Paragliding Oludeniz

I have made an awesome video of flying at Oludeniz that you can check out here: Paragliding Oludeniz on Youtube

I have been paragliding since 2012, after wishing for many years to get into the sport but simply not being able to afford it or having the time. When I finally started in 2012 with Paragliding Mantra it was definitely a dream come true. Now in July of 2018 I joined TJ and the Paragliding Mantra team to do an SIV course. If you don't know what this is, I'll explain below. If you do, feel free to skip that bit.

SIV loosely translates to simulated in-flight incidents training. It means you're going to be learning what to do when the glider looses it shape, or stops flying unintentionally. Quite an essential part of the sport if you are wanting to get further in it!

I flew in to Bodrum from home in the Middle East and continued by Dolmus, a turkish style shared taxi, to reach Oludeniz about 5 hours later. An impressive thunderstorm was overhead when I arrived, so I hadn't missed any flying that day!

Next days we took to the Babadag mountain nice and early to try and get the first flight in. Conditions were super for the week but with the occasional half day of waiting around to get a flight in. Tailwind launches from the top of a 2000 m high mountain can be done but are not really recommended especially when training and or not completely familiar with the surroundings.

I got 13 flights in in 5 days, and practiced a whole series of maneouvers starting of with big ears, 360s gradually increasing into spirals, B-line stall, frontal collapse and of course assymmetrical collapses. Followed each time by a landing right at the beach of Oludeniz and perhaps a cold one to relax.

An epic experience that I would definitely recommend. Big thanks to the team of Paragliding Mantra and all the friends that came along and those I met there. Check out my video of this epic paragliding week in Turkey here!!

My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ultimatefreggle
My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theultimatefreggle

Paragliding Adventure

So I recently figured, after reading some other inspiring stories, it is time to share my adventures with the world! Maybe just so I can revisit them myself, or maybe even to entertain or inspire some others. I have a few sports that I am crazy about and writing about them will be a great opportunity to relive those exciting moments again!

The sports that have always intrigued me are all related to the elements of the world we live in. Meaning basically wind (air) and water.. I love flying and almost anything that flies. Kitesurfing and Kitefoiling, Paragliding and Paramotoring and drone flying are top of my list. They are all sports that I have been wanting to get good at since I was about 5. Really, ask my wife and she will confirm that for you!

I am lucky enough to be able to travel relatively easy at limited cost, so I should be (and already have been) able to enjoy all these sports at some amazing locations around the globe..

Now I am really keen to edit some epic videos of my adventures and show them to the world on Youtube or Vimeo. But I have to be realistic at the same time and admit that editing a good video will only be possible once in a while. Writing a piece for my blog is so much quicker and still really fun! For sure do expect in the future to find some epic videos in the mix here as well..

So today I will start off with an impression of an awesome day of paragliding at my 'local' spot, half an hour from where I live, in the desert sand dunes of Qatar.

To be honest I have a unique location here that offers flyable conditions very often. Whenever the wind is forecast to be light, it will practically always turn to be of easterly direction at some point during the day, and stay like that until sunset. Yesterday, friday the 20th January was such a day. Initially the forecast predicted wind strength enough for kitefoiling ( I need about 10 knots at my current proficiency level to start actually enjoying the kitefoiling practice). But when arriving at the scene it had dropped down to a calm 4- 5 knots... much more like perfect paragliding conditions! Today was an odd day as the wind was very southerly in direction, with the dune needing a bit more of an easterly element. After having some snacks, the wind did what it does almost every light day and turned more easterly so I could fly. I was lucky enough to have a camera team in the form of Jolynn and Yosha on site to record some of the proceedings!!

I hope you'll enjoy this first post and send me some feedback  or subscribe if you feel like it!

See you soon and fly high,

The Ultimate Freggle, more commonly known as Reinier.