To quote from Wikipedia, "Water birth is a method of giving birth in a bathtub or pool full of warm water. Proponents believe this method has many benefits for both mother and infant, and is a safe alternative to standard types of delivery. Critics cite the introduction of an unnecessary risk factor to infants."
For balloons I have to say that I agree with the critics.
With the Australian National championship fast approaching, my dear Dad has come up against a most predictable problem. You see, in the same way that an electricians house is never rewired, or the plumbers house is the last to have new pipes, the balloon manufacture is often the last in queue for his new balloon.
So here we are with down to the last few days to get the test inflation done on Phils new 77 so that CASA can process the Certificate of Airworthiness before the Nationals. A deepening low of the east coast of Australia is lashing us with wind and rain and will do so for a few days yet.
What do you do? The one thing we tell all our customers not to do - put a balloon (a brand new balloon!) up in the rain. Trust me kids do not try this at home, it is not fun and we would never, ever do it with your new balloon.
So have a good laugh at us. Wet like drowned rats. We weighed the balloon before it got wet and again afterwards purely for science. An extra 90kg of water was added to the balloon once back in the bag.
Ironically, this is the second time in as many days that I have had to deal with a wet balloon. I got rained on in a 350 on Sunday while we were packing up. Before that it had been the best part of 10 years since I got really wet ballooning, I plan to make it another 10 years before I do it again.
I have more photos but Blogger seems to be having problems uploading them..check back soon to see just what happens in the rain.
