Winter

I hate this time of year. The soaring season ended long ago, it’s not Christmas yet and KESY usually goes to winter storage. All I have to live on gliding-wise are my memories, and the occasional instructing days.

I missed my last instructing day as the weather was rubbish, and the airfield waterlogged from several weeks’ worth of rain.

BUT there’s some excitement on the horizon for next year already! The Hus Bos Challenge Cup will become the Hus Bos Challenge Cup International in 2020! This is in preparation for the Women’s Worlds, which will happen at Hus Bos in 2021.

So I’ve entered next year’s Challenge Cup already. It seems I’m not the only one dreaming of long summer competition days, as there are 34 other people on the entry list already too. And at last count, nine of those pilots were ladies. Is that some sort of record? If that numbers remains, and the competition gets a full entry of 50 pilots, that’ll mean 20% of the pilots are women. How awesome is that?!

If you want to take a look, here’s a link to Soaring Spot: https://www.soaringspot.com/en_gb/hus-bos-challenge-cup-international-2020-husbands-bosworth-2020/

(Tip: If you’re going to enter, do it soon or you may miss out.)

It’s also great to see that several of my friends from SUT are also going – 8 or 9 of us from the YGC so far. Even more fantastic!

So I’m now dreaming ahead to the glory days of soaring around the endless sky in a warm cockpit, reveling in the superbness of it all 🙂 I do love my sport and I’m so lucky to be a part of it.

I’m also thinking how I might engineer an entry into the Women’s Worlds. Now that would be something! It would be a total dream to enter, or even fly hors-concours, alongside the other ladies. The problem I have is that dear KESY doesn’t fit into any of the classes. At 19m, she’s just too big, and too old. Not to mention my personal disastrous performance on Day 1 of last year’s Challenge Cup. Now that probably did screw my chances of qualifying for the Women’s Worlds.

We’re also intending to move house next year (as we’re rapidly out-growing our little bungalow), and that will mean no spare cash for a competitive glider. I guess you can’t have everything, but that doesn’t stop me wanting it!

Does anyone have a spare glider they could lend a poor gliding lady like me? LOL, I’m joking of course. Though some lovely friends have helped me in that department before; I’ve been very lucky.

Whatever happens I will enjoy the flying I’m going to do next year. Get this nasty wintery business over and done with and roll-on spring, I can’t wait to see you!