Rain and gusty winds created challenges for this weekend’s Atlantic Balloon Fiesta in Sussex.
But organizers of the annual festival say they are still pleased with how things went this year.
Alannah Pearson, the festival’s pilot coordinator, said the weather is not something they can control.
“We do need to be under seven knots of wind with no gusts, the ceiling has to be at least a thousand feet, and we do have to be able to see for at least three miles from our launch site,” Pearson said in an interview on Monday.
“We unfortunately didn’t quite meet that criteria every single flight this weekend, but when we did, we were up in the air as quickly as we possibly could be.”
The festival anticipates about 50 per cent of scheduled flights will go ahead each year, and Pearson said they “just about hit that mark” this year.
Thousands of people descend on the Sussex area each year for the hot air balloon festival, which also includes a number of other activities.
Some on social media have suggested that organizers should look at holding the event on a different weekend in hopes of having better weather.
“You name a month that you’re guaranteed to never get a drop of rain or a gust of wind and we’ll book it then, I promise,” Pearson said with a laugh.
“We’re not guaranteed sunny, bright skies any other weekend of the year either. Weather is weather, no matter what the time of year is.”
The festival is also part of an unofficial schedule with other events, she said, which would make it challenging to attract pilots and vendors.
Pearson said preparations have already begun for next year’s festival, which will mark 40 years of the Atlantic Balloon Fiesta.
