From Sussex to Spain: Balloonists finally airborne for transatlantic crossing
Mike and Deborah Scholes rose into the fog at 9:45 a.m. on Thursday
With fond memories of a friendly town, a couple from the south of England finally began their transatlantic balloon adventure Thursday morning, lifting off from Sussex.
Cheered on by a crowd of around 200 people, the balloon successfully launched at 9:45 a.m., disappearing from sight into the morning fog.
Mike and Deborah Scholes's meteorologist was calling favourable weather for their flight path.
"Our flight path is going to take us north east from here," Mike said before lifting off. "So that we pass east northeast of St. John's ... where the weather is expected to turn and our wind will take us across in a big arc and then we'll head at the bottom of the arc, a bit like a rainbow, and the crock of gold will be Spain."
By noon on Thursday, reports said they had passed the Petitcodiac River and were well on their way.
There is still a chance they will not start across the Atlantic Ocean just yet.
Deborah said that like any long distance flight, there comes a time when you decide whether you continue to fly or not, and they plan to make that call before fully venturing over the ocean.
"Your aircraft has to be right," she said, "and I don't know until we take off."
Mike said there are a few hundred miles where the balloon will track toward the St. Lawrence Seaway and someone might be able to see them, but after that, they will be mostly over open water.
They said their journey to Spain, if they continue on, will take between four to seven days and their progress can be tracked online.
If their trip is successful, the Scholes say Mike will be the first registered blind person to crew.
Some of the volunteers and onlookers had been at the take-off sight since early the night before, according to Tanya Graham, one of the volunteers with the annual Atlantic Balloon Fiesta in Sussex and a local balloon-crew member.
"It's the anticipation," she said. "You have to experience to really understand it. And [we're] really wishing them the best. This is a world record event, and it may be a once in a lifetime for some of us.
The Scholes were supposed to set off for Europe in April, bound for France, but they've been faced with a multitude of delays.
The delays, which totalled between six and seven weeks, ran the gamut from the mundane, such as poor weather, which the province has seen a lot of recently, to the bizarre — French military exercises.
The Scholes work with a meteorologist to help time their ocean crossing with favourable conditions.
Dealing with the French military was a little more difficult.
And hearing of a French military aircraft drill blocking their route, Mike tried to phone the military to inquire but had no luck.
"We can't get hold of the French military, they're unavailable," he said.
"Must be lunchtime."
Hurry up and wait
While it's been a long wait, the couple had plenty of company, including about a dozen volunteer balloon enthusiasts who gathered beneath sunny skies to help assemble the craft when it arrived on site.
A pickup truck pulled up, towing an open trailer with a blue tarp covering a mysterious, bulky shape.
The volunteers stood watching as the tarp came off as a few leaders carefully unlocked the trailer door.
"Let 'er down," someone said as the trailer began to tilt back.
Everyone helped with the careful task of lowering the basket to the grass and setting it up.
Locals have made their stay memorable, providing help assembling the balloon and welcoming Mike and Deborah into their homes.
"People have been very good, they've come out and helped, we've got lots of volunteers, people are running around everywhere," Mike said.
Despite going through the past few weeks on edge, waiting for the go ahead from their team, they still found a bright side: becoming devoted customers to the local ice-cream stand.
"The only drawback to their ice cream is it made my trousers shrink."
