http://soaringspot.com/2010bsn/

The forecast was for light winds so the task committee called an 120 KM FAI
triangle to the northwest, north, and back to Big Spring. The forecast was
uncertain with a stalled front over us. Seems like it will be around here again
tomorrow. Gary Osoba told us to wait as long as we could for the day to get
better.

The cu's didn't start appearing at the airfield so we postponed the start of
launch until 1:40 PM. I was off first and found lift at the end of the runway
pinning off at 1,700' AGL. I thermalled almost continuously for almost the next
hour before attempting to take the first clock with Zippy, Rodrigo, and Ricker
at 2:40 PM, at 9,800'.

I was on the radio with Zippy and we agreed to take the first clock as we were
plenty high and it looked good out in front. But after gliding three kilometers,
Zippy turned back to get a later start and the rest of us went with him. This
was disastrous as we lost 4,000' and went way south in the start circle (the
opposite direction that we needed to go for the task) to get under some clouds.

I went to some small clouds and climbed up but Zippy and others went back to the
runway and climbed up higher. I also later went back to the runway and climbed
to 8,700' before heading out to get the start at only 6,500'. I was behind Zippy
and others and on my own. There were plenty more behind me. It was a hard start.

There were nice looking cu's ahead and ten kilometers out I climbed to over
10,500' at over 500 fpm. From this vantage point I could see that I had 20 km of
dark shaded ground ahead between me and the turnpoint, which was in sun. The
scud in the sky blocking the sun did not look like it was producing any lift at
all.

I was on the radio with Zippy and he was just ahead of me and going under the
clouds over the shaded area. I was hoping that he would find something. About
half way through it I saw Chris Zimmerman thermaling a bit below me over a small
sunny patch, but when I got there it was less than 70 fpm and after a while it
was negative. I headed on hearing from Zac that he had hit 300 fpm seven
kilometers out.

I glided and glided but didn't find the 300 fpm, or any lift until I was down to
400' AGL at the turnpoint and found -75 fpm, instead of -300 fpm. I landed at
the turnpoint with a number of other pilots nearby who also didn't make it
through the shaded area.

Apparently the shaded area had been there for at least forty minutes as a pilot
who took the first start clock said it was there when he went through it and was
put on the ground.

Zippy made it through after finding lift in the shaded area and light lift at
the turnpoint. Larry Bunner who was a bit over me with Chris Zimmerman slowly
made it through behind me and got up slowly at the turnpoint as he was pushed
northwest away from the next turnpoint to the east.

Zippy got low moving east but circling up over some pilots from a little over
1,000' got back up again. He continued on his way with us following in the car,
and was able to make the next turnpoint in the blue, then catch an isolated
cloud on the way back to get to goal at Big Spring. Larry Bunner came in about
half an hour later (maybe more).

Those were the only two at goal by the time I left, late.