CYPRES sponsored Swooper Michael Vaughan is on site and reporting from South Africa on the 2009 Canopy Piloting World Cup stay tuned for more!
Departing Sydney, Australia
Friday 20 November 2009 10:30am
Forcast Clear Skies, Maximum 40 degrees
Flight Duration 14 hours
Arriving Johannesburg, South Africa
Friday 20 Novmeber 2009, 3:35pm
Forecast Low Cloud, Drizzle, Maximum 17 degrees
The Aussies have begun arriving in Carletonville, South Africa to prepare for the 2009 Canopy Piloting World Cup. We had expected it to be a lot warmer here, it is after all summer time and we are still in the same hemisphere as back home. We are sadly mistaken so far…… WHERE OH WHERE HAS SUMMER GONE?
The Aussie contingent will total 11 this year, 9 of which will be competing for the first time as members of the Australian Canopy Piloting Team. This is definitely a development year for Aussie swoopers and an amazing opportunity for the new guys to rub shoulders with the worlds best as well as see them in action.
Saturday morning we rocked up to the dropzone, fingers crossed that the clouds would break and we could begin our training campaign. We had plenty of time to get a dz brief and familiarise ourselves with the dz and the pond itself. The local wildlife will definitely keep us on our toes while we are here, it is Africa after all.
The forecast and weather radar showed no improvements so DZ management called it for the day around 11am and the bar was open early.
Sunday was the complete opposite, blue skies and light winds. 24 PAC loads later and we have all done our fill of training jumps. Thankfully the forecast for the next few days looks similar. Competitors from other countries including Great Britain and Netherlands are also beginning to arrive. The expectation is for around 60-70 competitiors in total. This is shaping up already to be a great week and a fantastic competition.