Robin Hamilton‎ writes:

Thursday was a fun soaring day at Wharton, Texas (Cowboy Up). Got
a much needed approximately two hours running up and down the low cloud streets
that were streaming over the airport. And we are just two weeks from the winter
solstice.

In my experience, it is difficult to pick soaring days in the winter here on the
Texas Gulf Coast as some of the usual broad indicators: Ground Temperature,
Overnight-to-Daytime Temp difference, cloud forecast etc., don't seem to work.
More complicated when we are being regularly swept by weak (and strong) fronts.

My call on Thursday came from a few days back and was based mostly on the timing
of the southerly flow after the passage of the last front, the continued period
of no rain and a "reasonable" temperature maximum of about 75 degrees. All of
that looked like hokey science as I was driving down to Wharton around midday as
we had fairly extensive upper cirrus cover, fairly patchy cu's down low and way
more of a southerly breeze (10-12 mph) on the ground than you would want to
preserve what I thought could only be fragile, weak thermals.

Suspending disbelief a little longer, Efrain, Read and I rigged and I was off
Tiki's towline upwind of the airport at around 3,000' and 2pm after a super
stable, quiet tow. It was blowing even stronger (~20mph) at altitude and I
gingerly glided further upwind under some buoyant air below the skinny cu cloud
street. The ground looked flat and grey with no sunlight reaching it. But then,
miracle of miracles, the vario starting chirping and I found I could work and
maintain in broken 50-150fpm lift. After a bit it was fairly easy to get
comfortable with the conditions as I found there was weak lift below many areas
of the main street over the airport and another that occasionally formed about
2km to the west. Best lift was probably ~300fpm and base around 3200'. The
furthest upwind I got was maybe 15km up past the flooded rice fields.

There were several tractors out ploughing the fields, a fire upwind and other
possible thermal triggers but honestly there seemed to be no correlation with
them and where I found lift so I stopped even trying to make sense of it. I just
turned when the vario beeped. I flew for around two hours and never got much
below 2,000' except when I chose to come back in and land. Efrain and Read also
soared but without a bit of extra glide speed in the brisk headwind found it a
little tougher to stay long on the magic carpet. Happy pilots all round at the
end of the day. Tiki, thanks so much for the tows.

We have a weak front come through this morning and it seems a bit clear and
inverted behind it. I think Sunday might be when we get another chance to soar
in the Gulf flow.

Belinda and I are in Katy, Texas on our way to Wilotree Park,
Groveland, Florida and will be having dinner with Tiki in about half an hour.