The flight and task.

The results

With the continued good conditions and an eight knot forecasted east wind, the task committee called a 137 km dog leg task to the south east then south west. They didn't want to have pilots flying to 7 PM if they had to struggle against the north component of the wind (below cloud base where the wind was east). They wanted everyone to get back in time to check in at a reasonable hour.

The cu's were forecasted to appear later, and a few showed up early. But the main sky full of cu's didn't show up until after 3 PM. The cloud base was forecasted to get up over 9,000' later in the day, and that for sure happened.

The good lift (500 fpm) showed up just before the mandatory start gate opened at 2:40, and I got high to 7,000' at the edge of the start cylinder as we started. I saw David Seib and went with him. As he had won the day before, I figured that would be a good move. We raced for the clouds ahead down to 4,000' found good lift as other pilots dropped out and got low.

We worked bits and pieces under clouds heading toward the hills west of Grenfell. Forty kilometers out I found a strong thermal and Jonny joined me as we led the pilots down the course getting to over 8,000'. I had lost Dave Seib but he soon got low with Nomo just before the turnpoint 77 km out. He and Nomo had to dig themselves out and they got to goal late.

There was lift at the turnpoint for us (Ollie, Steve Moyes, and a few others). We didn't get very high, but a little later climbed back to 8,500' just beyond the turnpoint at 500 fpm. Somehow, and I don't know just why I lost track of Ollie and a few other pilots as I raced after Steve Moyes who was just ahead and had been just below me.

On a twenty kilometer glide I got a little low while all those pilots that I was just with got to a strong thermal five minutes before I did and climbed to almost 10,000'. I found the 900 fpm under them and under the big black cloud over a forested area, but now they were far ahead (in this case high above) of me.

Soon at cloud base I was on my own. I didn't find much lift ahead even with plenty of clouds in front of me. It was twenty nine kilometers down wind down to 2,000' AGL until I found a strong dust devil, a smooth 400 fpm. I used that climb to get to the next dust devil fourteen kilometers from goal. Now there was plenty of altitude to make goal.

I went on glide fast and soon had a wedge tail eagle on my tail. It was squawking and coming up close and over the leading edge, but it didn't hit the glider with its talons. I just pulled in harder to run away from him (her?).

It was no problem getting to goal, but it was disappointing not to be in the first gaggle, as I had been there.

About forty pilots made goal. I'll have results soon. I'm writing this before the final presentation Jonny has undoubtedly won the meet.