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With no chance of thunderstorms and light winds, the task committee calls a 168
km "triangle" task. I make sure that we start early (launch at noon, first start
time at 1:30 PM) as the forecast for lift after 3 PM looks iffy (blotchy). Cu's
are forecasted to start before 11 AM and last the whole day (which may explain
the blotchiness as the cu's could shade the ground cutting off the lift). The
cloud base is supposed to rise up to around 8,000'.

Everything happens quickly and efficiently at the air field and I'm fifth in my
line (there are three) to get towed up. Right after I get pulled up a pilot in
the neighboring line has his VG line stuck to the cart and crashes. He walks
away from it, but the ambulance guys and Greg (launch director) were immediately
out to him to render assistance. I put my VG line in a bungee on my down tube.

It was a long slow climbing tow a couple of kilometers east to the lift, but it
was a steady climb to 5,400' cloud base. That's awfully low for Forbes, but
quite cool. I was glad that I had on two long sleeve light weight under shirts.

A bunch of us (between ten and twenty pilots) moved to the north northwest to
get toward the upwind edge of the 10 km start cylinder. There were cu's every
where and while the lift was light it was plentiful. It was easy to get to cloud
base.

Ricker, Larry Bunner and I hooked up just inside the start cylinder and took off
at the first clock at 1:30. We flew to the west side the ridgeline that goes
north to Bogan Gate finding the thermals and moving quickly hoping to get away
from the second starters.

We had a couple of slow climbs, one before Bogan Gate and one just after. Larry
went on glide after we finally got up good after Bogan Gate and got low before
Trundle. I told him that there was a glider two kilometers to his east circling
and he scooted over there to find weak lift. Rocker and I joined that pilot and
climbed up reasonably fast and quickly made our way to the Trundle turnpoint.

Two kilometers past the turnpoint Ricker and I spotted a pilot going up quickly.
We came in under him and found 600 fpm to cloud base which was now 7,800'. I had
to fight to stay out of the cloud and there was a cloud street to the east
toward the Alec Town turnpoint.

With Ricker just below and behind and Larry slowly digging his way out of the
hole before Trundle I emerged from the mists with another pilot and we headed
east. I took the route under the cu's and he went north a bit into the blue. I
couldn't quite figure his strategy out there, but it was more on the course
line.

I found some lift but just let the bar out as there were plenty of cu's ahead
and we were racing. But soon the racing ended as my fellow pilot stayed high and
I kept going down. Ricker was higher behind me.

I got to the mines and worked weak lift and cursed the pilots who had flown and
stayed way high just to my north. I cursed them too much as I didn't stay with
the weak broken lift (the worse lift of the day) and soon landed. Ricker was
just over my head getting 400 fpm.

Ricker made it around the second turnpoint but landed less than half way to the
third turnpoint at Bogan Field. Larry was about to land 4 KM past me, but made a
low save. The last I heard he was on his way toward goal. At least a dozen
pilots were already in goal.

I'll get the link for the results up tomorrow.