The results are found here: http://soaringspot.com/BSI2008 (flex wing) and http://soaringspot.com/BSIR2008 (rigid).

David Glover, meet director, blogging: http://2007worlds.blogspot.com/

Jeff O'Brien blogging here: http://hang6.blogspot.com

With yet another forecast for cu's, high cloud base, strong lift and significant winds (this time out of the southwest) we call a 56 mile zigzag task that finishes with a 16 mile leg due west to La Mesa.  We're hoping that the more difficult cross wind legs bring about a bit of separation and mix things up in the standings. Turns out they do.

The dust is blowing at the airport as we begin launching. In spite of the strong winds the launches go well and I pin off at 1000' AGL in good lift. All of us drift quickly to the northeast as we climb out.

The idea is to start from the west side of the course line and as soon as we get high enough Shapiro, O'Brien, Dustin and I all force our way upwind to the red lake and wait for the second clock. Communication between us has continued to improve throughout the meet.

The first leg is off to the northwest so we have to deal with a strong cross wind (17 mph), but there is plenty of lift and we get over 9,000'. We are all flying pretty much together with Shapiro and I sticking close together.

Dustin comes in low under a thermal that I find just south of the turnpoint at Ackerly and he finds the stronger core thermaling up quickly to Shaprio and I. O'Brien is a little bit behind. The three of us make the turnpoint together and head north to stay upwind of the course line to the next turnpoint to the northeast.

Dustin goes searching all around for lift while Shapiro and I hang in a moderate thermal and climb back to cloud base. Dustin heads out lower on his own while we more carefully pick out the bits and pieces of lift and stay high.

At the turnpoint Dustin is low while Shapiro and I are climbing back to 9,200' under a cloud just to the south of the turnpoint. Dustin has chased a cloud near the turnpoint but has gotten too low. He almost lands.

Shapiro and I take the turnpoint and head upwind with Jeff in the lead. There are massive cu's ahead right on our course line and a few miles away.

Jeff finds some lift and I head for him. Dustin calls that he is about to land. We've lose track of O'Brien.

I come in directly under Jeff, but I don't feel any of the lift. Instead of asking him what he's got or where it is, I push forward to get under the dark clouds ahead, or at least to the sunny fields right next to them. Sure enough there is lift there.

I don't hear that Jeff has found 600 fpm behind me and is climbing fast to cloud base. I find 300 fpm and work my way up to where the numbers going into goal are positive. But given the string southwest winds, I want to be sure.

I hear from O'Brien that he has landed 10 kilometers short of the goal. Dustin is way downwind of the turnpoint soaring some cliffs and trying to get back up.

I push forward and start falling out of the sky with a glide ratio of 5 to 1. Jeff is dolphin flying over my head toward goal after his vario showed a 9.3 to 1 glide ratio required to get to goal.

I race to another cu and climb out from 1,500' AGL at 200 fpm. I'm drifting quickly to the northeast. I watch my glide ratio going to goal and tell myself not to go until it gets down to 6 to 1. I am four miles from goal.

As I climb up the required glide ratio goes down to 8.1 to goal but it stays pretty close to that value. I'm drifting away about as fast as I am climbing. Finally I decide to go 4.9 miles out with a required glide radio of 7.6 and the 6030 saying I had goal by 1,600' (assuming net no sink or lift on the way to goal).

There is bad sink on the way to goal (as expected), as well as the head wind. I wind up getting a 6.8 L/D and land short of goal by less than half a mile. At thirty feet I turn and land into the wind.

Meanwhile Shapiro has landed at goal and was the second in after Kraig Coomber. But Kraig took the first start time so Shapiro won the day. A few more pilots make it in later to goal.

Glen Volk, who was in the lead landed a mile behind me, also starting at the first start clock. O'Brien, who was in second place, landed 10 kilometers short. So the top rankings changed a bit with Dustin moving into second and Kraig into first.

Dustin had been in the lead until the second to last day. On that day he was flying toward goal with O'Brien, Kraig and Glen and then went off on his own when all he had to do is stay with these guys (which Jeff did), and he would have been in the lead on the last day.

Then on the last day all he would have had to do is stay with these guys to win the meet. But now with Glen in the lead he wasn't flying strategically as he didn't think that Glen wouldn't make goal. Of course, when Glen failed to do so, Dustin had a good chance to win the meet, if he just stayed with us.