http://soaringspot.com/2010tsss/

http://westcoastbrit.blogspot.com/

Unlike on our practice days the day didn't start with streaming
low cu's but rather left over mid level scattered clouds from the day before.
With those higher clouds reducing the solar input the cu's didn't form until
around 10 AM and even then they weren't as substantial as the last two days. The
wind forecast was for slightly lower winds, but still quite strong out of the
south southeast.

The conditions kept changing all day with a dark sky at noon then opening up
again soon after that. The task committee called an open distance task because
it was so difficult to understand what the weather would be. The forecast called
for much reduced lift to our west, the direction the south southeast wind would
take us.

At 1 PM there were cloud streets to the north of us heading off to the north
northwest but it was blue around us. We didn't want to launch, although launch
was open, assuming that the cloud base would rise and it would get better.
You've only got one shot at it as the winds were so strong (20 mph) you would
quickly lose contact with the airfield. You'd hate to go down early and then
watch everyone else fly over you.

By 2 PM it clouded over again, we did launch and everyone who did launch came
back and landed at the airfield. Then it cleared up again but it was blue with
lots of cu's in the distance. Finally we took off again a little before 4 PM and
I got a great tow from Steve Burns to a cu forming just upwind of the air field.

The sky at 3:40:

We are right on the edge of the cu's and the OD.

The lift was weak, 115 fpm, but it got me to 3,300' AGL. Joe Evens was brought
up right after me and pinned off just below me and I decided that I was as going
to stay with him and fly as a team. We are on the same frequency.

We lost the thermal a bit and searched around essential nearby and found it
again and climbed to 3,500' AGL in 105 fpm. As we thermalled Ben Dunn was
dropped off about 1,500' below us downwind of the launch point (he was also a
member of the team). After almost six miles of thermaling and near cloud base
Joe decided to head toward some clouds to the northwest that looked like the
ones we had been under and looked like they were working. I wasn't going to be
left behind so I moved to the left and went with him. We left Ben Dunn far below
us circling in broken lift and drifting.

For the next fifteen minutes Joe and I glided at twenty to one with a twenty one
mph tail wind at 200 fpm down not finding any more lift and we landed together
just short of the San Marcos airfield for second place for the day.

Ben Dunn drifted down wind well below us but holding on to anything just to stay
up. He managed to make the last seven miles in twenty minutes always turning and
never above 1,000' AGL, for first place.

Kamron Blevin, the owner of Northwing, and the sponsor of the competition, is
our driver. He's been right on it finding us with ease. Then he took everyone
who wanted to go to a Barb BQ dinner at Blacks in Lockhart. Thanks Kamron.

The flights and results are on-line, see URL above.