Finnish balloonists stray to Algerian coast
|
|
|
Two Finnish gas balloonists went off course because of a strong northerly wind and flew across the Mediterranean Sea to Africa on Monday evening.
“The idea was to fly from Switzerland towards Spain but the difficult wind conditions forced us to change direction. We landed on the Algerian coast instead. At the moment we are in a hotel”, balloonist Olli Luoma, a native of Hattula in Southern Finland, reported on Wednesday.
On the exciting balloon ride Luoma was accompanied by Ben Mattsson of Helsinki.
The gas balloon is owned by Töölön Kiinteistöpalvelu Oy, a real estate management firm from Helsinki, the strategic leader of which is Mattsson.
Instead of hot air, the gas balloon flies with hydrogen.
The two men were taking part in the Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett, an annual balloon aviation event, the goal of which is simple: to fly the furthest distance from the launch site.
The Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett is the oldest and most prestigious event in aviation and has been compared to the America’s Cup in sailing.
Luoma and Mattsson took off from Zurich, Switzerland on Saturday. The competitors were supposed to fly to Portugal.
“In addition to us, two other balloons also drifted off to the Mediterranean. We expected the wind to turn once we got above the sea”, Luoma recalls.
“An Austrian group landed on the Algerian coast around 17:00 about a hundred kilometres east of the capital. The Finns landed an hour later about 70 kilometres from that point in Béjaïa”, explains Risto Veltheim, Finland’s Roving Ambassador for Algeria.
The Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs was the first to inform the Algerian authorities of the gas balloons.
An hour after the Finnish party, two Belgian balloonist also landed in Algeria.
“I heard that a couple of competitors, who flew more slowly, managed to secure routes that actually took them to Spain. Some competitors landed on the island of Menorca near Mallorca”, Luoma explained.
The Finns are preparing to return home in the next few days.
Links:
The Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett
Helsingin Sanomat
|
| 10.9.2009 - TODAY |
Finnish balloonists stray to Algerian coast
|
|
