http://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/2202792

https://www.xcontest.org/world/en/flights/detail:davisstraub/23.2.2019/17:45

This was the forecast:

A 20 percent chance of showers after noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 86.
South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Surface winds south 9 mph.

Lift at 2 PM 400 - 700 fpm, five models

TOL 4,000’ - 6,000’, five models

Wind at TOUL 15 – 19 mph south, five models

B/S 3– 6.7, five models

Cloud base, 5,000’, three models and Skew-T.

With the strong winds Keystone would be the goal.

With strong south winds at the surface and a forecast for good lift and a sky
full of cu's we get ready early to launch before 1 PM EST. Larry Bunner is off
first but gets the rope and lands when he gets too low behind the tug coming out
of the field, a field full of bumpy air.

I'm next and yes there are a few bumps but once we're over 200' the ride is
smooth. I hold on to 2,600' and then climb at 230 fpm to 3,400'. While Larry is
getting back to launch to tow again, I head south up wind four kilometers
against an 11 mph headwind in order to wait locally for Larry.

Larry gets off quickly and finds 300-400 fpm and gets to cloud base quickly and
heads north while I have to make up for being way to the south to chase him. The
wind gets us going over 60 mph over the ground.

There are lots of cu's to head for and I keep going finding weak lift. Finally 5
km south of Grass Roots airfield I find a sustained climb and get to cloudbase
at 4,400'. Larry is about five kilometers ahead. Rob Clarkson, Patrick Halfill,
JD Guillemette and then John Simon are launching south of us.

We're heading off to the north northwest to get away from Leesburg airspace and
up the west side of the Villages (which are further to the north). Larry calls
out a climb a bit further west and I head for the cu in the vicinity. Down to
1,400', far from roads I find 400 fpm and leave at 3,700' heading further
northwest.

Just west of the Okahumpka Service Plaza  I'm back down to 1,700' when I
find 300 fpm again under great looking clouds. Cloud base is rising and I take
the thermal to 4,800'. I can keep an eye on Larry now.

The sink is light for the next 11 km as I find the next lift at 4,200'. There
isn't a full cloud street but plenty of cu's.  I leave at 4,500', with
Larry at 5,300' 2 km in front, 12 km south of Bellevue.

There are a couple of small fires ahead near Bellevue in the shade of the cu's
overhead. Larry continues north high toward east Ocala. I stop and work the 100
fpm in the area of the fires as Larry goes on. I see him make one turn high
above me near the fires but he doesn't stop.

I'm shading a little bit to the west as I can only climb to 4,100' due west of
Leeward airfield. I hear from Larry that he is at 2,800' east of Ocala in the
area with very few landing areas and just on glide. I want to stay away from
where he went. I would much rather to be at 5,000' as I enter east Ocala.

I go on a 9 kilometer glide. I hear from Larry that he is very low and may be
landing. I've been spotting the field that he is approaching and using it as a
possible bale out. I'm down to 2,500' without many other possible landing areas.

As Larry lands I find 300 fpm that takes me to 5,000' and cloud base. John Simon
is finally able to get up high enough to get on the course line and is about 30
kilometers behind. Rob, Patrick and JD have gone down south of the Turnpike.

The day is heating up. It's a little after 2:30 PM and there are lots of good
looking cu's ahead southeast of Orange Lake. After a 11 km glide I'm down to
only 3,500' when I find 300 fpm to 5,100'.

Now ahead, east of the big lakes, the cu's are widely scattered. I take a 14 km
glide toward some wimpy looking cu's down to 2,500'. I head northeast to get
over a possible landing area with none downwind and find 400 fpm but only back
to 3,700'.

I'm over an area with only few scattered landing areas at 3,000'. I venture out
looking at a possible landing area far to the north if I can't get up, or maybe
an area with small trees. I don't lose much and then find 30 fpm to let me drift
toward possible landing areas.

I don't see it but behind me a cloud street in forming. John has been working
back up from low and climbs to 5,000' north of east Ocala. He'll get under that
cloud street. I find 40 fpm and hang with it, and then find a better core to
4,400'.

Very quickly the lift is improving now that I've gone beyond the area of poor
lift. I climb at over 300 fpm to 5,600' just south of Hawthorne. The cu's look
much better ahead.

I glide 14 km to the next thermal at 330+ fpm to 5,000'. I'm only 17 km out from
goal at the Keystone Airfield. I hear from John behind me that he hasn't turned
for the last 25 kilometers under a cloud street.

I pull it in hard to get down going to goal. Even at 600 fpm down I'm only able
to get down to 1,100' at goal. Given the strong south winds I choose to land in
the middle of the field.

A few minutes later John Simon makes it to goal having flown the last 45 km
without making a single turn under two different cloud streets caused by the
breeze from the west.

The sky clouds up about half an hour after we get to goal as forecasted earlier
in the day.

The flight puts me into first place in the US National contest:
https://www.xcontest.org/world/en/ranking-hg-national:US