Actually, Tom landed about a minute earlier, that's Chad in the picture! Gotta love those reporters.

This flight started earlier from the Rainbow Skyport. I was designated "wind dummy", but wasn't really concerned since there were lots of cumulus clouds popping everywhere. I knew I'd have to work my way west along the mountain range at least a few ridges, then get high enough to make the glide to goal.

At launch, I caught the house thermal, but only 200 ft up, I started getting whited out! Cloudbase was at about 3200 feet today, so I headed for the Holy Hills, across Rattlesnake canyon and the snake pit (our primary LZ). Approaching the power lines, I began to sink rapidly and was getting trashed in the rotor of the west wind, but I came in over the knoll and maintained there for about 10 minutes. Finally getting tired of scratching, I got on the radio with Sundowner, who had just launched, and said that I was heading out (presumably toward the LZ). Upon hearing this, Tom headed for Gibraltar Road and landed, instructing Topa Chase to pick him up so he could relight at La Cumbre Peak, the mountaintop, so he could glide straight out to MacKenzie Lawn Bowls Club.

Meanwhile, I had caught a screamer thermal, and was again approaching cloudbase. Being alone, I chose to get some extra altitude for my journey west, and spent a few minutes watching my vario, then compass. When I came into the clear, I was still high but headed upwind toward Cathedral Peak. Coming in low again over the power lines, I worked the foothills towards Robin's (alternate LZ). The air down low was trashy and turbulent, and I thought it was over as I approached the field, but again I connected and drifted back and up...finally topping Cathedral, then disappearing into mist again.

For the next 40 minutes, I enjoyed flying in and out of clouds, heading south out over the city when I was high and north towards Cathedral when below the dewpoint. Tom came on the radio at West La Cumbre launch, but there was no wind, so he set up for a forward launch. Soon I could see him working the ridge from La Cumbre to Cathedral on his rainbow. I stayed out front, since we were both quite close to cloudbase. Then Tom's contact came on the radio and said it would be about twenty minutes until we were expected.

So we worked our way up, up into the mist again until I was uncomfortable with vertigo, and headed out south, letting Tom know. He said he was about 200 yards behind me, but a few minutes later he had climbed to 4400 ft, presumably in the cloud. As I popped out of the cloud, the city of Santa Barbara lay stretched out in front of me, basking in the midday sun. The wind was light on the Hope Ranch reservoir, and now out of the mountains, the air was smooth as glass. Tom appeared from the side of the cloud a minute later, much higher than myself.

We glided out to San Roque and the goal was soon below me, right across the street from my work! I was so distracted by the sights and smoothness of the air, I was oblivious to the sound - of my vario!! I was going up!! As I started to circle, Tom asked if I had caught a thermal. There's almost never lift 2000 ft over town, but here I was going up...

Soon it was time to land, and Tom did some spirals then put it in on the lawn to a round of applause! I pulled ears, but let them out as I hit some kind of gradient, getting bumped around a little. I came in a little short of the 3 foot tarp they put out for us, but the landing was the perfect end to an incredible flight - all done on my lunch break! My launch break!

More paragliders in the paper!

Hung up

The pilot, standing next to the ladder while a friend (Pinky) tries to free the craft from the tree's clutches, was not injured.

He declined to identify himself other than to say that he was a New Jersey resident visiting the South Coast.

Photo by Rafael Maldonado/News Press.

Reaching Out