The forecasts have been all over the map and even outside the map
and outside the lines. The latest forecast called for a 30% chance of rain
today. We awoke to overcast and low cu's with light east winds.







The sky at 2 PM.



The overcast thinned out a bit and the cu's were scattered. The rigid wings took
off at 2:30 PM and stuck. I was the first flex wing to launch right after them.
It was easy to get to the cloud base as the lift was moderate and cloud base was
only 2,600'. Finding the lift was not hard, but staying out the clouds became
the issue.



There was a downpour about five miles to the east which looked like it might be
coming our way. We all hung around in the lift and watched the rain to see if it
would bother us.



I decided that it would be a good idea to land and wait on the ground. I found a
patch of sink and spiraled down into the rain at the flight park. The glider was
completely soaked and was quite heavy in the last second. It just required a
slightly earlier flare.



Some pilots stayed up getting round the rain and waiting to see what would
happen. After about fifteen minutes to half an hour they all landed as we got
ready to go again.



Jonny Durand got towed up and pinned off at 700' as he saw a huge line of rain
stretching across the horizon coming our way. He came down, the safety committee
called the day. We put our gliders away, but some pilots were just a bit slow,
and then the rain come crashing down and it was an ugly wet tee-shirt contest.



Dustin. Max, a Brazilian pilot, and the tandem were in the air as the rain came.
Dustin could transmit, but not hear. We saw all of them disappear to the north
as the cloud line came between us and them. We hoped that they raced along the
front of the front. Suddenly the tandem appeared racing in the heavy rain for
the field. Just as they landed the rain stopped. They had shot through a hole in
the squall line and just barely made it as they were going up way too fast
trying to run away from the storm.



Max and Dustin flew the task landing 30 km short. The task was about 80 km.
Dustin is reported to have said that they flew straight in 500 fpm up as fast as
they could to the second turnpoint (to the northwest) and the squall line was
from horizon to horizon.

http://OzReport.com/1271531284