Because the most awesome sight in aviation you will ever see is sharing a thermal with fifteen or twenty other gliders.
no, not quite Mary, because if you are thermalling very close to a Wedged Tail Eagle, as we do often at our club, then that can add a glorious bonus to a good day's soaring. Sometimes the eagle is right off your wingtip, so close that you swear he deflected his wing to clear your wingtip. You can be eyeball to dynamic eyeball, something simply not possible for a human to experience in any other context.
This may sound too close for comfort. The club has been at the Woodbury site for forty years now.. In the beginning the eagles could be aggressive. One of the Blaniks still bears a graunch just behind the back seat on top. But now they are completely accepting of our presence. Today we are probably sharing the airspace with third or fourth generation wedgies since our coming, which would explain their almost amicable behaviour.
Needless to say watching their movement closely can be a sure signpost of where next to be heading. Often the eagle will take you directly to the next booming thermal.