Anyway, I watched raptly as lots of paragliders threw down the steeziest tricks in the biz. Bummed that I had forgotten about the event and hence hadn't brought a camera, I vowed to return the next day to capture this airborne talent, along with some hang gliding, wakeboarding, BASE jumping, and freestyle BMX.
So this morning I loaded up my smallest daypack with both cameras, an extra lens, and some socially acceptable (read: non-spandex) clothes and headed back out to Kingston. It was a little breezy all the way out, but right as I got into town, the wind reared its ugly head and started roaring.
Clouds above the launch
Chances of seeing anything airborne dwindled quickly, but pilots were antsy and keen to play around on the beach.
Venturing onto the wakeboarders' rail with a speed-glider
There was a great little crowd out there and I ran into a few mates, so that was a nice surprise.
Caked in sweat from my ride but changed into boardshorts, I seized a great opportunity to rinse off when the MC announced he'd give away a free ski-field lift ticket to the first person who was willing to jump in the lake. :)
Our little sheltered harbor was too choppy for even the wakeboarders, as the wind was steady at 35-40+ km/hr all day. The only action that could happen was the freestyle BMX, and even they had to time their runs between gusts.
The pilots were waiting at the launch high above for a break in the weather, but it was never to come.
So the telephoto intended for the paragliders stayed in my bag and I shot BMX for a while.
I eventually got bored and headed to the cafe to watch Formula 1 Qualifying for Round 1 in Australia. F1 without traction control (new for this season) is awesome.
But I digress...I'm glad I got to see the acro stuff yesterday but I'm pretty disappointed that I don't get to share what I saw. It's a cool event and I'm glad that they had two days of good flying weather before today.
And then I got hammered by the wind on the way back. Badly.
