The flight



The task was to go southwest 32 km to the Dean Still and Rockridge intersection,
then west 10 km over the swamp to the intersection of highways 98 and 471, then
northwest 50 km to the very small grass airstrip at Chin north of Brooksville.
The forecast was for a 14 knot east northeast wind rising to 20 knots at 5 PM,
so we wanted to go as far west as we could to get into the area where the on
shore flow would reduce the general wind velocity. Things didn't quite turn out
as forecast.



The winds were quite strong in the morning out of the east, strong enough where
it looked like we wouldn't necessarily even launch. Drew declared it unsafe at
that point. The sky started off blue but then we started to get middle level
clouds, the kinds of clouds that don't show up in forecasting models. The local
forecast was for a 10% chance of rain with gusts to 20 mph on the ground.



We called the task and left it to the safety committee to deal with any launch
related issues. The sky got darker and darker with cu's underneath the mid level
clouds that were causing the shading (but only to our north and south, not over
the field). And with the reduced sunlight the gusts and wind died down as the
lift disappeared. Hmmm!



We pushed back launch a half hour to see if we could get some sunshine, some
blue holes, some chance of staying up. Then we sent up the rigid wings. They
sort of stuck, but not completely. They hung around in the gray for quite a
while but many came back to join us on the ground.



After watching those guys sort of hang in there, a few of us tested the water
(air actually) twenty minutes after the opening of the launch for flex wings
(already set back a half hour). I was able to eek out a 25 minute flight in 14
mph winds and gain a total of 200 feet overall. Almost every one (if not
everyone) who tried landed back at Quest. Maybe ten pilots took this option.



I got a cart and waited a few pilots back in the very short launch line. No one
wanted to go, with Primoz at the front of the line. A few flex wing pilots
launched in the other line, but it took a while for those pilots in our line to
finally get going. It was six minutes before the last start clock when I took
off as 70 pilots were still on the ground, having been unwilling to launch.



There was a little sunshine now and although Neal hauled me up to the northeast
I saw two pilots down low turning south of the park over the nursery. I headed
straight to them after Neal waved me off and when I got to them I found 115 fpm.
This was strong lift for today.



More pilots came over and soon we had about a dozen going up in a nice little
thermal. The rest of the pilots were on the ground. It wasn't that long before
this thermal starting showing 500 fpm on my 20 second averager. How sweet. So
smooth. We were all flying well together and we climbed to 4,500'. We were the
first pilots to gaggle up and get away from the launch. It was a beautiful thing
to be a part of.



There was a dark cloud over us and we had to leave having drifted in the 15 mph
east northeast wind back toward the Green Swamp. We headed straight for the next
dark cu and I climbed right back to 4,600' just staying out of the cloud while
the two guys higher than me got into it a bit.



We then turned and raced east toward highway 33 and to the next clouds which
again were working for us with the ground almost completely shaded, thick mid
level clouds, and the thinnest of cu's.



Meanwhile back at Quest Air some pilots seemed to think that the contest should
have been over after the previous grand and glorious day. But they didn't seem
to be able to come up with a good reason. The launching conditions were safe.
The task conditions were safe. The task was difficult, but you let the scoring
system handle that issue. If not a lot of pilots went very far, then the day
gets devalued.



Some pilots just weren't ready to accept the fact that some pilots were now
launching and sticking, and flying the course. They had had their chance. Heck I
was on my second flight. The conditions were wonderful. The air was super and
the thermals were smooth. Let's run a task.



Everything had changed. We started the day thinking that it was unsafe because
of the winds (Wallaby was shut down), but the winds backed off right away when
it came time to launch, so any emotional attachment you had to that scary
thought had to be dismissed. Now you just had to think about how you were going
to stay up.



After getting up to 4,500' just west of highway 33, and just outside the 8 km
start circle, a half hour after the last start time, the ten of us went on glide
toward the Lake Seminole glider port. We'd seen some gliders in the air so I was
hoping we would find one circling in the dark and over the shaded ground by the
air strip.



It looked like it was raining over at Wallaby way to our southeast, but it was
only dark and shaded here. There was little chance of cu-nimb development given
the capping mid level clouds.



There were a couple of pilots (who had missed out climb to the east) turning
over the Green swamp southwest of Seminole and we were heading for them, but
there were also some cu's just west of Seminole that I was shading toward.



Just as I got to the west of the air strip I found a little broken lift that
averaged 50 fpm. I took a couple of turns as I watched the gliders out in front
of me to see how they were doing. There were about six gliders turning out there
now. I was on top over in my little thermal with Jeff O'Brien coming in under
and working with me.



The lure of the gaggle further up the course line proved to much for my
emotional brain. I left the lift that I was on top of to head for the gaggle
where I would come in lower than the top guys. Bad move. I would find zero sink
there for a while before I lost it. Even worse it was out over the Green Swamp
with few landable areas, so I was getting squeezed as the wind pushed me further
into the swamp.



Didier and two other pilots below me baled out and headed up wind west to get to
a landable area. Finally, I had to bale also working scattered bit of lift
upwind in the dark hoping to find something as I watched the two or three pilots
who stayed in the thermal that I had found by the airstrip climb out.



Now Primoz was just above me and heading out with me with the guys just above
him. At the eastern edge of the swamp they stopped and worked something that I
didn't find below them. I landed in the same field as Didier. Primoz and the
other pilot were able to get up and continue on course toward Dean Still another
13 km, before Primoz had to land after not getting high enough to cross the next
swamp.



Jonny Durand had a very short flight. Gerolf didn't get out of the flight park.
Kraig Coomber was able to almost make it to goal. No flex wing pilot made it to
goal. Jacques Bott on the AIR ATOS VR was the only one to make goal. He had been
in second place 60 points behind Larry Bunner.



Kraig reported that when he got over to the west to head northwest toward goal
he ran into the sea breeze which was clearing out the clouds but also clearing
out the lift. In our concern about the strong east northeast winds, and our
desire to go west to both go downwind and to get into lighter wind regimes, we,
the task committee, had neglected to remember about the sea breeze killing the
lift, even though we were counting on that very same sea breeze to reduce the
winds. Of course, we originally (at 10 AM) assumed that we would be getting
strong lift to 5,000' as per the forecast. And that we would have run the task
before the sea breeze came in.



Before this last day Jonny Durand was in first place and Gerolf in second, with
Robin Hamilton in third. Now as I write this everything is up in the air. At
this point (before all the scores are in). Bruno, Robin and Hakan all have a
chance to go into first place.



See results
here.