Caribbean XC Open
Spiritual Advisor to Extreme Sports Athletes
I must say it was good having Mike with me on the scene for the Caribbean XC Open. It is always good to be with known and trusted friends in foreign lands and especially so during a paragliding competition in which there is a bit more risk involved than in just your usual travels. If I were to have been going it alone down there I don’t think I would have been as competitive as I was, I just wouldn’t haven’t pushed it as hard. It is a very mental sport and every little advantage as far as confidence goes makes a huge difference in a pilot’s performance. You are constantly making decisions about whether to push on into unknown territory or to play it conservatively and just land or take a less advantageous line. Knowing somebody will be on the look out for you gives you the needed confidence to go on and make a big flight verses landing short of the distance you could have gone. It is also somewhat of a solitary sport, being relatively alone up there in the sky, so it is just good to know there are concerned eyes looking out for you back on terra firma.
Whether it was hiking some of my gear up the hill or helping me layout my glider on launch Mike’s assistance was invaluable. I had incident in which I launched with a small tangle in my lines and had to land back at the take-off site to sort it out and Mike was right there to assist me with the situation. Thanks Mike!
Best Regards,
Peter Schaefer
www.sugarhousebookworks.com