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03.05.2011
The 2011 Rob Kells Meet - Second Task


http://soaringspot.com/2011rk/

http://skyout.blogspot.com/

Bobby Bailey is a wonder to behold and went he yanks you up in his little 583
equipped Dragonfly you have truly been yanked. As soon as he found lift at about
600' he started turning with me trying to hold on behind. He knows who is there
and who can take it. He circles in the lift as he can't power through it like
the 914's can and needs the lift to get you higher faster. If you fly in the
inside of the circle you are flying too slow.

Not only was the tow rough, but the air that we were towing in was rough. As
soon as I pinned off at 1,800' I continued thermaling in the lift as the glider
continually rolled sideways as the broken thermal was battered by the wind. I
thought this was supposed to be gentle Florida. This would continue until late
in the day.

With the strong winds and the weak climbs and continually bumpy air it was a
challenge to connect up with other pilots which required upwind legs, but having
waited to launch until a number of pilots were in the air I was able to get
together with a few before we approached the edge of the start circle.

The first turnpoint was to the west northwest, our second turnpoint from the
first day, but given the lack of cu's we didn't venture to the north at all and
huddled under the ragged cu's near LaBelle to our west. There was lift right at
the edge of the fifteen kilometer start cylinder and I was back at 3,200' just
before the second start time but lost five hundred feet going back into it, so
had to wait for the 2:45 start time. Many pilots were able to get away at 2:30.
Larry Bunner was with me but he waited around for the 3:00 start time and ended
up going down before goal later.

The lift had been weak until I got out past the start cylinder and over LaBelle
itself. I followed the lead of another pilot and climbed out in an area with no
landing zones at 400 fpm to 5,000'. There were a few cu's in the distance along
the course line to the northwest and with the better view my situation improved.
I was finally able to head northwest toward the turnpoint.

We headed out over difficult retrieval areas. There were just a couple of cu's
within gliding distance and we took lift in the blue. As I approached highway
31, Julia joined up with us as we got well over 5,000'. There was a thermal
right at the turnpoint which got us up to 6,000'. Cu's were beginning to form
here and there along our course line.

I spotted Mitch Shipley low in his red harness as we climbed up under a cu just
south of the Henessey airstrip, our goal on the third day. I was racing harder
and harder as the day had changed from the weak lift start into a high cloud
base good lift day.

The cu's ran out for about fifteen kilometers northwest of Arcadia. I wasn't
able to get high at the last cu's and entered into the blue zone with
trepidation. Now far from roads I worked a cultivated field back to 2,700'. Lost
it when Jamie Shelden came in low south of me and I went over to her thermal
which disappeared after she had taken a few turns.

I was joined by two other pilots that I had been pulling previously and we
climbed in 47 fpm back to 2,700' We went on glide and I saw the next cu four
kilometers downwind to the west. There was a pilot under it going up fast so I
headed for it and at 300 fpm that's all it took to make it to goal.

Dustin won the day with a very fast time and made it two in a row. Zac and
Shapiro were second and third with John just behind them.



http://OzReport.com/1304422292
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