https://airtribune.com/2018-quest-air-national-series/results

With a forecast for light winds, no cu's, TOL 3,000' - 4,000', up to 6,000'
after 4 PM and lift up to 600 fpm, the task committee called a basically out and
return task:

A twenty five kilometer entry start cylinder with a turnpoint inside at the
northeast corner of the Green Swamp, northeast up to Grass Roots airfield, which
is also the Sport Class's first turnpoint, then south along highway 33 against
the light winds down to the round-a-bout at Deen Still, then back to Quest.

We launched at 1:30 PM and everyone in the open class was off in less than an
hour. The first guys started getting up slowly so there was a question about
whether it would be as bad as the first day. But they were getting higher so
that were only a few holdouts for later launches.

I climbed at over 200 fpm to 3,000' right off tow and then hung in 40 fpm to get
to 3,400'. There were wide-spread gaggles and only a few pilots were up around
4,000'. The air was pleasant and with pilots well spread out there was no
crowding in the thermals. Looks like was can handle 103 pilots, no worries.

There were plenty of thermals and places to pick out for the start which was a
few kilometers to the west. At 15 minutes before the first window opened I
headed west to find 200 fpm to 4,600' with Raul. With a minute and a half to go
before the start I lead out to the west to get the first start time. Raul and a
couple of other pilots came with me and I couldn't tell what was happening with
the rest of the pilots. I was sure that some would stay behind for the second
clock.

I headed for a small orchard debris fire to the west but the lift over it was
very weak. It just kept us in the air until other pilots showed up thermaling to
our north. We headed for them and found 170 fpm to 3,200'. We were watching the
half dozen  pilots closer to the turnpoint to the west turning very low so
we stayed in this thermal until they started climbing better.

I flew right through their thermal going to the turnpoint, assuming that I would
just go back to it, when I found 500 fpm right at the turnpoint. My flashing
wings sent out a big signal and I was soon joined by many others as well as the
pilots to the east who had been climbing, but much slower. The thermal averaged
300 fpm and took me to 4,400'. It was time to go to Grass Roots airfield.

The guys in front of me were heading south of Grass Roots. At first I couldn't
figure out why as I continued on my route toward the turnpoint. After a while I
saw that they were heading for the Sport Class pilots thermaling to the
southeast of Grass Roots. Well, you had to get the turnpoint first and I did and
then headed for the turning pilots while the others that had left the last
thermal with me had to take a turn to the north to get the turnpoint first.

There were a couple of thermals just to the southeast of Grass Roots with the
Sport Class pilots and a few of us climbed to 4,000'. Five of us headed out as
the lead gaggle going south toward Quest Air.

A six kilometer glide and I was down to 1,900' just north of highway 50 north of
Groveland. I was wondering if I could even make it back to Quest Air.

I found a little lift and the other four joined me. This would be my undoing.
The lift was really weak and so we left and then I was down to 1,600' just north
of Quest and again in weak lift with Glen Volk just below. One of the pilots in
the gaggle headed east to find better lift then another found even better to the
east. We moved over and found 400 fpm to 4,600'.

Unfortunately the pilots behind us had found better lift earlier and came flying
high over us as we climbed up fast. Our time spent in weak lift kept us off the
ground but allowed everyone else to pass us high.

A thermal just south of Quest got us to 4,900' and we were cooking, but now
there were all these pilots high and out in front. I hate chasing from behind
and below but that was the circumstance. The idea is to use the guys in front to
mark the thermals, but you can't catch them unless you find better lift beneath
them.

I was getting 11:1 to 13:1 glides against a five mph head wind. The thermals
were weaker after the last big climb at about 4 PM. I was still racing from
below trying to catch the guys in front, but with the weaker thermals that was
not working at all.

Gliding from 3,700' at the intersection of 474 and 33, I passed through better
lift heading for pilots turning in front. That was foolish. I didn't find it
until I was down to almost 1,000' and was not able to get back up from there
just north of Deen Still. More patient pilots stayed higher.

Seventeen pilots made goal, some after 6 PM.

https://www.xcontest.org/world/en/flights/detail:davisstraub/18.4.2018/17:47