Like the last three days the cu's started around 9:30 AM on Saturday, something that we just
started seeing here this year. The wind was southeast instead of the east
southeast as forecasted. It looked good, but on the previous days it blued out
after early cu's.
I was ready with everything setup and over at the launch area next to the
clubhouse. Jochen and Tom were ready. Mitch had to work. Other pilots were
thinking about flying, but not yet ready. Some hadn't shown up yet.
The cu's continue and cloud streets appear. The cloud base is still low. I'm
ready to go at 10:30 AM. I go looking for Jochen whose glider isn't in the
staging area to tell him it's time to go (he knows). I don't see him but
communicate my message to Tom who says that Jochen knows I'm going (but this is
a miscommunication). Jochen is looking for me at my trailer which is empty as
Belinda is off to the opera. He is ready to go.
I get on the cart and I'm in the air at 10:54 AM. I get pulled up to 2,500' to
the street just to the east. It isn't a full street but it is a street. The
winds are strong enough to street up the clouds. It's thirteen mph out of the
southeast.
The lift is weak (50 to 100 fpm) and the cloud base is low, just what you'd
expect this early in the day. No one else is launching. I'm thoroughly enjoying
the lift and the flying. Ten kilometers out I finally find 200 fpm to 3,000'.
There are plenty of thin wispy cu's and I just drift down wind to the next one
after getting to cloudbase. It's back to 100 fpm or less until I get to the
prisons southwest of the Okahumpka service area on the turnpike. I am working 50
fpm from 2,000' when I notice two vultures playing and circling just south of
me. They had been way below me previously and although they only make one turn
in the apparent lift, it's enough to entice me over to it. The birds seem to be
engaged in a mating ritual and aren't that interested in flying efficiently as
they tumbled off to the side. I find 200 fpm in their thermal and climb to
3,700'
I'm southeast of Wildwood just south of the turnpike. I'm concerned about which
direction to take. The wind and the cloud streets are taking me to the
northwest, but the forecast showed the best lift and cu's to the north from
here. The forecast said east southeast winds near Quest, but south winds to the
north. I'm looking at a cloud street (sort of) off to the northwest which will
take me up I75 away from the supposed area of best lift and clouds. There are
clouds in all directions at this point.
I find 200 and 300 fpm thermals along my broken cloud street crossing I75 and
heading to the west side of the Ocala airspace. As I approach the airspace I'm
high enough to stay over it but work 100 to 200 fpm to stay up. I can see to the
north that the cu's are disappearing (or were never there) on my track to the
north northwest. The wind is eleven mph out of the south southeast.
I can see that there are no cu's past Williston in that direction. There are
plenty of cu's and streets to the east over highway 301, just as forecast.
Finally just northwest of the Ocala airfield I decide to break off from my
direction and head for the cu's to the east. Jochen, who launched half an hour
after me, is down having tried to cross his cloud street early and landing south
of the turnpike by highway 33. Tom Lanning is down near I75 and the turnpike.
I've got no one to fly with.
Using seven thermals I jump cross wind twenty five kilometers from west of I75
to highway 301 just south of Lochloosa Lake. I had to be sure to keep from
drifting into Orange and Lochloosa lakes as I worked my way east. The lakes have
large swamps on their south sides and I have to stay away from those also. I
have never flown in this area before and it is spectacular. The thermals average
200 to 300 fpm.
I work 200 fpm thermals up highway 301 climbing to 4,800'. There are cloud
streets (broken) ahead of me and I jump from cu to cu crossing under a cloud
street over Lochloosa Lake.
South of Hawthorne I work a broken and rough 100 fpm thermal but only get to
3,300'. Heading toward clouds to the north I'm concerned because I'm not that
high and there are limited landing areas. Unfortunately for the first time in
the flight I find substantial sink and not until I'm down to 800' over a huge
set of fields (with the ones beyond questionable) do I find a bit of lift. I
work it but can't carry it over the trees so low without a reasonable field
behind. After five minutes I lose it and land.
Jochen got a ride back to Quest Air with police car and returned with Tom's car
to chase him down and later they came and picked me and John up. The plank
flyers landed at about 111 miles out as did Campbell, all who started much later
but didn't land at 3 PM. Jochen has been a gem going out to get other pilots
after landing early.
