http://soaringspot.com/qao2015/

http://ozreport.com/2015QuestAirOpen.php

https://airtribune.com/2015-quest-air-open-national-championships/blog__day_5

We continue to experience iffy conditions. There was a bit of lightning off to
our northwest during launch. We were concerned about possible OD all around us.
The sky is full of cu's but there are high level clouds tamping things down.

I'm off in the middle of the pack and I watched pilots circle up and drift to
the southwest. I pinned off early at 1,700' when my vario showed 1100 fpm (which
means about 600 fpm rising air). But it turned out to be about 125 fpm. I was
alone in my own thermal. Nice but a bit of uncertainty about what was happening
with other pilots.

After a few minutes Tom Lanning came in under me and we just circled and circled
slowly going up. After a while three pilots a short ways to the south, including
John Simon, came under and joined us. Then most of the pilots who had drifted to
the southwest came over. Turned out that my little thermal was very attractive.
There was weakness all about.

We moved over a kilometer to the south at 3,500' and continued to climb, now at
about 150 fpm to 4,800'. There was a dark cu a little upwind to the east and I
headed for it as I watched other pilots circling up under this cu. I went under
it and didn't have to circle as I climbed to cloud base and went on glide to
make the edge of the 5 km start cylinder soon after the window opened at 2:10
PM.

There were three pilots, including Matt Barker in front of me and we all spread
out searching for the next thermal. The ground was shaded from the high clouds.
One of the three pilots found it and we all came together. The pilots behind us
found lift to the east and they got a bit higher than we did and then came over
us. After climbing up to 4,500' we all headed south for the turnpoint. The sky
did not look good.

The conditions continued to be weak with the next two thermals averaging about
100 fpm. There were dark clouds ahead with lots of shading on the ground. I
found a thermal for about a dozen pilots but after a while left them at 3,500'
and headed for the best looking cloud in the vicinity. I soon saw that there
were about six pilots under the cloud including Oleg, Yocom, Jonny, Wolfi and a
few others.

The cu was working and averaged 300 fpm. I climbed out below these guys to
4,300'. I went after them toward the turnpoint at the intersection of Rockridge
and 98. I knew that they were just a head of me so I figured that I would soon
be able to see them turning.

There were a few cu's on the east side of the turnpoint and I chose to go to the
first hoping to find pilots under the. I didn't see anyone. There were more cu's
closer to the turnpoint, but I didn't see anyone under them. I searched around
in the blue and didn't find any lift or see those pilots ahead of me.

Turns out they were just past the turnpoint and I should have been able to see
them but they were not going up very fast. No flashing wings. I landed in a big
field near the highway.

A bunch of the pilots landed falling out of that gaggle, but Oleg and Jonny got
away. A dozen pilots who were a half hour behind me circled up ever so slowly
over me in the blue.

Pilots were later stopped by an eastern sea breeze. No one in open class made
goal at Wallaby.

Thermaling at Quest today:

Photo by Adrian Sanchez.