The flight:

https://www.xcontest.org/world/en/flights/detail:davisstraub/12.4.2019/16:17

https://www.xcontest.org/world/en/ranking-hg-national:US

http://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/2243108

The forecast:

https://ozreport.com/seweather.php

Today

Sunny, with a high near 89. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Surface wind 8 mph south southeast

HRRR 3, noon:

Updraft velocity: 500 fpm (other models show 600 fpm)

TOL: 3,600’ (other models show 4,000’ – 5,000’)

Wind TOUL: 19 mph, south southeast

B/S: 2.7

Surface winds: 8 mph south southeast

HRRR 3, 2 PM:

Updraft velocity: 800 fpm

TOL: 7,000’

Wind TOUL: 11 mph, south southeast

B/S: 10.0

Surface winds: 10 mph south southeast

Cloud base at 6,300’

Convergence east of highway 301. Earlier starts preferred given southwest flows
approaching course line after 3 pm.

Task:

Quest, 5000 m

Keystone, 400 m

Weather Underground showed rain at 2 PM north northeast of Ocala.

Larry Bunner launches first and I'm right behind him at 12:17 PM. Larry finds
lift on the southwest corner of Wilotree Park and we climb at 200 fpm to 3,200'.
That's not that great an altitude for our first jump over Groveland.

We head for a little cu that doesn't fulfill its promises and immediately turn
west to get over the chicken coops and under some good looking cu's that indeed
are working. We leave at near cloud base at 3,200' and find less than 100 fpm to
the north under cu's. I finally chance it out further north and at 1,800' hit
600 fpm that averages 200 fpm over the climb to 4,400'. Larry joins me. We are
drifting in a 10 mph south southeast wind just south of the Turnpike.

There is a series of dark cu's on a line paralleling the Turnpike to the
northwest (which is where we want to go anyway), so we fly under them keeping
our altitude loses in check and then find weak lift over the prisons. We
continue to climb in weak lift checking all around under the sky full of cu's
for better lift. We keep drifting to the north northwest just staying above
2,600' and sampling the lift that is on offer.

Finally, northwest of Wildwood, we find 300 fpm to 4,800'. Larry finds some
better lift and is above me but when he leads out to the next thermal he doesn't
find it at first and loses enough altitude to just get below me. I carefully
milk the weak lift while he charges on ahead toward east Ocala. I'm able to stay
high.

Working a couple of hundred feet per minute west of Leeward I see Larry coming
back south under me to get over the sunlit fields and to get back up before
going over the area of few landing spots. I'm high enough at 4,900' to head for
the two fires that are burning the underbrush in the Ocala National Forest. I
find 300 fpm just on the south side of the smoke plumes while Larry struggles to
get up 9 km south of me.

By the time Larry gets up and to the smoke plumes, Tullio, Gary Anderson, and
Mick Howard have caught up with him. I dawdle along hoping for Larry to catch up
with me so that we can fly together. He can hear me on his radio, but his mic
isn't working.

I fly to a dark cloud street going from the south southeast to the north
northwest. It goes out over the big lakes, but for now it is a good path. I look
ahead for where I can jump to the northeast to get under the cloud street to my
east. I stay high. I climb to 5,300' at the end of the second cloud street.

I'm 43 km from goal and there is a blue hole in front of me with cu's far (10
km) to the east over swamp lands and the St. Johns River. It looks like the day
is going to end soon. I take a 14 km glide with a bit of a turn to the northeast
to get under some little wisps over landable fields east of Hawthorne. I'm down
to 1,800'. I find 255 fpm under these almost cu's and climb back to 3,700', 27
kilometers from goal.

There continues to be a blue hole between me and the goal, as well as a big lake
and lots of forest. I'm on my own as I can't hear from Larry, but he can hear me
calling out the locations and climb rates.

I head to the northeast to try to get as near as possible to the cu's in that
direction and also to get over landable fields. Down again to 1,800' I find 70
fpm and start turning in a 15 mph south southwest drift over non landable areas:

I'm only able to ride this thermal to 2,500'. The next landable field is 7
kilometers to the north, which to be sure is downwind. I don't want to chance it
and head upwind to the fields just to my south.

I decide which field to land in but before I do I check out the possible lift to
the south and east of the field. I can see good looking cu's overhead and a very
small fire. I get there with 1,200' to find 260 fpm Climbing to 3,600' I'm
confident of making the next landable field and keep searching for better lift.

I spot Gary Anderson to the north and get under him in a thermal going up at 400
fpm. This is way more than I need to get to goal.

Larry has caught me and made it in already. Garry gets there and after me Tullio
and Mick. Later Bruce Barmakian who started much later and Phillip Michaud who
flew from Wallaby.