Now higher than I'd been for the rest of the flight, with the sea breeze convergence not that far away from me...
In the Sea Breeze convergence over Birling Gap and Beachy Head
Photo: Sea breeze convergence cloud visible just above the horizon.
Now higher than I'd been for the rest of the flight, with the sea breeze convergence not that far away from me, I think I got a bit complacent (and spent too much time admiring the view and taking photos!) and made my first mistake. I wasn't sure exactly what track to take from here, so I let myself drift with the climb as it got weaker, which drifted me back towards Birling Gap and the sea. I should have taken advantage of the good climb I ad before and pushed more inland then. Now I had to push hard against the strong prevailing wind (only around 10-15kph into wind without speed-bar) to try to head more North.
I was relying on the sea breeze front to push North, but for some reason - although I could see it very clearly (I have taken some good photos of it!) - it wasn't really working. I think the sea breeze itself was much too shallow at this time (perhaps only 1000ft deep?) and not properly 'formed' enough to make good use of. So instead, I had to try and push back against the wind, to try and make ground.
I fought against the wind for a good while (did I mention earlier that doesn't generally work very well on a paraglider?), having to take some much weaker climbs than the very good one I had before, and ended up drifting downwind until I was looking down from about 3000ft between my feet at Beachy Head pub, and the wrong side of the cliffs! I still had OK penetration (10-15kph without speed bar, 25-30 kph with), so it wasn't a problem, but it was hard work trying to push back upwind. I decided to push hard upwind this time, and ignore the weaker climbs, which were by now drifting me out to sea. In the end, I didn't find good enough climbs and didn't manage to get back up - which I am sure was very possible, I just messed up earlier!
