http://ozreport.com/2007santacruzflats.php

Much of the task and the flight.

The forecast was basically quite wrong today. We didn't get any where here 14,000', and the winds were not 10 to 15 mph, but 5 mph out of the west. And the lift was not strong. Other than that, well, there is no other than that. The forecast was completely wrong.

We set a task any way that was agnostic about the forecasted winds (that were supposed to be 25 knots above 9,000', which we never got to any way). You can see the task at the URL above (the first one).

It was a slow climb above launch in light smooth lift under blue skies. After twenty minutes in the air we were only to 4,000' AGL. Jonny headed out toward town to the east and Scott and I followed. Jonny turned around but we continued to where we found weak lift over town, but scratched to stay up and waited for better lift.

Scott found a decent thermal at almost 300 fpm and we climbed up to 4,200 AGL'. We still had a long wait for the second start time so we hung out in the area working light stuff at the top of the lift. Most of the other pilots came in low under us and climbed up to us at the top.

Jonny, Chris, Conrad, Jeff, I and others started off at 1:45 heading east toward La Palma, the first turnpoint. We weren't that high, unlike the day before, so we were a lot more careful. I saw Jonny turning over the Wal-Mart in weak lift and we joined him and in decidedly poor lift. Eventually we climbed back to 4,600' AGL and headed east.

The eleven kilometer glide got us down to 1,100' AGL just under Jonny and Chris. Again the lift was weak, about 100 fpm, but we were so low that we had to stay in it. Jonny was about 500' over our heads.

We kept working 100 fpm lift in the area just trying to get high enough to search for better lift. Finally watching the dust devils we worked 200 fpm just next to the turnpoint at La Palma where I get high enough to get the turnpoint and head south.

I found 200 fpm just before the prisons but it only got me to 3,500' AGL. I headed south again toward a field with dust devils just past the prison where I saw Jeff O'Brien and Conrad turning. I came in over them but the lift was really poor, broken, and weak. There were dust devils but they don't seem to be working.

I spotted a new one forming on the west side, the upwind side, of the field and flew to it. Nothing but sink. I raced back to where Jeff and now Scott were turning but I was falling like a leaf. I came in under them at 500' AGL and didn't find anything. But the sink had slowed down.

At 300' AGL the zipper was open and I was taking stock of the fields below as the wind was pushing me quickly to the east. I felt a little lift and starting turning. The fields were going by quickly, as were the power lines and canals. I was just holding on as I really didn't want to land in these conditions until I figured exactly where the wind was coming from.

Conrad fell out of the lift and came and joined me as we scurried east. I started climbing at a little over 100 fpm. Twenty minutes later I was at 3,000' AGL and seven kilometers east of where I started the climb heading away from the turnpoint to the southwest. Conrad had landed.

I climbed back to 4,000' AGL and headed for the turnpoint at I 10. Scott and Jeff had hooked up over the field where I got low and were ahead of me having made the turnpoint. Dustin, Jonny and Chris were ahead of them working into the five mph wind toward the turnpoint at I8 southwest of Francisco Grande.

The lift continued to be light and I worked whatever I could find as it got past 4 PM. I started concentrating on the asphalt parking lots next to I10 as the ground is very light colored. They worked.

Chris plummeted on the final leg and didn't make it in. Jonny and Dustin got into goal just before 5 PM. I landed at 5:06 twenty five kilometers short of the last turnpoint near the intersection of I8 and I10. Jeff and Scott landed at fifteen after five, seven kilometers short of the last turnpoint.

The lift was very pleasant today, no doubt because it was so weak. I had a great time with the low save.

http://naughtylawyertravels.blogspot.com/

http://jonnydurand.blogspot.com/

http://hang6.blogspot.com/

http://canadiannationalteam.ca/blog

http://scottgravelle.blogspot.com

http://www.mullerwindsports.com/subpages1/subpage/endless.html

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