Local gliders finish in the top 10
The sky above Barberton was sporadically splashed with colour last week during the South African Paragliding Nationals, which attracted participants from across the country and even some international pilots.
Unfortunately, the event was hampered by unfavourable weather conditions which meant that tasks could not be set every day of the week-long competition. This did not stop Lowveld pilots, Anton Naudé and Henry Schurink, from finishing in the top 10.
Naudé, who finished the week as top local pilot, finished in fifth place with Schurink in eighth spot overall. Novice pilot, Anny Khan finished third in the ladies’ competition, an impressive achievement by any standards.
Andre Rainsford-Alberts and Russell Achterberg, who compete for South Africa on the international stage, also travelled to Barberton on some of the days to get involved in the action.
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The town is described as South Africa’s premier winter-flying site. This year’s annual event was expected to get underway on June 10 and end last Saturday with no rest day, but due to high winds and gusts, it had to be postponed on a few of the days for safety reasons.
According to Schurink, who is also chairman of Lowveld Slope Soaring Club, the weather influenced the competition greatly, as did the fact that the event was held during the overseas prime season.
“It is not consistent with what we are used to in the Lowveld, as we usually have good weather for this competition. Generally winter is not a great time for paragliding, but Barberton is unique in that it is the one place you can do it,” Schurink said.
Jon Pio of the South African Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (SAHPA) said the competition has a great reputation for the social atmosphere, good weather and central meet centre.
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Barberton is known for good flying in the middle of winter, when no one is flying elsewhere in the country.
This competition attracts pilots from all over the country, with especially large contingents from Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.
Check out more photos from the SA Nationals below (All photos by Linda Willemse):
Here are the winners in each category:
• Top novice pilots: 1. Wouter Bronkhorst. 2. Beyers Stenberg. 3. Marcus Hounsell.
• Top intermediate pilots: 1. Stephan Ferreira. 2. Patrice Hartmann. 3. Gavin Lay.
• Best sport pilots: 1. Gerhardus Combrinck. 2. Jan Minnaar. 3. Grant Smith.
• Top ladies pilots: 1. Khobi-Jane Bowden. 2. Tracey King. 3. Anny Kahn.
• Top tandem pilots: 1. Thomas and Monique Webb. 2. John Nicholas and Michelle Olwage.
• Best performance pilots: 1. Eugene Claase. 2. Hans Fokkens. 3. Khobi-Jane Bowden.
• Best local pilot: 1: Anton Naude. Best teams: 1. Cape Base. 2. LSSC. 3. Young and Bold.
• Overall winner: 1. Stephan Kruger. 2. Andrew Smith. 3. Eugene Claase.
