July 2-6, 2014
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| Quinn Dickenson's design for the meet t-shirt |
2 July, Wed - After completing my annual dermatology exam at Seattle VA (six minor growths frozen off) I picked up gas at Costco and hurried home so we could make a late start (1600) over the passes to Chelan. We encountered little traffic (the I-90 widening east of Snoq. Pass appears to be mostly completed) and stopped only to buy some $1.69/lb cherries at Lone Pine and eat a picnic dinner at Beebe Bridge park. We stopped again to visit with Susan, Debbie and Julie at Mom's Motel. Lori and Tom let us stay in their house as volunteers (I think a room was available because Lenny was staying in his new RMC, Rolling Man Cave, parked in the driveway); Scorekeeper Aaron Rinn, his wife, Maria, Lenny's two sons, Kevin and Andrew, and Lori Baron were also staying with Tom and Lori.
3 July, Thu - We drove up to launch around 1000 for the 1115 (postponed to 1130) pilot meeting. Conditions were "windy from the SW" and few people flew. Later we spent a little time checking out the Thursday evening Farmers Market in Riverwalk Park without buying anything. Around 2000 we had a salmon dinner at Tom and Lori's with roast veggies along with C.J.'s fresh bread and her queen cake. C.J. and I passed on a chance to go to the Vogue for a performance by Val because we were worn out from the sun and wind.
4 July, Fri - Last day of the Classic. Conditions were better and there were a bunch of paragliders who wanted a flight before the official practice day. Most launched before 1400 when the majority of Classic competitors took off. Zac Majors had already sewn up the topless hang glider class and Len Szafryn the same for the PG open class with long flights earlier in the week. After getting everyone launched, even a couple of people who came vack up to do a second flight, C.J. and I went back to help Lori B load up her car with the food and drinks for the closing BBQ at the Chelan Falls soccer field LZ. People were already gathering for the 1900 BBQ although it was just after 1800. There as a little tension because Lenny had invited everyone who was flying on the 4th to the BBQ, but there really wouldn't have been enough food if a hundred of the PG Nats folks had shown up. But they didn't and we had a very good 4th of July picnic of handmade burgers, Johnsonville brats, Debbie's potato salad recipe, other salads, watermelon and condiments. Danny Uchytil and his new bride, Angie McMinn, brought a big tub of drinks left over from their recent wedding party. Following the dinner, Lenny awarded the trophies (lasered glass beer mugs) to the winners (and to Aaron R, Lori L, and himself, in addition to his second-place trophy). Julie Spiegler introduced herself and described some of the projects she is working on as the new USHPA programs manager. [Julie was staying in her trailer at Mom's Montlake Motel along with Debbie Vosevich and Susan Kent, as well as Rick Ray and Sam Crocker from the RVHPA, plus several more pilots.]
5 July, Sat - We packed up our stuff and moved it all to the car so that Tom and Lori's house would be ready for a bachelorette party that Kelly was hosting for six or eight of her friends. To explore some new trails we took a hike from a trailhead located near the top of the road up from Chelan Falls. This gave us a view down to the Columbia and up to the Butte and the lake. We detoured to check out a flag on a pole and later found it was Buck's wind flag just above his house. Today was the practice day for the PG Nats. Kimberly Phinney, meet organizer, Kari Castle, meet director, and some of the safety officials like Pete "Reaper" Michaelmore and Dave "Preacher" Norwood held a meeting on the Butte and then a few folks flew in the windy, Green Monster conditions. C.J. and I watched for a while and then went downtown to get an ice cream at Sojourners. Later we walked up to Mom's and hung out with Rick Ray, Deb and Susan for a while until it was time for them to register (1800) at the Stehekin Rm in Campbell's Resort. Then we got back together for a dinner of Local Myth pizza at a sidewalk table. Just to see how the organization was going to work for the Nats, we sat in on the mandatory pilots meeting at 2000. Right afterward we took Chris Ammondson and Susan, C.J. Brockway's mother, to the house that Chris and Patricia were renting along with almost a dozen other pilots. It had a great view of the Chelan fireworks which were launched from a barge in the bay about 1000 ft out from the Don Morse City Park. It must have been close to 2300 before we got out of Chelan with Susan who had invited us to stay with her, C.J.B. and Derek at her 1200 sq ft summer house on the Columbia just S of Orondo.
6 July, Sun - We got up round 0700. C.J. B. and Derek needed to get to the meet HQ early because Derek was the driver coordinator and C.J. was competing; Susan could go later as her volunteer job was to receive and answer retrieval texts. We had hot chocolate from her Keurig machine and a scone and then got on the road. We were home around 1111 so there was time to do laundry, always necessary after a summer Chelan trip.
The rest of the meet - On the first two days tasks of over 100 km were called, then,on the next day, a 204 lm task was set all the way to St. John west of Odessa. Even Chris A and Preacher who landed twelve km short of goal flew for eight hours and did not get back to Chelan until 0100. Another day there was an out-and-return task to Sims corner, and the last day a 103 km task that resembled a cross centered at the McNeil-Mansfield junction (?), extending as far as Mansfield, and going equally as far north and south.
Results: Nick Greece is the new National Champion, with Josh Cohn and Eric Reed second and third. In the women's division, Seiko Fukuoka, the Japanese pilot flying an Ozone R12, was far away the winner. However, open class gliders were not scored so the women's winners were Nicole McLearn, Meredyth, and Debbie Vosevich. That makes Mer the US Women's National Champion!
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