A HOT AIR BALLOON PLT; WITH THE HELP OF A BOAT; IS FINALLY ABLE TO GET THE BALLOON ON THE GND AFTER DARK AND NO FUEL REMAINING.

Narrative

I WAS COMPETING IN A HOT AIR BALLOON EVENT WITH 2 PAX ON BOARD IN THE VICINITY OF A LOCAL LAKE. WE HAD COMPLETED THE COMPETITION TASK AND STARTED LOOKING FOR A LNDG SITE. AT THAT TIME I HAD 75% FUEL CAPACITY AVAILABLE AND APPROX 40 MINS BEFORE SUNSET THERE WERE NO VISIBLE LNDG SITES IN OUR PATH; ONLY TREES AND THE SURROUNDING LAKE. I CLBED TO APPROX 1000 FT AGL TO SEE WHAT WAS AVAILABLE. I SAW MANY FIELDS APPROX 2 MI AHEAD; ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LAKE. I HAD A 10-12 KNOT WIND PER MY GPS; AND PROCEEDED FOR THEM. AS I STARTED DOWN; IN ORDER TO MAKE A LNDG APCH; I FOUND THAT THE LOWER WIND DIRECTION HAD CHANGED FROM 090 DEGS TO 045 DEGS; WHICH THEN STARTED TAKING US DOWN THE CTR OF THE LAKE AREA WE WERE XING. I WENT BACK TO 1000 FT AGL; BUT BY THE TIME I REACHED MY DESIRED ALT; THOSE WINDS HAD SHIFTED 045 DEGS AS WELL. I THEN PROCEEDED TO AN ALT OF APPROX 50 FT OVER THE OPEN WATER TO DETERMINE THE GND WIND DIRECTION. WE FOUND A FAVORABLE WIND THAT TOOK US IN THE DIRECTION OF THE SHORE. THE VISIBLE SHORELINE WAS COMPLETELY COVERED WITH TREES BUT THAT DIRECTION WOULD HAVE TAKEN US TO THE FIELDS I HAD CHOSEN EARLIER. AS WE CROSSED THE SHORELINE AND PREPARED FOR LNDG IN THE FIRST AVAILABLE SPOT; WE CROSSED A SMALL COVE WITH AN OPEN BUT SMALL BEACH. I ATTEMPTED A LNDG ON THE BEACH AREA; BUT AS I APCHED WATER LEVEL; THE WINDS CHANGED AND STARTED TAKING US OUT TOWARD THE MAIN PORTION OF THE LAKE. THERE WERE A FEW BOATS IN THE AREA; AND ONE OFFERED TO HELP. WE THREW OUR DROP LINE TO THE BOAT; BUT INSTEAD OF TAKING US TOWARDS SHORE; THEY HEADED OUT INTO THE OPEN PART OF THE LAKE. BY THE TIME WE COULD GET THEM TO RELEASE THE DROP LINE; WE WERE APPROX 100 FT FROM SHORE; AND THE BASKET HAD DIPPED INTO THE WATER FROM THE WIND AND PULLING EFFECT OF THE BOAT. WE WERE JUST A FEW MINS FROM SUNDOWN BY THIS TIME; AND OUR FUEL WAS SITTING AT APPROX 10%. WE STARTED PICKING UP SPD; HDG FOR THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE LAKE; TOWARDS A SPILLWAY. ANOTHER BOAT CAME TO ASSIST; AND DID HELP US DIVERT OUR COURSE TO THE SHORE; WITH THE BASKET DIPPING INTO THE WATER ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS AS WE FOUGHT THE WIND DIRECTION. WE FINALLY REACHED SHORE JUST AS THE FUEL LEVEL WAS REACHING 0% AT APPROX 40 MINS AFTER SUNDOWN. I LANDED THE BALLOON SAFELY ON THE NARROW SHORE; BUT THE BALLOON ENVELOPE DRAPED OVER A 35 FT TREE AS IT DEFLATED. WE WERE ABLE TO RECOVER THE BALLOON ENVELOPE FROM THE TREE WITH NO VISIBLE DAMAGE TO THE BALLOON SYS.