Larry Bunner, Greg Dinauer and I are a cross country team. Larry
had mentioned going around the Green Swamp and then he came up with a counter
clockwise task that looked very doable.

He was off first around 1 PM with Greg right behind him. I was third as we
launched toward the southeast with a 6 mph easte wind. Greg got a much better
climb away from Larry and I and got out on the course to the northwest before we
got up.

Climbing to 4,000', cloud base, Larry and I headed west toward the Green Swamp
and the first turnpoint at the north end of it at the intersection of highway
471 and 50. Larry and I did well with the many cu's over the swamp and we all
ended up together just before the turnpoint. The point, of course, was to fly
together and help each other. We do have a specific code for doing that although
Greg needed more education on how to use it.

I lead out to the west northwest over a sketchy area but with enough cu's to
provide guidance and we all hung together as we made the second turnpoint (a two
kilometer radius turnpoint) at highway 98 and interstate 75 and then headed
south with Larry in the lead. Cloud base was now 5,400' and the wind was light
out of the northeast.

The next turnpoint was to the southeast over the swamp. The lift had been much
better than on previous days and the cu's were consistently good. We went to the
west of the course line out over cultivate areas and townships (Dade City) and
under dark cu's.

Larry lead out but well to the west of the course line toward thinner cu's. I
was next but headed southeast toward better formed cu's closer to the swamp.
Greg was just behind. I headed for an area that I had been to numerous times, a
large rectangular red colored pond that no doubt served as the manure pit for
the dozen white roofed chicken coops on the west side of it. There was a nice cu
just west of this very visible land mark.

Larry had to fly back to me as I reported strong lift and Greg came in under
him. Climbing back to 5,400' I lead out over the swamp to get back over the
course line and to get under nice cu's. One after another they worked and I
would just leave when I got close to cloud base. We weren't in racing mode, but
in helping mode. We were communicating well and each of us had provided good
help to the other two.

Taking the turnpoint at an small community on the south southeast end of the
Green Swamp I decided to head east southeast to a good looking cu despite the
fact that the course line was back to Quest to the north northeast over the
swamp. I didn't want to fly into the swamp, even though there were somewhat okay
looking cu's there because if it didn't work out there were limited options for
getting up.

I found lift before the good looking cu and then Greg joined me. Also Tom Nejame
finally caught up with us. He was on our frequency and we had been giving him
our locations as we flew. He started from Wallaby Ranch and was at highway 474
ten miles south of Quest when we launched. He had followed us all around the
Green Swamp.

Tom headed east toward Quest and Greg and I headed north northwest toward Quest.
Larry had gotten up over the swamp to our west. We climbed up in a nice thermal
to 5,400' when I went back to join Greg after he called out his climb. He lead
out as we headed north west of the Seminole sailplane port.

I shaded to the west over the swamp and toward what I thought were better
looking cu's. I found strong lift under them as Greg pushed ahead getting lower.
Fourteen kilometers from Quest I came over Greg working light lift and
thermalled with him until I had Quest at 10 to 1 at 4,400'. Seemed to me that I
should make it.

Seven kilometers out I was down to 2,400' and it did not look that good as I was
going down at 600 fpm. My glide ratio was about 7 to 1 while the required glide
was 12 to 1. There were some little cu's off to my west and I headed for them to
see if I could find some lift. Down to 1,500' six kilometers out I found 200
fpm. Of course ,as soon as I got high enough to for sure make it in and went on
glide I found nothing but lift, some of it quite strong.

Soon Larry and Greg were at goal. But they were not landing as the lift at goal
was quite strong as the flags kept switching directions in the field. I finally
found an area of sink to the north and cored down to get a landing in almost no
wind to the northeast. Larry and Greg felt that things were now calm enough to
land.

The ring around the Green Swamp is one of our most fun flights here at Quest.
Quite an adventure as you do go over large unlandable areas. Also much different
wind conditions east to west. Convergence can set up also.

Conditions continue to be magnificent. We'll see what happens on Tuesday.

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