Pilots make limited progress on stunning day

With a line-ball forecast, the weather and sites committee had a tough time deciding between getting competitors to fly from Inwoods lookout, 25 kilometres north of St Arnaud, or the 1485m Mt Murchison takeoff point on day four of the national paragliding championships.

Either way, the field was not going to be disappointed, but the committee got it spot on.

After the big drive up, competitors were stunned to discover an amazingly blue sky and windless conditions on the high summit, which is usually raked by strong winds.

Tasman Bay was visible in the far distance, while the West Coast was shrouded in a low bank of cloud.

The race task committee then set a big 70km race, around turnpoints at Murchison, a mountain ridge 15km north of the township, and then a long 30km downwinder to the goal at Tophouse junction, just north of St Arnaud.

The lead gaggle zoomed off to the southwest, and all signs pointed to a mega day.

However, the dread of Kiwi alpine paragliders, the sea breeze, pretty much stopped the progress of the pilots who managed to get to the first turnpoint, and decked the field along the Murchison river valley and surrounds.

The promised 70km task fell a bit flat, with a top distance of only 20.6km by Australian pilot and Paragliding World Cup circuit pilot Wes Manske, and will score only 475 points or so.

However, nobody could take away the pilots' and spectators' smiles and the memories of flying high over the stunning alpine vista under blue skies and light winds.

The results are still pending a few key GPS instrument downloads (including previous task winner Dean Straker), but it seems likely that two of the top three will be Aussies Felipe Rezende and Gavin Zahner, with only Evan Lamberton keeping up the Kiwi end.

The Trans Tasman trophy contest is going down to the wire and will hang on Saturday's race, which may well be another race at Barnicoat, providing colour and movement for Nelson South, Stoke and Richmond residents.

Thursday and Friday forecasts look completely unflyable, although Friday might change, so on Thursday night the Tasman Paragliding and Hang Gliding Club and Nelson venue the Boathouse will host a special event.

This will feature a multimedia presentation and lecture by two Czech pilots who last June flew an incredible paragliding adventure in the Karakoram mountains of Pakistan around K2, the second-highest peak in the world, using thermal updrafts alone. Start time will be about 6pm.

Dalibor Carbol and Juraj Kleja's odyssey was part of a recent trend of extreme Himalayan flights. They successfully completed their expedition, making a two-day bivouac flight and covering 285km in the Karakoram range.

The pair took off from Karimabad in the Hunza Valley on June 7 and flew past the 7000m peaks of Rakaposhi and Haramosh I, over Baltoro Glacier, along Masherbrum and Broad Peak and above the K2 Base Camp.

- © Fairfax NZ News