http://flytecraceandrally.wordpress.com

http://skyout.blogspot.com

http://flyingjochen.blogspot.com

http://kathrynoriordan.com

http://naughtylawyertravels.blogspot.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/jonnydurand

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http://westcoastbrit.blogspot.com

The people at both airports have been very accommodating. They are more than
happy to have us there and want us to hold competitions at the Live Oak
airfield. That's a better deal than Quest Air (because of the landowner) or
Wallaby Ranch (because of the landowner).

The forecast was for a two to four knot northwest wind and the task was to the
northwest. There were clouds early on and the forecast was for clouds five to
six thousand feet with moderately good lift.

We setup on the grass on the outside of the runway away from the hangars but out
of the way of the GA traffic. We didn't have any planes launch or land while we
were launching.

I was about the fourth pilot off around 12:45, and the lift was easy to find.
Plenty of cu's marking the lift. It wasn't long before the sky was full of hang
glider pilots. We were climbing to about 4,800'. There was one main gaggle
inside the start cylinder. It was a cluster f... with the first start window at
two o'clock.

Just before two I saw Jeff Shapiro head west on his own and it looked to me like
he had received a radio message from Dustin to head that way. I was tired of
fifty pilot hanging together so followed Jeff and found Dustin just outside the
start circle. We thermalled up and drifted back into the start cylinder with the
west wind.

I thermalled with Jeff and Dustin to a little over 5,000' but couldn't quite get
up to them. We headed off together at the second clock with the main gaggle to
our north just north of the course line taking the second clock also. I was now
wishing I was with the main gaggle.

I got dropped at the first thermal as Dustin and Jeff disappeared to a little
north of a cloud street. I was now on my own having made the first big blooper
of the competitions leaving the main gaggle and not having all those extra
helpers around. I would pay for that.

 I glided for ten kilometers across a forest and down to 1,600' I found
400+ fpm and drifted back down the course line a kilometer and a half getting
back to 4,300'. The forest had marked a river and now I was back over farmed
fields. The task committee had looked over Google maps and knew that we only had
to cross two forested areas on the way to Moultrie. The wind was almost directly
aligned with the course line.

Twenty two kilometers further on after find strong lift I was again down to
1,700' and struggling in weak lift. The lift was quite broken and snaking
around. I actually had to go back twice to almost the same spot to finally find
lift good enough to get me out of the hole. I yelled at myself to stay in it and
not go searching as I was too low for that folly. It worked and I held on to
5,700'. I was next to the clouds.

The lift was averaging 300 to 400 fpm in most of the thermals, much stronger
than we were getting in south Florida. Fifteen kilometers further north I was
again over a forested area with few landing options trying to figure out which
clouds seemed most likely to give me lift without putting me in danger.

Without any flying markers ahead I opted for the clouds near the highway and a
few open fields. I had to deviate ninety degrees  from the course line to
get to them and the first few didn't produce the lift. I kept going over
forested areas and away from the cleared fields because that's where the cu's
were. Stretching it out as I ran south of the last landable field I found 177
fpm at 1,300'. I was soon, but not soon enough, up to cloud base at 5,900'.

It was twenty to five and the cu's were thinning out a bit, but there were cu's
ahead and I was determined to use them. The good lift had dropped off to 200+
fpm.

After thirty kilometers of working 150 to 200 fpm I was on glide to the next cu
when I noticed that it was falling apart. I had noticed that the buzzards were
now using me to find lift, not a great sign. To my west I saw a small dark cu
that looked like it packed some lift which the cu ahead did not. I turned ninety
degrees again and down to 2,400' headed for it.

As I approached it I saw a dust devil develop a couple of kilometers further
west. Not finding lift under the cu I headed straight for the devil. Down to
900' I saw the buzzards low avoiding the devil. That didn't look like a great
indicator. Maybe it was too powerful.

I came over the dust and yes I got kicked around but I figured that it wasn't
powerful enough to kill me so I hung on. The birds were circling else where but
low. That little bugger got me back to 5,200' at 200 fpm.

I was now only twenty two kilometers out from the Moultrie airfield and it was a
little past six o'clock. I had been in the air for almost five hours. There were
thin cu's ahead on the course line. I was able to climb to 5,500' sixteen
kilometers out to make it in easily. The wind was only three mph out of the
north. That late in the day and that high the air was generally lifty as the
earth was releasing its heat.

I was the last one to make goal.

On this day I didn't get to see the main action in the lead gaggle so you'll
have to count on the scoring to give you and idea of what was happening. You'll
find it at the first link above.