The
results.




http://www.westcoastbrit.blogspot.com/



http://www.jonnydurand.blogspot.com/







The forecast was again for overdevelopment. The winds were supposed to be four
to six knots starting northwest and shifting steadily throughout the day to
south. There would be plenty of cu's according to the NSW RASP, at 7,000' to
8,000' but the overdevelopment would start early also. One unusual note is that
the NSW RASP called for light lift after noon in the general area around Lake
Keepit. It was unclear to me what could cause this other than spreading clouds
out the top of a cu-nimb. That seemed awfully early for that.



When we got up the hill there were already plenty of cu's and some are getting a
bit vertical especially to the northeast. We thought about a task with a first
leg in that direction, assumed to be downwind, but as more vertical clouds
developed, the task committee changed its mind and went for west and southwest
to run away from the possible cu-nimbs (as though we could predict where they
would be). This turned out to be a not so fortuitous choice.



We got the ball rolling early with good launch conditions on the west launch. I
was off quickly, but after getting over the hill to the right, sunk below launch
and had to save the day hanging on in light lift to the south of launch from
below launch while almost all the pilots who launched before me sunk out.



The lift was weak and rough, a bad combination, especially with half a dozen
other pilots in the thermal with me as we drifted back to the north over launch
and worked our way up to over 7,000'. The task was to go to the south into the
south headwind for 17 kilometers, then to the southwest 48 kilometers and then
finishing it up to the southeast 25 kilometers. So essentially a head wind all
the way.



I took the first start clock with five other pilots and we headed for a small
hill east of Manilla. The pilots in front of me stopped for a little thermal,
but I pressed on and got in front eleven kilometers down the course line and
found a boomer of a thermal to the left of the course line. It averaged 900 fpm
through the whole thermal and got me and Bruce Wynn who came in over me to
cloudbase at 7,500'. This was the way to start off a task.



It was easy to get the turnpoint after that climb and Bruce was now way south of
the course line and low and I caught more lift at the turnpoint and got back
over 6,500'. There were plenty of cu's about and I soon lost sight of Bruce and
all the other pilots. I charged off to the upwind side of the course line under
the clouds and was "rewarded" with lift as I went. I put that in parenthesis as
the lift was not all that much fun at first.



I was flying past Lake Keepit and staying between 5,000' and 7,000'. The lift
sucked but I kept using it. Finally I had had enough of the rough edges and
raced ahead getting down to friendly altitudes where I found a nice thermal at
3,500'. It was a struggle beating into the wind on my own. I was way out ahead
of everyone else and didn't see any other pilots for quite a while.



The cu's were spaced out a bit but still working as I spied a cu-nimb way to the
southwest. It could have been 100 kilometers away at least. But thin streaming
clouds were coming out of the top of it shading the ground.



It took quite a while to make it to the first turnpoint at Curlewis but the
nearby clouds indicated good lift and I went under them again going upwind of
the course line to find the lift. The shade from the exploding cu-nimb was
beginning to come close to the course line.



I made the turnpoint alone and high and found lift just beyond it, but only 300
fpm and back to 6,200', not over 7,000' as earlier. I looked back and could see
Blay and Jonny racing relatively low toward the turnpoint. They started 15
minutes after me. I had left everyone else behind and they were still far behind
me, also.



I raced down the course line spotting a dust devil in a dry field and came over
it finding 450 fpm, but nothing as strong as I had hoped for. I was only able to
take it to 6,200'. I was hoping for a lot more as I was just 20 kilometers from
goal.



I pressed on and came to the next cloud low and found only 225 fpm. This is
where I should have stopped and kept at it, but I pressed ahead looking for
better and didn't make it to the next cloud after hitting strong sink landing 11
kilometers short.



I was rewarded with the sight of Jonny and Blay flying very conservatively in
the light lift and climbing over me over dark shaded ground. They didn't make
goal either.



Forty minutes later Ben Dunn who started fifteen minutes behind me, found 500+
fpm over dark shaded ground just behind my landing spot. There were still cu's
over the shaded ground. He climbed high and easily made goal. I spotted him as I
finished packing up and he was much higher than anyone who came over me.



Only Ben Dunn made it to goal. Blay was just short.

http://OzReport.com/1233660818