Flew Jenkin on Sunday and had a thrashing when the sea breeze front came in from the NW. At first I was getting strong lift above the scree covered gully and everything was lifting (probably as the sea breeze front came in?) then got a big collapse, (full frontal?) fell back in harness and legs above me canopy reinflated pretty quickly with a big bang! Decided to push out front - lost height couldn't get back up and was low on the hill which is when it really got rough; so went for the landing and it got even worse kept getting lift and lots of yaw then sink then lift assume this was a bit rotor from the gullies.
Thought it was worth posting just to beware of this effect in the sea breeze
This is the only rough flight I've had here its normally quite smooth although other reports from locals flying this site mid-week said it was also very rough 7m/s thermals up, matched by big sink
So watch out!!!!!
Thanks for posting this is good to know - I had jenkin down as a nice "cuddly" little hill to build some airtime on - Was there any visible warning of the sea breeze coming in that you recall ?
Hi Chris, I dont know how much information you have reguarding sea breeze & convergence but I bet you will read lots after this experience.
The lakes area can be a brilliant place to fly when the sea breeze kicks in
but you have to be in the right place at the right time to use it to good effect ! it sound like you were caught in the shear line of the cold wedge (sea air)
When you were climbing this was the time to fly inland to stay with the good stuff and also to keep well away from the shear line (cold air under cutting the warm air and pushing it up)
Normally there is raggy curtain of cloud forming along the convergence line, this is the warm air condensing from the cold air underneath.
Many mile of XC have been done flying along the inland side of the raggy curtain, brilliant stuff.
Maximise your time & dosh do both Hanggliding & Paragliding
So you Geordies are learning slowly about our 'wierd' weather. Lakes is a great place to fly but we are basically a huge headland sat out into the Irish sea. There for when ever you get a good thermic day you will always get a sea breeze, which approaches from the south in south Lakeland, West in western Lakes and NWest in the Keswick area. Imagining it like a big river flowing over the landscape and you've basically got its characteristics.
If you choose to fly a hill facing towards the Coast like Clough the sea breeze will just freshen the wind a bit and make it sinky, but if you choose to fly one facing away from it i.e. Jenkin the you should always beware. Basically as you go into the afternoon it will almost certainly sea breese and get dangerous. Jenkin should also not be flown if the wind is across the hill anyway. John Wallis any Andy will remember this happening during training one day and me falling out with my instructor who had got us up there by saying the conditions were o.k....bad decision.
The other thing that happened on Saturday due to the high pressure is that there were multi level inversion with anabatic conditions created by the Fells. This ment when the sea breese did come it it was even more 'heavy and dense' then normal and came in with more velocity then normal.
Signs that its coming in look for convertion cloud as Ronny said but also watch the wind in the valleys on the Lakes e.t.c. If there is any sign of the sea breese and you are not on a suitable site i.e. Blease, then get down quick other wise you will be joining the Northumbria Rambling Club who were all spotted walking down Jenkin on Sunday.
My last bit of advice is about the 'Fly or Bust' attitude displayed by a lot of you guys. I do feel you get a bit over excited about your flying and the camaraderie you flying groups have some times cloud your judgement as to where to fly. It was obvious that Sunday was going to be like this..... Heavy inversions bit with Cumulus clouds forming and drifting from 10a.m. onwards. To have choose to fly Jenkin you should of been actually aware of the potential sea breeze and it s effects, did any one thing of this and throw it into the equation when you decide to fly there? If not then you guys need to try and asses the conditions better and try and predict the day ahead and its changes not just the conditions as they are at that moment.
The Lakes is a great place to fly but it aint 'cuddly' and there's a lot goes on weather wise here. Make sure you choose the right sites for the day and always be ready for it to change and most importantly adjust your flying to cope with this.
Well said Gordie and this bit- "My last bit of advice is about the 'Fly or Bust' attitude displayed by a lot of you guys" - is spot on!!
Take care guy's the air will allways hold back a little surprise to catch out those that think they have mastered what the air is doing!
Expect the unexpected and you'll be better prepared for the day it tries to catch you out and rest assured if you fly enough that day will come!!
Fly Safe
Regards
Chief Tosser
I flew Jenkin on Thursday last week. There were some ripping thermals which were excellent fun if a bit rough. There was hardly any prevailing wind, it was all thermal generated and it was a case of find the thermal or go down.
By mid-day the wind had gone quite far off to the west and down in the valley it was pure west. It was still flyable on the hill though with the thermals cycles and the conditions didn't really change - IE: it wasn't as horribly rough as described earlier.
Thursday had less convection due to a strong inversion high (4,00ftish) and some top cover with the convection starting later in the day. This made for a weaker sea breeze with less depth so it did not reach fully up to take off. This will happen if the sea breeze is weak. How ever did you account for a sea breeze that day and if it had come in quick and high would you of been ready for it?
Every day has different characteristic and different environmental lapse rate so need to be assessed individually. It is very dangerous for your site assessment to be "well last I flew here it was like this" and allow that attitude to decide if its flyable. Beware!
Thanks Gordie, very good advice. Next time will think more about selecting the right site to match the conditions.
That bloody sea breeze has a lot to answer for - after making it to Binsey on my Saturday XC I expected it to be soarable but again found it to be coming around and down the hill and was planted on the ground instead of climbing up and away
Last time Ron Don did the same flight he managed to get their and it was SW and fly on to Bewaldeth!??
I suppose its a matter of working out in flight exactly which direction the wind is coming from and choosing to fly to the soarable hills ??
Yep it was N/NE on Bewaldeth where we spent the day ground handling, shame I didn't know where you landed Chris as I would of given you a retrieve.
As for why it happens here is a very personal account of sea breezes and there effect on Bewaldeth. Firstly Bewaldeth is low and always will on a good day be effected by the sea breeze. The direction it comes in is effect by the original wind direction, which can create the odd unplanned effect.
If there is a southerly wind in the morning at Bewaldeth the sea breeze comes in aposing it from the north, especially when the air is retarded by a high pressure. The further the true wind goes round to the west the less the sea breeze is deflected, so if the wind is s.w. the sea breeze is n.w. and if the true wind is west then the sea breeze will be west also. This effect in my opinion is partly when the true winds southerly the air sinks over the Solway after it has crossed the lakes and 'rolls' back underneath itself.
When the conditions are as described above often Jenkin is above or has not yet been sea breezed so you fly merely x.c. from it expecting bewaldeth e.t.c. to work but as you now know Chris it ain't that easy.
The longest flight from Jenkin is 94k done in 1994 by Nigel Page. He took off early (10-11a.m. ish) on a good unstable day in May, with a good s.s.w blowing and thermaled up to 5-grand plus. Off he went down wind and got to the Solway low but before the sea breeze had kicked off. He was in two minds to go for a glide across but decided to turn into wind above the salt marshes where as his luck kicked in as he found a thermal which drifted him gently across the sea to Dumfriesshire where he caught more thermals eventually landing near Moffat about 2p.m. ish
The master at using the sea breeze top good effect is with out question Pat Holmes. In the late 90's he regular flew off Blease in a morning flew to Skiddaw where he patently waited for the sea breeze to come up Bassenthwaite. He would then fly across the valley west on to the slopes which face into the sea breeze (N.N.W.) and soar each one in turn catching small thermals as they cam through, eventually ending up on the hills facing west behind Catbells. Get a climb from here fly over Derwent Water and down Borrowdale using the into wind sea breeze slopes. Then thermal up from the end of Borrowdale and dropped over onto Helvelyn, fly up to Clough Head gain height and then close the triangle. Nice..............very nice! Your talking about 50K plus triangles even before you start throwing all that silly maths at it.
So there you have it I've been flying here for 17 years now and only just getting my head around it, I hope this helps explain a bit about our little micro climate. Its not complicated just a lot goes on but it is all predictable. Good luck with your flights round here and hope the above has laid the gauntlet down to all you xc puppies!
Thanks again. It gives us XC pups something to aim for, probably in about 2-3 years when we've actually figured it out!
The more I'm getting into XC the more I realise just how much there is to learn and how little I know!
It'd be great if CSC held some weekend lectures on all this stuff and potential XC routes in the Lakes.
John Wallis any Andy will remember this happening during training one day and me falling out with my instructor who had got us up there by saying the conditions were o.k....bad decision.
Funny enough Gordie this lesson was mentioned on the very same day when we were sitting on the top of Crossfell in a light southerly which was forecast to go around to the wnw.
Mad Dog had just heard by phone that the conditions on Jenkins were very rough. I mentioned to the dog that during training on Jenkins you had pointed out if there was any west in the wind "Don't fly" as it can become very rough. We Geordies do listen to good advice you know
And yes your instructor did get a mans bollocking Andrew and I were thinking fcuking hell I wouldn't like to cross him
Livetrack24 wannyjollis
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”
Chris, there have been some excellent flights in the Cheviot hills, the north east coast can produce some of the best convergence lines in the country ! I've spent a lot of time learning from the glider pilots at Millfeild gliding club.
They often do big out & returns flying along the northeast coast line.
The best conditions for good convergence are apposing winds....prevailing
west south west winds (warm air) and apposing easterly winds (cold air, the wedge)
I flew into convergence on West hill and climbed to 5500ftasl then flew up to Wooler and back three times in 3hrs and only lossed 300ft ! its magic stuff when you Know how to use it, but like Gordie explains... dont fly around not knowing whats going on out there, read up and get good solid theory into your head first and then give it a go, same for thermals & wave.
Maximise your time & dosh do both Hanggliding & Paragliding
Tomorrow morning, first thing at work, I’ll print “Gordie’s Sea breeze in the Lakes-Chapter 1 ” and try to figure it out better with a Map of the area at home.
I was in the same washing machine on Sunday and was one of those days in witch Paragliding can be an Aerobic Sport, at least for that hour and 30 min, afterwards was pretty rough but not like early.
Thinking about it now, once in Jenking, I was controlling the thermal cycle, basically, filling how long take between thermals to pass thru the take off, and taking the time of some clouds witch were forming always in the same place, to make me a better idea of how was the day growing, and to be fair I think we wait 30 min more then what we should, wen I took off, the cloud witch was forming in the gully direction it wasn’t there and I thought, well now I ‘ll get the next cycle, since the beginning but no..the cloud didn’t form again, I suppose because the Sea Breeze killed it.
From now on, that’s a very simple thing to remind, thermals, in the Lakes? Well it will give you sea breeze, because of that, open your eyes, and pay attention were you are.
Second time in the Lakes, what a place, very small in Mountain size but with a Big Mountain Spirit technically demanding, with easy places, tricky ones, simply beautiful.
And there is also the Sun Inn with home made pickle Eggs! Awesome.
See you in the air!
Paolo
kept getting lift and lots of yaw then sink then lift 
assume this was a bit rotor from the gullies.
