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

The forecast was for no clouds and a west wind at ten knots, with a little south in it down low. I call a task to the northeast with a short final leg back to the south east for thirteen kilometers for a total of seventy one kilometers.

There were a few ragged cu's, but nothing like the sky full from the day before. This makes the pilots reluctant to launch. I finally took off and that gets everyone going. Pete Lehmann and I didn't stick, so we had to relaunch, but we got into line right away and got off quickly.

I found lift on tow this time and went back for it. Pete got a slow climbing tow behind a 583 Dragonfly, but started circling below me. The lift was weak, but I was able to get to 4,100' before the second start time and heading out on the course line alone. Almost all the pilots would have much later starts.

There were ragged cu's ahead and basically they required that I take a course to the downwind side of the course line. A few thermals into it and Pete Lehmann who started a minute after me came and joined me in the thermal and we will flew the course together until after the last thermal.

We were just able to get from ragged cu to ragged cu getting down to almost 2,000' on glides. We were zigging and zagging from cu to cu basically in survival mode, with a little bit of racing thrown in. We were way out in front so we knew that it didn't matter how fast we flew, as we were already winning the speed portion of the task.

As the peninsula narrowed to the north we approached the turnpoint and found a good thick cu ten kilometers out. There were none to a few really ragged clouds to the north toward the turnpoint and back to the goal. The water was nearby. It was time to hold on and get high.

I climbed to 4,900', the highest I had been all day. Pete wasn't able to get quite as high. I went out in front and on glide, watching the sea breeze kick up below me on the ground 180 degrees to the west southwest winds above. The really ragged cu's that formed in this area were not producing any lift at all.

It was a glide and I landed six kilometers short of goal in a large soybean field with a friendly farmer. Much later Kevin Carter was able to get a half kilometer closer to win the day. You can see all the results above.

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