I was going through a weather check a few of weeks ago and found the Funston webcam focused on the full moon as it was setting for the night. Sometimes I am just amazed at what technology today allows us to see without being there.

Be sure to RSVP for the BAPA Holiday Party before December 5 to Ann (annsasaki@sbcglobal.net. The party is December 11 at Tom Moock's house. More information can be found in last month's Ridge Dancer (http://www.sfbapa.org/ridgedancer/articles/2004.9_03--Holiday%20Party/issue_article?issue=2004.9

Please vote by November 30. You will find an article in this month's edition with the candidates' statements. To cast your vote, go to http://www.sfbapa.org/voting/2004_nov/ballot

We have a full lineup in this month's edition! Please drop me a line at editor (at) sfbapa.org if you have any cool stories, adventures, pictures, or even simple pleasures to share!

I'd like to wish everyone Happy Holidays! I hope that you all had a great year of flying and got to meet new people and go new places.

A couple of thoughts on winter flying - the storm fronts bring us good pre- and post-frontal conditions at this time of year. However, please remember that there are attendant dangers such as very high surf at the coast after a storm and often no landable beach.

Sometimes the fronts move in faster than expected so don't get caught in a gust front or rainstorm while trying to catch the pre-frontal lift. Don't have your car at launch at Ed Levin on a southy day only to find out that you can't drive down once the road gets wet.

Also, winter can be a good time to get your reserve parachute repacked and send your wing in for an annual inspection. It may be better to do this while you are busy with the holidays than in the Spring when the really good lapse rates start happening and you're dying to go flying.

Finally, we had a lot of accidents in our area and around the country this year. I'm sure we've all given some thought to what causes accidents and how we can avoid them in the future. Let's hope that next year is a much better year in that regard.

BAPA will continue to be active in disseminating information and holding classes and clinics regarding safety and skills. We'll try to schedule a reserve clinic and a wilderness first aid class for early in the year next year.

I hope to see you at the Holiday Party on December 11. Let's toast to good flying and great friends!

I received seven accident and incident reports in September and October. Even discounting two which occurred out of the Bay Area this is again far too many.

As usual the causes are varied and the pilot experience level ranges from beginner to expert.

TYPE OF OCCURRENCE:   Blown Launch 2 Hit Hill During Flight 2 Blow Back 1 Landing 1 Parachute Deployment 1

INJURIES:   Fractured Spine 1 Pelvis 1 Ribs 2 Femur 1 Fibula 1 Humerus 1

OCCURRENCES:

On September 8^th a P2 pilot scratching close to the hill in the afternoon crossing sea breeze was observed in a low level spin. The pilot hit the hillside in front of the 1500í hill sustaining a broken pelvis, back in three places, and ribs. There have been several accidents while working close to the hill in crossing wind at Ed Levin. When the sea breeze comes in it not only makes rotors off of the fingers but kicks off latent thermals as well. Being close to the hill is always dangerous but especially so during these conditions.

On September 19^th a P2 pilot launched from Lemmings at the Dump, faded right to the small bowl before the Westlake cliff. The pilot turned into the wind and noticed being parked and going up, attempted to use speed bar but discovered it wasnít hooked up. Fortunately, although the pilot was blown back there was sufficient altitude to make a safe landing sufficiently far back to avoid the houses and rotor. Itís the same old story here. Check wind conditions and stay low and out front if it is strong and preflight, preflight, preflight!

On October 8^th a P2 pilot had to deploy the parachute at Daydreams (Tahoe). The cause was turbulence and cloud suck reportedly from "storm clouds" hidden by the ridge behind launch. The canopy took several successive collapses whereupon the pilot deployed and landed in the trees without serious injuries. Although this wasn't a local pilot or site, the incident was submitted through the BAPA web page and we can learn from it. It's very important, especially in the mountains to be aware of your surroundings and have obtained the best weather data you can. This incident occurred around 6:00 PM and there obviously was still severe convection happening in spite of the late hour and time of year.

On October 24^th at the Elk fly-in a "p-2 type" pilot attempted to launch off the north side in light left crossing winds. There are a couple of descriptions of the launch. The pilot may or may not have hesitated a bit after inflation. After that the pilot was described as being aggressive with his run but angling to the left with no apparent attempt to correct to the right. After launch there appeared to be excessive brake applied possibly to try to miss the trees ahead. The pilot hit the trees and fell through them to the ground sustaining broken rips and a broken femur. Extraction was difficult as a path had to be cleared in order to get him up to the helicopter. The injuries were too severe to attempt to move him without proper equipment. The whole process took in excess of two hours and fortunately he was stable enough to stand the wait. The Elk launch can be treacherous especially in light winds, which we had throughout the day. Several experienced pilots had either aborted launches or bush landings off of the south side earlier in the day. Itís not obvious but it is somewhat wind sheltered and requires a perfect launch in any but windy straight-in conditions. I donít feel itís appropriate for pilots with out mountain experience.

On October 24^th there was a P1 pilot who set up a little high (about 15ft.) for landing at the Dump, started to do some "S" turns which led to some PIOís and an awkward landing which twisted his ankle. No medical intervention was sought. Turning a paraglider (or anything that flies for that matter) close to the ground is not a good idea. Plan your set-up and once low fly straight. I see people hooking it around at the last minute to get the spot etc. While an experienced pilot might get away with this in the smooth sea breezes it can be dangerous in any kind of turbulence.

On October 25^th at the World Cup two Pilots, one local, crashed in strong conditions on the lee side of a ridge whereupon the task was called for the day. The local pilot incurred a cut lower lip which required stitches and he credited the trees and full face helmet for saving him worse injury. Beware of "contest courage" overriding your good judgment. I doubt they would have been where they were on a recreational day.

On November 7^th at the 330' launch at Ed Levin a P-1 pilot doing a reverse launch in light-moderate conditions pulled the glider up a little fast and immediately and aggressively turned to run, stumbled on the first couple of steps and fell face first to the ground. The pilot attempted to break the fall using arms. Upon bundling up the glider the pilot was hit by another pilot who had attempted to launch further south and got turned right and parallel to the hill. Afterwards the pilot complained of a sore muscle in the upper arm area. X-rays revealed a small chip/crack in the upper humerus. No surgery or casting was deemed necessary in order for it to heal. Several lessons here. In spite of near ideal conditions several pilots had uncharacteristic trouble with their launches. Group dynamics can work both ways sometimes. The pilot reported feeling rushed because of several people waiting to launch which was likely a contributing factor. One shouldnít allow oneself to get in this "space". One should always feel comfortable kiting and never make the actual decision to launch until the glider is stable overhead and not still moving down the hill in one's perspective. This holds true for light/no wind launches as much and maybe more than moderate to high wind launches.

The following is a compendium of brief statements by the 2005 BAPA officer candidates and photos of them flying. We have a great set of folks who are willing to volunteer their time and effort to our large and active club.

To vote for these candidates or any other write-in candidates you may favor, please go to -

http://www.sfbapa.org/voting/2004_nov/ballot

Please vote before December 1, 2004.

President - Jeff Wishnie Hello BAPA members. I have been flying since 1996, and a BAPA member almost as long. I am also an instructor and tandem pilot. BAPA plays a critical role in the Northern California flying community. Not only does it insure and maintain some of our favorite flying sites, it creates a welcoming social environment for new pilots, provides mentors, introduces people to new sites via flyins , and helps pilots improve their skills through sponsored clinics. If chosen as president I will make sure BAPA continues to perform its critical administrative duties smoothly. That said, my primary focus will be the continued promotion of learning opportunities through flyins, BAPA sponsored clinics, and BAPA subsidized trainings. I would also like to work with the membership to make meetings more social--we will always have a bit of work to slog through, but I think we can find ways to have a bit more of a party atmosphere, better food, and more drinks! A couple caveats: I will not be able to attend south bay meetings regularly and will need to work with a V.P. who is willing to run those. I will also be out of the country on flying trips for all of January and possibly part of February and will have to pass responsibility to the other officers during that time.

Vice President - Rolf Bienert My name is Rolf Bienert and I am running for Vice-President again this year. In that position, I hope to be able to contribute to the club and to the flying community. I have been flying since almost 10 years and hope to further enjoy our sites her in the Bay Area.

Safety Co-Directors - Wally Anderson and Ann Sasaki My name is Wally Anderson, and I am running for office of Satety co-Director. With Ann Sasaki, I will work to educate pilots about safety issues by organizing seminars and writing articles. I am dedicated to accident prevention, and will use my experience to evaluate flying incidents in an effort to understand how we may prevent such incidents in the flying community. I have been a hang glider pilot for 30 years, a paraglider pilot for 20 years, and a sailplane pilot for 2 years. I hold ratings as an advanced HG and PG instructor, Tandem HG and PG instructor, and am a PG tow administrator. I am dedicated to promoting safety in our sport.

Hello, my name is Ann Sasaki. I have been flying for 14 years now and continue to enjoy the challenges and beauty of our sport. As Safety Co-Director with Wally Anderson, I will work to sponsor safety and skills clinics and first aid classes. I love to write so I'll look forward to contributing to articles on safety. We have a large and vital paragliding community in the Bay Area and BAPA is an important vehicle for spreading camaraderie and sharing knowledge.

Site Director - Tom Moock The BAPA club needs more sites. Two years ago we had popular flying sites at Dunlap and at Tollhouse, and last year those sites were closed. There are deep political problems at both those places, and the most important job for the site director next year is to try to get one or both of them open again. We also have Potato Hill, and together with Sonoma Wings we intend to do some improvements to the launch to make it easier for more people to fly there. We must maintain our good relations with the other clubs, the forest service, and the local residents. The site director also works with local site administrators at Mt Diablo and Mt Tamalpais. Our intention is to keep those sites open, and for as many pilots as possible.

Activities Co-Directors - Chip Sheppard and Rich Leggett Hello. My name is Chip Sheppard and I am running with, Rich Leggett, for Activities Co-director for 2005. I was Activities Director for 2004 and enjoyed organizing and participating in a variety BAPA events, with lots of help from many of you. In the coming year we are looking forward to repeating some favorites (e.g. thermal clinic, first aid course, picnic ad Ed Levin, beach party, and fly-ins), as well as some less familiar events that we tried in 2004 (e.g. high-wind kitting clinic). We also hope to try some innovative activities (e.g. an introductory XC clinic) that will combine fun with improving our safety and flying skills.

My name is Rich Leggett and I am running to fill an Activities Co-Director position along with Chip Sheppard. As Activities Co-Director I would like to continue with the traditional BAPA fly-in activities as well as work to introduce new activites and speakers with an emphasis on flying related health and fitness.

Treasurer - Raquel Lopes Hi. I'm Raquel Lopes. I've been flying for 3 years and still feel like a beginner. I'm running for the office of Treasurer. As the Treasurer, I'll be responsible for managing the finances of the club and tracking membership status. One of my goals is to automate the remaining parts of the renewal process, allowing members to receive club communiques immediately upon payment of yearly dues.

Secretary - Pete Norlander My name is Pete Norlander. I am a P2 that learned to fly in 1996. At the time, commitments of family and work required a long respite from flying. Several years ago, with my children now teenagers and my wife again working full time I decided to take up paragliding again. My only regret is that I don't have even more time to hone my flying skills and enjoy, 'the view from above!' While paragliding itself is a solitary activity, I have found the flying community is very friendly. On the ground, I have come to enjoy the social aspects of flying nearly as much as the flying. The pilots I have met have been more than willing to share their knowledge, insight and experiences. As the BAPA Secretary, my primary responsibility is to take the minutes at the monthly club meetings. Hopefully, the edited minutes are accurate and arrive prior to the deadline for the Ridge Dancer newsletter! I have served as Secretary during the current year. I would like to opportunity to serve again in the coming year. I would like to thank Ann Sasaki for her help this past year with the editing, accuracy and reminders about deadlines. I would also like to thank all of the other officers, appointments, volunteers and especially you the members. Your support and contributions make the difference! On a final note, I would like to encourage everyone to join us at the club meetings and activities. Your presence is always welcomed.

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 year PASCO (Pacific Soaring Council) invited hang glider and paraglider pilots to attend their annual seminar and banquet. Several pilots from each venue came. The seminar lasted most of the day and included use of SeeYou flight plotting software, Dr. Jack's Weather for Idiots, Kemp Izuno's 1000+Km in the Sierra wave, Ginny Farnsworth and Eric Reed's presentation on hang gliding and paragliding. Glider winch towing and more.

Ginny and Eric's seminar was very well received with many intelligent and pertinent questions from the "real" glider pilots forthcoming.

The sailplane pilots enjoyed our participation and we are welcome to attend next year's if we like. We made some friends, built some bridges and learned some things. All in all time well spent.

This group has decades of soaring experience and knowledge we can learn from. For those of you who couldn't attend I recommend making the time next year.

Lake Annecy France is one of the most scenic and popular sites in France. It's also a great place for your non-flying significant other to have a great time.

There are two primary drive-up launch sites (Planfait and Montmin - also named Col de la Forclaz) with relatively easy launch sites and large grassy LZs. Both are quite suitable for advanced P2 pilots when conditions are light. In slightly stronger conditions on sunny days, more experience is needed, primarily because the sites get very crowded and the heavy air-traffic can be quite challenging.

On good days, both sites have lots of XC potential. You will occasionally hear about epic "circuits of the lake" that cover 30-40 miles or more as Annecy is in the "foothills" of the northern French Alps where Mont Blanc, 14,421', is only 50 miles away. The lake elevation is about 1350' but it's surrounded by mountains between 4800' to 7056'.

There is a great bar/restaurant and two PG shops next to the Planfait LZ. If you happen to be there when they are doing paella, don't miss it for anything.

There are incredibly scenic and challenging hiking trails everywhere, boating and swimming in the lake, a wonderful old-town laced with canals (Annecy is called the Venice of France), great restaurants (including dinner cruises on the lake), and even a casino.

We also flew a beautiful site at the ski-resort town of LaCluzas, which is about a one hour drive from Annecy and much less crowded. Launch is at about 6,000 ft (3,000 vertical) and is accessible by ski gondola and the scenery includes an incredible view of Mont Blanc off in the distance. The LZ at La Cluzas is also next to a nice bar/restaurant.

There a number of web sites (several schools operate there) describing Annecy. Here's one that is fairly informative - http://www.cascadeparaglidingclub.org/pages/annecy.htm

There are "bigger" and "better" places to fly in France (e.g. Chamonix valley) but few more beautiful or friendly places than Annecy, one of my all-time favorites.

General Members Meeting

The November meeting was conducted by Ann Sasaki, President. Officers present were Stefan Schulz, Treasurer, Tom Moock, Site Director, Chip Sheppard, Activities Director. A total of 9 club members were present.

Officers' Reports

President - Meeting called to order by Ann Sasaki. Ann led a discussion regarding the NorCal XC league - what worked, what didn't. Tom Moock agreed to identify questions for a survey. Should we target new or experienced pilots, or both? Should we try to put together a sanctioned event? More discussion in New Business.

Josh Cohn said he would be willing to lead an XC clinic next year.

Treasurer - Stefan Schulz reported approximately $4,000.00 in account. Three new members joined in October, bringing our total to about 160 members.

Site Director - Tom Moock reported no progress on re-opening either Dunlap or Tollhouse. Juan is looking into a site near Highway 80, but there has been no LZ identified yet. Hang gliders have been flying some sites south of Hollister, but it's not clear whether there is a feasible option for a paragliding LZ. Members should let Tom know if you've seen any possible sites - he can help scout it out and follow-up. Since we can't go south we could probably utilize the Tahoe sites better (Slide, Kingsbury, Peavine, Daydreams, McClellan, Duck Hill). Ondrej asked about a location in the East Bay Hills in Tilden Park (currently an RC site). This site is on EBMUD land so it may be unfeasible.

Activities Director - Chip Sheppard reminded everyone about the Holiday Party on Saturday, 11 December at Tom Moock's house. Be sure to RSVP to Ann (Chip will be out of town) and let them know how many people in your party and what you'll be bringing for the pot luck. Deadline for photos for the BAPA calendar is 12 November and the deadline for ordering calendars (to be distributed at the party) is 15 November.

Old Business

Last month's meeting Minutes were passed by the majority of members present.

New Business

Officer Elections - Nominations were announced for the upcoming BAPA election. An electronic ballot will be prepared by Peter Warren (who has officially moved to Oregon!) and sent to all members.

USGHA Regional Director Vote - Josh Cohn reported that USHGA members should vote for the person they want to represent us at USHGA meetings. Josh recommends Jim Macklow, who has done an excellent job helping with various competitions and is very eager to represent Region 2.

Entertainment - Raffle prizes this month: camping wine glass and travel toothbrush.

Chip's presentation on flying Lake Annecy was postponed, since the meeting ran long.