lot of walking today (except for James of cause). We went for a lovely walk around the Imperial Palace Gardens and then around the streets of Tokyo.

We are now back at Narita Airport, staying at the Holiday Inn. There are a few other balloonists staying here tonight, so it is starting to feel like it is all beginning now.

So tomorrow is the day of picking up cars/vans, balloons and heading up to Motegi. We might not have internet access so readily available after tonight, so I am unsure when the next post will be. But then again, our team consists of a lot of geeks...so i am sure we will find a way to get online.

A day in Tokyo

Well we have successful made it to Japan and survived our first day in Tokyo.

James managed to sleep the entire flight over here, but we were all pretty exhausted after a full day of walking around Tokyo being tourists (most of the time James was on my shoulders). We mostly hung around Ikebukuro and all the crazy shops.

We are going to do a few more things around Tokyo today, including the Imperial Palace Gardens, Ginza (and the Sony Building) and a 7 storey building of kids activities. We are then going to head back to Narita (Tokyo Airport) and spend the night there.

Tomorrow we need to pick up the balloon and clear it through customs. I was talking to the freight company people yesterday. They seem to be over complicating things (and stressing themselves) by trying not to inconvenience us. Basically they have trying to work out a way that we can clear the balloon through customs, pick it up and not have us need to wait a couple of hours tomorrow.

Then we are heading up to Motegi and settling in.

The mission today is not over-exhaust ourselves today being tourists.

Time to get focused

Ahhh...it is Saturday morning and it is time to start focusing on Japan. It has been a busy few weeks at work, but fortunately I am not feeling exhausted (like I normally do when I start a holiday).

We are flying out tomorrow night, so we can now spend the weekend packing. It will probably take all weekend because James has a habit of unpacking things at the same speed as we can pack them.

The balloon was shipped (planed) off yesterday. Sean very kindly packed it all off for me yesterday - thanks so much buddy.

Some happier news

We are going to finally have another Nationals. The ABF have announced that there will be a Nationals held in July 2007 in Benalla, Victoria (the location of the 1990 Nationals - for those of us who have been around long enough to remember back then). We haven't had a Nationals since 2003, so it will be great to finally have a bit more competition flying in the country.

So I guess I can use the Worlds as a practice event for the Nationals.

Some extremely sad news

The other day we heard that Masashi Kakuda, the director of the Worlds and one of the most respected people in the ballooning community, had been taken to hospital with serious heart problems.

This morning we received news (Les Purfield's email is below) that Masashi has passed away. This is extremely sad news and even worse that it has happened right before the event that he has dedicated so much of his life to.


---

To all Participants and Officials

We are very sad to inform you that Masashi Kakuda passed away today, November 8, 2006, from complications of a myocardial infarction.

Masashi has been a dynamic force in ballooning for many years. He was the Event Director for two World Hot Air Balloon Championships in Saga, Japan and was scheduled as the Event Director at the 17th World HAB Championship in Tochigi, Japan.

Masashi believed in the power of air sports to bring people together. With that in mind, he formulated the World Grand Prix for Ballooning. Starting in 1998, this was a competition held in three continents/countries - Wisconsin,/USA; Luxembourg/Europe and Japan/Asia. Pilots from the various countries joined as one team, forming friendship across cultures and national boundaries.

Masashi will be greatly missed by his family, his ballooning friends and all who had the privilege to share time with him.

The 17th World Hot Air Balloon Championship will begin in Tochigi, Japan on November 18th. Masashi had assembled a first class team of people to work with him on the Worlds. This team will continue Masashi's plans for the event. Mr. Les Purfield has been named the Event Director for the 17th World HAB Championship.

Details of the funeral/memorial services and of Masashi's family contact address will follow as soon as it is known.

Where is Motegi?

I thought I should stick up a map of where Motegi actually is. Basically it is about 3 hours drive North East of Tokyo.

So what's the plan?

I thought I should outline what we are doing, so here are our rough movements while we are away:

Sun 12 (overnight) - Fly out of Sydney to Tokyo
Mon 13 & Tue 14 - Hang out in Tokyo
Wed 15 - Head up to Motegi
Thu 16 to Sat 18 - Practice Flights
Sun 19 to Sat 25 - Competition Flights
Sun 26 - Key Grab Flight & Party
Mon 27 - Back to Tokyo & send off balloon
Tue 28 - Day in Tokyo & fly back to Sydney over night
Thu 30 - Back to work

We are not sure how much access to the web we will get while we are in Motegi. We are staying in a couple of houses in the middle of nowhere. But chances are we will find a way to go online.

One Week to Go!

There is one week left to go before we head off to Japan for the Worlds. It looks like it is going to be a very crazy week at work, so my focus at the moment is to not get too exhausted before we go. Fortunately we are flying out on the Sunday night next weekend, so I have a couple of days to wind down before heading off.