SE Wales Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club e-Newsletter
Club AGM
Just a final reminder that the re-convened Club AGM will be held in the Traders Marquee at the Blorenge Party at Pen-y-Worlod Farm Abergavenny on Saturday 29th August at 6.00pm. If you're just coming along on the Saturday night for the Club AGM, please be sure to bring youe Club membership card with you to show to security staff on the gate.
Directions to the venue are on the Blorenge Party page on the web site.
Blorenge Party
Talking of the Blorenge Party, another reminder that you have less than three weeks to buy Blorenge Party tickets at the reduced rate of £30 for a single and £40 for a double. After the 31st July tickets will cost £45 for a single ticket and £55 for a double ticket.
So don't miss out on a bargain, order your tickets today and save £15 on the "gate price"!
Site Issues
Blaenavon: I'm afraid a locked barrier has now appeared across the second gate by the entrance to the Blaenavon flying sites with a notice stating that it will be closed after 2 pm and will not be opened until 9 am daily, so for the time being vehicular access to this site will not be possible.
The Club as learnt that the Local Council has ordered the Mine Owner to keep the gate locked to try to cut down on fly tipping and illegal off road riding. Fly tipping is particularly bad at the moment, and the Mine Owner is responsible for clearing this not the Local Authority.
Paul Farley is currently in contact with the Mine Owner to see if we can come to some arrangement to gain vehicular access once more. Please don't do anything in the meantime to make those negotiations harder than they already are.
Fochriw: The new locked gate at Fochriw appears to have been installed by the company working on repairing the rail link to the coal washery, so I'm afraid it's back to square one and we need to see if we can negotiate vehicular access to the mine track again.
Rogue Pilots: We seem to be getting a number of reports about "rogue" pilots on SE Wales sites. In some cases it appears that they are not fully qualified and have no insurance, in other cases they just aren't prepared to follow site rules.
Unfortunately their actions can all too easily put continued site access at risk, and we would ask all Club members to be vigilant when flying SE Wales sites and to be on the look out for bad behaviour.
You dont have to be confrontational, that would only make a bad situation worse, but if you see someone new on a site, that doesn't appear to know the rules, or you think may not be qualified or insured, it is better to speak to them and explain the possible consequences for all of us. Who knows, you might be able to encourage them to go on the straight and narrow, or even make a new friend or member. Very often a quiet word is all it takes to nip bad behaviour in the bud.
Live Weather Paragliding Map
Craig Payne has created a rather neat "Google map application" to show live weather observations around popular paragliding sites in the UK and Europe, which looks to be a useful addition to the rather better known XC weather page. Craig's web site can be found at www.paraglidingmap.com.
SE Wales Sites Map
If you've not looked at the Club's on-line sites guide recently, you may not be aware that we too have created our own "Google Map" showing the location of all SE Wales Sites, with abridged site rules and advice. To date this has had over 9,000 visits, so there's even less excuse for visitors who claim to not be aware of our site rules. Our on-line sites guide includes a link to the appropriate Google map for each of our flying sites, or you can go directly to the main SE Wales Sites Google Map.
Jim Hay
As you know Jim Hay passed away last month. Jim was member of the Club for more years than I care to remember. A past Chairman, Safety and Training Officer, and Sites officer, Jim made a massive contribution to the Club over the years before retiring to Spain, and was a personal friend. A real character in an often grey world, many members will I'm sure have fond memories of Jim. He will be sadly missed.
A short obituary has been published in the July issue of Skywings, and as a small tribute to his contribution to the Club and the sport, we will be dedicating our annual novice pilot trophy in his memory.
When I recently spoke to Daphne, his widow, she asked me to pass on her thanks for the many cards, and letters of sympathy and support she has received from members and friends.
Paul