I hope that everyone is enjoying the holidays and planning exciting flying trips for 2005.

The BAPA holiday party was a big success with at least 75 people attending. Luckily, Tom Moock's house was spacious and guests could spread out in different rooms and even go out onto the patio for fresh air. Surprisingly, we could have used more substantive food (or maybe I spent too much time chatting people up before deciding to eat) but at least there were plenty of desserts. And lots to drink, except a slight deficit of white wine…Jug gave out many prizes for participants in the Social XC League. It was fun to talk to everyone and to see what people look like without their helmets on. In fact, I think we're all pretty good looking in normal life…. Thanks very much to Tom for being a gracious host.

Congratulations to the BAPA officers for 2005. Jeff Wishnie will be our new President and Rolf Bienert will continue on as VP. Tom Moock carries on as Site Director, Wally Anderson and Ann Sasaki will be the Safety Co-Directors and Chip Sheppard and Rich Leggett will be Activities Co-Directors. Pete Norlander continues as Secretary and Raquel Lopes is the new Treasurer.

In appointed (not elected) positions, Heather Hooper will take over as the Membership Coordinator. Tim Kuenster will continue as the Ridge Dancer editor and Julie Spiegler and possibly Peter Warren (who now lives in Ashland, Oregon!) will continue to provide technical support. Unless they ask for a change, the BAPA Site Administrators will stay the same - Bob Clem at Diablo, Dave Sondergeld at the Stables, Phil Neri at Mussel Rock (a.k.a. the Dump) and Wally Anderson at Mt. Tam.

Please remember that your support is crucial to the club. Member participation is what makes our club so great. You don't have to be an officer to propose an event or activity or to get involved in projects.

Also, please don't forget to renew your membership for 2005. You can do this via the BAPA website at www.sfbapa.org Select "Join Now" from the front page.

As the year comes to a close, I'd like to wish everyone the best. I hope that 2005 brings you much lift and laughter!

We need your stories and pictures! We see those digital cameras on launch and at the LZ so come on, send those photos and the stories to accompany them to editor@sfbapa.org

This just came in from our Executive Director, Jayne DePanfilis.

2005 Regional Director Election Results

Region 1
Bill Bolosky 46
Aaron Swepston(w) 1
Gene Matthews(w) 1

Region 2
Jim Macklow 91
Ray Leonard 64
Ed Pitman(w) 24
Ron Smith(w) 1

Region 3
David Jebb 54
Rob Sporrer(w) 3
Joe Greblo(w) 2
Peter Michelmore(w) 1
Rob Mckenzie(w) 1
John Hurst(w) 1

Region 4
Steve Mayer 63
Jennifer Beach(w) 2
Jim Zeiset(R) 2
Ed Bennett(w) 1

Region 7
Tracy Tillman 39
Neil Roland(w) 1

Region 8
Gary Trudeau 48
Matt Carr(w) 2
Jeff Nicolay(w) 1
John Szarck(w) 1

Region 9
Felipe Amunategui 40
Randy Leggett(R) 2
Jim Rowan(w) 1

Region 10
Steve Kroop 58
Laurie Croft(w) 1
Christian Thoreson(w) 1

Region 12
Paul Voight 58

There were a total of 12 invalid votes. We received only one vote so
far after the December 15th deadline and this vote is invalid.

Congratulations to the newly elected regional directors and to those
incumbents who were re-elected as well!

The effective date for the newly elected regional directors is January
1st.

Iím happy to report that we received no new accident reports for November. Congratulations to everyone! Of course, this can partly be attributed to fewer flyable days and less radical fall air. Still itís a big improvement. Keep up the good work.

This issue contains an extremely well thought out article on handling emergencies by Matt Epperson. Matt is a Paramedic/Paraglider/Hang Glider Pilot who has extensive experience in all types of emergencies. His article not only has useful advice on how to operate an accident scenario but also good inside information on EMS capabilities and how they operate.

I would like to solicit ideas from the membership for safety related articles and clinics you would like to see in the coming year. Ann Sasaki and I are sharing the Safety Directorís duties this coming year and hope to expand the scope and services provided by the position. Let us know what youíd like to see and weíll make it happen.

Wishing everyone happy holidays!

Wally Anderson

As with every year, it is the time when the winds turn more east, the thermals get weak, we get stressed out to get all of our Christmas gifts together (Do you have my GPS on your list?) and the BAPA dues are due. The dues for 2005 are due on January 1st and are $25.

We really appreciate your participation. Many members ask: What do we do with membership fees besides putting the money in a bank account? The club strives to serve the flying community in several ways including

• Holding fly-ins, skills clinics, first aid classes, informative presentations at meetings and social events.
  
  
• Working towards opening new flying sites and on maintaining already open flying sites.
  
  
• The club pays the insurance for the following sites: Mt. Tam, Mt Diablo, and the Stables in Daly City. Without this insurance, we would not be able to fly these sites.

There are two ways to pay your club dues: By PayPal or by sending a check of $25 to BAPA, P.O. Box 1809, Pacifica, CA 94044.

If you are a new member, please fill out the Member Application form (available on the BAPA website at www.sfbapa.org under "Join BAPA").

If you are renewing your membership, please include updated Emergency Contact information with your check or in the online form.

Many of the older members have outdated information that they supplied when they first joined the club years ago. We would like to have a current Emergency Contact name and number on file for all members.

Include also any other contact information that has changed such as email address, phone number, street address, or any paragliding ratings changes.

If you would like to renew a Stables, Diablo, or Mt. Tam sticker, please submit a photocopy of your USHGA card showing that you are a current USHGA member. Also include a self addressed, stamped envelope so we can send your "05" sticker promptly. If you do not request sticker renewal and send a copy of your USHGA card, you will not receive an "05" sticker. We appreciate contributions toward site maintenance and insurance. The recommended contribution is $12 per year per site ($1 per month). If you do not renew your BAPA membership, you will be taken off the active list and will no longer receive the Ridge Dancer and emails regarding club activities.

Thank you for your support and participation!

If you have any questions regarding membership or dues, please contact BAPA Treasurer Stefan Schulz at stoffel64@yahoo.com.

This guideline will help witnesses of an accident prioritize the necessary actions which may aid in the care of an injured pilot and ensure that the victim receives a prompt and appropriate professional rescue. This is only a guideline and its modification may be necessary depending on resources, location and the nature or extent of the victim's injuries. This guideline simply assigns three tasks for two or more rescuers to carry out and contains a detailed explanation of each task. This is only a guideline and you should always use good judgment and common sense. However, in emergency care, the "standard of care" is to always suspect the most likely worst case scenario. Please read the October, 2004 article in Hang Gliding & Paragliding Magazine which gives a good algorithm for activation of Emergency Services.

Upon witnessing an accident or suspicion of an accident requiring outside assistance

A. Designate one person to call 9-1-1.

Use a landline if possible as this directs the call to a local 9-1-1 dispatch center which will likely be more familiar with the area and local resources than the statewide cell phone CHP 9-1-1 dispatch center. If you call the CHP center you are likely to be put on hold and it can take 15-20 minutes to get a response. Know exactly where you are and where the victim is. Most dispatchers will not know where the "Dumps" or "Potato Hill" is. If using a cell phone, knowing the county or nearest city / town is very important. The best location to give the dispatcher is the nearest roadway and the victim's exact location from that roadway (i.e., road M-10 approx 8 miles west of the town of Stony ford at a field immediately south of the "Boys Camp"). Latitude and longitude are also helpful in a wilderness area. Important information includes a description of the victim's injuries and the type of terrain at the scene of the accident. A grass field next to a paved road requires entirely different resources than a steep wooded hillside one mile from an unimproved dirt roadway. If the victim is in a remote area on difficult to access terrain, relay this information as it may change the response.

B. Designate one person in charge of patient care.

This will obviously be the most medically qualified person available and this person may change if a more highly trained rescuer arrives. This person may have assistance from other trained or untrained people available. This person should provide care at their appropriate level of training and should stay with the patient until care is transferred to professional rescuers. Remember move the victim only if absolutely necessary. This would be to check for an airway and breathing or to perform a rescue from imminent danger, such as steep unstable terrain, for example the edge of a cliff. Do not remove helmet or harnesses unless trained to do so or if absolutely necessary. Do not let the victim move, especially his or her head, neck, back and areas of injury or pain. Remember the ABC's, A-Airway and Cervical Spine Immobilization, B-Breathing, C-Circulation: Most injuries consistent with rapid deceleration (a paragliding or hang gliding accident) will be internal and very difficult to assess. Spinal injuries are also very likely. Many times slight pain is the only symptom of a life threatening injury. If a significant rapid deceleration was possible always suspect and treat for the worst case scenario which is likely internal and spinal injuries.

C. Designate one or more persons to go to roadway access points and guide emergency responders to the scene.

This may be the individual who called 9-1-1. This person should be at the main access road where emergency vehicles will arrive. This person may direct or escort the emergency responders to the scene. Ride with the responders to help direct them if they allow (this will depend on their protocols). If additional people are available, have them stay at the access point to guide additional emergency vehicles that may arrive after the first one. If air resources are the first to arrive, be aware that people are extremely difficult to locate from the air. A spread out glider is much easier to see than a person. Be aware of rotor wash with that spread out glider. A smoke signal can be extremely beneficial however you must be very careful with pyrotechnic devices in high fire danger areas.

Things to consider

Never endanger yourself or let anyone else become a victim. "Heroic" actions often lead to multiple patients. Radios are invaluable. Being able to relay information is essential. Have you ever seen a paramedic, firefighter or ranger without a radio? Know how to contact emergency services for your flying site; this may be a pay phone, cell phone or a radio with a repeater depending on the area. Try to relax, take a deep breath and think about your actions before you take them. Everyone feels some level of anxiety during an emergency and being able to control that anxiety and make logical decisions are essential. You will rarely see a professional rescuer run to the scene of an emergency because this increases anxiety. Think about a plan before you act. Anxious rescuers often increase the anxiety of a victim which is seldom beneficial. Realize that no rescue goes flawlessly. Be aware that rescues are time consuming and professional rescuers will take the time to analyze a rescue before jumping in. This is often frustrating to bystanders involved. Realize that a poor decision is much more detrimental than a lengthier good decision. Ask spectators to stay away. If you can't use them they add to confusion and add anxiety for everyone.

Emergency Resources

Available resources are area dependant. They range from full time paid professionals to volunteers on call. As a general rule the more urban the area the higher the care.

BLS Ambulance (Basic Life Support) - An ambulance staffed with two emergency medical technicians (EMT's). A BLS is able to provide basic life support such as oxygen, cervical spine immobilization, splinting, bandaging and transportation either to a hospital, ALS ambulance or medical helicopter.

ALS Ambulance (Advanced Life Support) - An ambulance staffed with one EMT and one paramedic or two paramedics. Able to provide basic and advanced life support such as IV's, medication administration, endotracheal (breathing) tubes, needle thoracostomy (for collapsed lungs), cardiac monitoring, analgesics (pain medication), tracheostomy (airway in the neck), and more.

Rescue - The name "Rescue" may change dependant on the area and is usually either the Fire Department or the Sheriffs Office Search and Rescue. These are trained rescuers with appropriate equipment to perform rescue from wilderness areas and from high or low angles using ropes.

Medical Helicopter (also called an Air Ambulance) - Medical helicopters are staffed with a combination of a pilot and one or two flight nurses and / or flight paramedics. They provide basic and advanced life support similar to the care of an ALS ambulance often with a more expanded scope of practice. They provide very rapid transportation to a trauma center. Usually need a 75 by 75 foot flat unobstructed landing zone in the day. Increase this size at night.

Rescue Helicopter (Usually CHP, Henry One, Coast Guard) Inland rescue is a low priority for the Coast Guard. - Able to perform long line and hoisting operations of victims from difficult to access terrain. May or may not also meet the definition of a medical helicopter.

Law Enforcement - This includes rangers. They may or may not be medically trained, however those stationed in wilderness areas are often EMTs. They provide scene control and investigation.

Matt is a firefighter / paramedic and currently works on an ALS Ambulance / Rescue. He has been involved in emergency care for nine years working for both the fire department and private ambulance companies on both BLS and ALS ambulances as well as ALS fire engines. You will most likely see Matt, a P3 and more recently a H2 pilot, flying at Ed Levin, Potato Hill, and Hull Mountain on his Arcus III or Pulse11 meter.

Reprinted with Jill's permission from her original post sent to the SF Bay Area Paragliding email list.

I just came back from a flying trip in India and if I understood our host correctly, I am the only American that has visited with them at this site so I thought it deserved a write up.

With only a week to travel in India, I opted to go to a region that wasn't at the top of my "must fly" list but was easy to get to and allowed for plenty of extra time for exploring.

So, I hooked up with the guys at Nirvana Adventure from the Pune region of India about 100 km outside Bombay (You may have seen posting to this list periodically).

The Climate
The latitude of this place is the same as Mexico City and I thought it had a very similar "look and feel" with steep mesas and arid but paradoxically jungle-like at the same time. The mountains are about 1000 meters high and bald on top so there are potential launches everywhere. Landing out did not seem to be an issue as there are lots of grassy farms and roads, although I didn't get the chance to try any hitchhiking as I didn't do any XC.

The Sites
There are multiple sites that are flown in the different monsoon conditions. For our time (November) we were flying the East facing site, Tower Hill. The area looks pretty darn good and under the right XC conditions it would be relatively easy to do some distance as things are spaced out nicely with lots of ranges on easy glide without any tight valleys.

The key may be getting the right XC conditions. It isn't easy to generalize and of course Sanjay from Nirvana can speak more to this, but for the week we were there, there tended to be strong afternoon winds. So for those that have flown Hat Creek or Blossom, you will be right at home, especially Blossom. Similar to Blossom, while the ridge lift may only get you a few hundred feet above launch, there are lines of shear and broken lift that I was able to work to 1400 feet above launch.

The treats...
I could write about 10 pages on this.

First off, the birds are really something. They are very gregarious, more than anywhere else I have been, and HUGE. They will share the thermals with you and on my last day I just ridge soared till I saw a new kind of bird and then joined him in what he was doing. A large Kite shared a 500 foot climb with me flying about 10 feet away the entire time which was a real treat. The bed and breakfast that is part of Nirvana is very clean, and feels like a retreat center and party house at the same time. I was never wanting for friendly conversation, company on some cooked up activity, or a place to sit quietly alone. Imagine cushions, hammocks, flowers, open air, nice views...It is also set on a very clean lake that serves as a reservoir that I swam in daily.

I say cooked up activities because I got the impression that this area was very new, if not brand new to tourism. So there are no brochures telling you there is a sweet village down the road that has beautiful little temples and children that will ask you what is wrong with your skin. There are no advertisements that one of the flying sites that we weren't using that week has a 300 foot waterfall, 500 ft vertical rock cliffs with honey comb that is harvested by local people by vine ladders. There are no trail guides that show you the walk around the hills and farms of people that walk barefoot in cobra country and that at the tops of these hills are tribal people that have never left the hill.

Every day there was something new to explore that would often arise in casual conversation, to which I would say "well, can we go check that out?" and next thing I knew we had a driver or a guide and were on our way. Nobody selling me anything, nobody looking for commissions, just sweet, sincere exchanges between people. Our average day consisted of breakfast, a swim, lounge around a bit, lunch, afternoon exploration, late afternoon into sunset flight, BS-ing in the LZ in sign language with the locals for an hour or so, off to the local village bar for drinks and snacks on a cow dung floor outside, and home for another great home cooked Indian meal.

I should also add that my friend learned to fly with Nirvana. I found them to be responsible, knowledgeable, and extremely committed. His training culminated with a half hour flight from Tower Hill, something that couldn't easily be done anywhere here other than say point of the mountain. The glide from Tower hill has virtually no obstacles and no rotor. I think that a P2 or P3 would have a fabulous time here just for the flying.

For me, I really appreciated doing a little flying, but not so much that I missed India. I also really appreciated being there to see the beginning of our sport in a new country. Sanjay/Nirvana is the first to try to develop a rating system for India to make the sport safe and he seems very committed to it. I also personally think the lake by his place would be awesome for Kite surfing, but he doesn't know anyone in this sport so here is your big chance!

Feel free to ask me any other questions about the place or go to the source: www.nirvanaadventures.com

General Members Meeting

The December meeting was conducted by Ann Sasaki; President. Officers present were Ann Sasaki, Jeff Wishnie; Site Co-Director and Pete Norlander; Secretary. A total of 25 members were present.

New Members/Visitors

Nine new members and visitors were present at the December meeting. Five of the new members are recent graduates of Pacific Skyways School of paragliding. They include Tim Crandle, Yoko Hyakuna, Kathe Olds, Paolo Vatta and Simon Waddington. All are flying Bolero wings. Jeff and Tim include a one membership to BAPA for their students that complete a P2 rating. Joining the Pacific Skyways alumni are new or returning pilots Craig Gamma, Scott Hooper, Heather Hooper and Tor Rikheim. We extend a big welcome to the new members and look forward to seeing you at future meetings and flying!

Officers' Report

President - Meeting called to order by Ann Sasaki. Ann reported on the results of the election of officers for the upcoming year. A total of 47 votes were cast. A quorum of 10% being required, the slate of officers as nominated and published in the November Ridge Dancer was approved by the membership. The officers for 2005 are President; Jeff Wishnie, Vice-President; Rolf Bienert, Treasurer; Raquel Lopes, Site Director; Tom Moocks, Co-Activity Directors, Rich Leggett and Chip Sheppard, Co-Safety Directors; Ann Sasaki and Wally Anderson and Pete Norlander; Secretary.

Ann reported current club membership at 160 persons.

Old Business

Minutes From Past Meeting - A motion was made to approve the November minutes as published in the November Ridge Dancer newsletter. The motion was carried and approved.

Jug Agarwal reported on the 2004 Cross Country Social League Competition. Twelve competitions were held during the course of the season, 27 people competed and 87 tracks were logged. Jug is to query the club membership and past season participants for suggestions - meets per month, locations, etc. - for the 2005 season. Jug will complete his survey of the members before asking BAPA to allocate money for the XC League for 2005.

The BAPA 2005 Calendar will be available in January. The cost of the calendars will be $20.00. As a token of appreciation, individuals who submitted pictures that were selected for the calendar will receive a free calendar. The winner of the 'best of the best' pictures will receive a grand prize of $50.00! The pictures selected for the 2005 calendar will be on display at the annual holiday party and can also be seen online by going to the BAPA website.

New Business

The annual Holiday Party is being held this year at Tom Moock's home in San Leandro. The date is Saturday, December 11. Please see the BAPA Calendar for details and directions. Ann reported that based on initial response it looks to be well attended. As of December 1, more than 70 people have indicated their intention to join in the festivities. Tom, we thank you in advance for your hospitality.

Eric Reed solicited a contribution from the Club to help offset expenses for the American team when it competes in the World Paragliding Championships to be held in Brazil next year. Eric noted that, due to the structure of the competition, without a paid driver and team leader, the American team will be at a disadvantage. The goal is to raise $4,000.00. Other clubs have already made commitments of financial support. A motion was made and approved to contribute $250.00 from BAPA.

A reserve clinic is planned for early next year. The date, to be announced, will probably be in February. The clinic will be conducted by Jeff Greenberg of SF Tandem and Jeff Wishnie and Tim Kuenster of Pacific Skyways. Jeff will host the clinic in the community room at the condominium complex he resides at in San Mateo. The clinic will include optional repack instruction for those that want to actually throw there own reserve and or need a repack. The cost is $15.00 for the reserve clinic and $35.00 for the repack instruction. A motion was made and approved for BAPA to cover $10.00 of the reserve clinic portion (up to $200.00 total) for club members. Attendance will be limited to approximately 20 people. Be sure to sign up early if you are interested in attending.

A motion was made to allocate $100.00 to Tom Moock to help offset clean up costs and expenses related to the holiday party being hosted by Tom at his home. An additional motion was made to allocate up to $150.00 for food and drink for the holiday party. Both motions were approved by the members present.

Entertainment

The entertainment for the evening was provided by Tim Kuenster. Tim presented a power point slide show of his participation in the East Coast Paragliding Championship held earlier this year in Groveland, Florida. Groveland is located in central Florida a little west of Orlando. The event was hosted by Quest Air. For West Coast pilots accustomed to ridge and mountain flying, the flat terrain of Central Florida prompts a reaction something akin to, 'where's the beef?' Not to worry though, Tim quickly filled us in on the multitude of techniques, tow rigs and finer points of the art of towing. As evidenced by the numerous 'cumies' we saw in the pictures Tim projected on the wall, the alternating fields, forests and water bodies of Central Florida are great thermal generators. Thank you Tim for sharing. Great job!