Some paragliding friends organised a trip to the island and I decided to join them. They took most of my gear and fuel in their four wheel drives, but I did travel very light as this was to be an experimental trip for testing out some of the practicalities of bivvy flying. I walked onto the barge with my motor on my back, tied it down for the crossing with my bivvy tent that I had made (uses the paramotor instead of poles), covering it to keep the salt spray off.

I walked off the landing barge onto the beach to discover that the wind was
light and coming over the trees behind the narrow beach. I had to forward
launch in the rotor behind the trees. Just as well the wind was only light.
It took a few tries, and I think the launch and the climb out thru the
rotor, turned some of my friends off paramotoring, but I finally got up. I
flew around the northern end of the island, while my friends drove over the
middle of the island to our intended campsite. I checked out the paragliding
sites on the way around, dropping down to soar the 300 foot cliffs at Cape
Moreton.

Arriving at the campsite at Blue Lagoon after the 19km (12mi) flight, I
folded up my paraglider in a way so as to use it as my mattress and sleeping
bag. I set up my bivvy tent over my paramotor,  tying it down to sticks
pushed into the sand. I had made a small mozzie net to hang off my propellor
to cover my head and upper body. I'll have to enlarge it for next time. I
slept in my flying suit which is cotton lined and was as comfortable as if
in a sleeping bag. I had woollen socks on my feet. I've slept in my wing
before when hitch hiking back from a 120km XC paragliding flight, and I knew
that you have to wear something absorbant or you'll sweat in the low
porosity paraglider fabric.

The next two days used the camp as a base. Warming up the engine sitting
directly on the sand was a real test of the protective blade tape on the
prop (I usually put it on a tarp), but the blown sand didn't cause any
erosion on the prop at all. I would fly to where my friends were going in
the 4WDs. I would land and have lunch with them. Fly on to where they would
go next and land. Then fly back to camp in the afternoon. They were well set
up food wise so I ate much better than I would if I was really bivvy flying.

The Island is long and thin,and is well offshore. As a result it generates
it's own weather. There is usually a convergence cloud that runs the length
of the island, caused by sea breezes coming in from both sides of the island
meeting in the middle. One day I got up under it at the northern end and
from the up to 4m/sec (800ft/min) lift I realized that it would be possible
to turn off the engine and glide the full length of the island (32km, 20mi)
under the cloud. I didn't try it as the island is covered in trees, and the
western beach would be mostly in big rotor in the easterly wind that was
blowing. One of these days I'll go back and try it in a westerly wind with
the easy landings on the eastern beach if I lose the lift and can't get the
motor started.

I tried taking a photo of my glory ring on a cloud with Cape Moreton down
below it. When I got the photos developed I realized I need a camera with a
narrower angle than what a disposable camera offers. For those that don't
know, your glory is the rainbow that surrounds your shadow on top of a
cloud.

On the final day the wind was offshore and the tide was high, and I didn't
care to try the rotor take off again, so I stood on the rear bumper of one
of the 4WDs with my motor on my back and they drove me a couple of
kilometers up the beach to where I could launch in clean air. I took my time
and flew low along the beach and over the headlands, up around the clouds,
playing at chasing the fish in a very shallow lagoon, and eventually arrived
back at the barge arrival point to pack up and await the barge trip back
from an incredible long weekend.

What I learned about bivvy flying is that paramotors are like the sailing
ships of old. We have to wait for favourable winds and tides etc. When I
finally get around to doing real bivvy trips, I will have to chose places to
land, refuel, and camp that offer launching in all wind directions. I think
I'll do exploratory flights going further each time as I find suitable
refueling, camping places etc. I just wish I had someone to come with me, so
I don't have to do it on my own. I'm working on helping a friend get
experienced enough. You do need to be quite experienced as you have to be
able to launch reliably and safely with a load of gear on, and fly in as
wide a range of conditions as possible.