Marske 09-05-2010

[colin keightley]

It was a good morning for some at Marske, me being one of them rewarded with a trip to staithes and back

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/colinskei ... directlink

[gary stenhouse]

Nice pics the tide looked a wee high with some gliders quite low well done and stay safe

[colin keightley]

The lift was good and those gliders where above the cliffs they came from one of those gliders was Hamish Tsai. High tide was 30mins after these photos but i beleive i was acheiving heights of above 800ft above takeoff always had an A and B ok none of this helps when your glider tries to pack itself away but that can happen anywhere at anytime.

[Jim Bittlestone]

Nice one Colin, well done, thats a great flight, some good pics too. Tide times could have been better, best to keep the percentages on your side for folks who havent done this before.
Cheers
Jim

[ron freeman]

Tide was way too high... remember the wind can also change at anytime !

[colin keightley]

Most of the time I was high enough to fly well inland so wasn't worried about going down spent all of my flight looking at possible top and bottom landings and how I would get back out. I did get 1 bit wrong at staiths though I got a little disorientated with my direction and the wind was coming along the peninsula at staiths and I lost a lot of height but even then I had plans but turned back a got back well above top with a couple of hundred feet above tops. I hear what your saying Ron and I'm not saying your wrong, my arse goes at the best of times so had I not had safe height I would have called it a day.

[gary stenhouse]

the thing with this flight is not that the experience will have a problem its more the inexperienced who just follow because you can. i have seen at times where i can stay up in a knats fart and a novice in howling gales go down. the thing with this type flight when is low low and when is high high enough? there is always risk on any flight but i think on this type flight there is double as the wind on sunday was due to go more northerly nw and then lighten.

for those who do the flight on there decision then its fine but if you are a follower then think again as you may not have the same skills as the man in front, and just may put yourself in a life or death situation.

remember a northerly wind means big swells and big swells means certain death if you land in it fully clothed even without a pg on your back

[colin keightley]

I can certainly say I wasn't a follower I knew the wind prediction which is why I didn't hang about and went straight for it making targets along the way first crossing the gap at saltburn and boomed straight back above top next target the big cliff working well here next big cliff bloody he'll I'm high above the water I'm sure you know where I'm going with this even when I got to skiningrove I was more than happy to call that the end of the flight but the other side was working well so I carried on.

[myerscouse]

Splended flight Colin, and great photies to.
I'm sure you've been at it long enough now to know where and when to go... well done.
I wish i'd come down there my self now instead i opted for the cheviots where at one point I was high enough to see right in to the centre....
To my amazment there is no mountain but a Super Massive 'Black Hole' very like the one in the middle of our Galaxy ..
where not even light could escape . It dowened me just short of the 'Event Horizon 'where with a super human effort i was bearly able to escape its clutces and walked nay dragged my self back to the safety of Yeavering Bell.

Cheviot Hills for Drills

[Chris L]

Nice flight Colin, well done.
The rest of em are just jealous because they went to the wrong sites
I went to Burnbank and did 2 tandems. Wind quite strong and mainly overcast, although one or two went over the back. A good day

[ron freeman]

Colin, when you were down to 300ft at Stathies and if the lift became scratchy.... you can't bottom land ! so it would have to be a toplanding in rotor if you had the height...

Iv'e been down there standing on the cliff top at Stathies and beleive me toplanding is not and option !

Bottom landing even with the tide out ! is do able but you have to walk across some big rocks to get out.

Remember - landing at the bottom of a cliff (close in) is not an option because of base rotor (the reverse of top rotor)

The only safe way to do this flight is with the tide well out, your choice of course...

Cheers.







Cheers.

[Graeme Gilroy]

Hi Ron
ive never heard of bottom rotor before - im new to this sport and aint heard or read of this before in any texts or forums and i like to think i remember most things.
how does that work ?
cheers
graeme

[gary stenhouse]

i think the ground rotor will be the dead air found at the very bottom of steep cliffs. i had experience in 2007 after going down at horden near the north end. as you get to the bottom the wind goes completely and can make a very interesting landing broken vario almost broken legg and very nearly smashed in face. you think you can spot land untill you get down to the bottom and then tyou find the pebbles are bolders and you either break your ankles or worse. in five years of flying i have seen more accidents and had more near missis at the coast than any other place due to sudden wind increase or decrease and often the lack of height to escape problems.

this is not to get any one person only for others to learn from others mistakes and bravery, as i have no conience for others as i beleive that if you die doing what you do, is your choice. though i think it is too easy to get into serious trouble at the coast because it seems too easy yet reality it is until it goes wrong

cheers gary

[colin keightley]

Like I said Ron the peninsula at staithes is where I fu**ed up and let myself get a little low, but even with the tide out im not sure which I would rather land in Rocks or Rotor and yes I am aware of boottom rotor which is why I was looking at the little sloping bits at the bottom as possibilities. At the end of the day it was a choice made on the day when i was in the air in the conditions.

I still think it was a good idea and im not about to start doubting myself as it is a bad thing to get into often leading to bad decisions when second guessing yourself.

[gary stenhouse]

my goodness we have managed to get i discussion going in the end.
and by the way i was never getting at you colin as i know you have plenty of knowledge of the coast but there is plenty who dont. e

by the way wedis looking realy good for wednesday

cheers gary

[John Wallis]

ive never heard of bottom rotor before

Got to say I don't think I've ever read anything about bottom rotor how does that work Ron ? Is it a rotation at the base of the cliff where the wind hits? (Serious question by the way)

I've had something similar after a strong curry........

[colin keightley]

sharp bottoms of the cliffs causing sudden changes in direction of the wind cause it to roll over and rotor and then the wind above it flows over the top of the rotor and up the cliff. I'll try and find a diagram

[ron freeman]

Base rotor, Colin got it spot on but its much more prominent when the cliff falls inward at the base of the cliff also the stronger the wind the stronger the base rotor will be.

Alway try to land well out from a cliff.. (tide out)

[Graeme Gilroy]

Thanks Ron
will watch out for sites where that could happen.
cheers
graeme

[bdoub]

I appreciate the discussion. I have only flown the coast (Lowca) once and probably could easily end up being a "follower" on a new coastal site someday.

Good discussion here and points well taken.

Thanks again.

[GlennP]

I was asked about doing this flight ( marske staithes marske) tonight and after pointing out all the pitfalls and dangers it's a wonder I ever attempted this flight. I did have some good company and good conditions ( low tide and sea thermals).

It's not often I agree with Ron but it seems people see talk of this run on the forum and think it's something they should do which I think is dodgy.

Coastal flying seems to be regarded as a boring and easy by some skygods but a lot of people say they ve had accidents at the coast. In my very very inexperienced opinion it's a difficult flight to do and you can easily come unstuck. I flew it as a low airtimer twice and I think I didn't understand fully what might go wrong.

It's a great flight but dangerous all the same.