With the morning winds and the cu's forming before sunrise, the
Zapata we know and appreciate returns. I ride my bike out to the airport and
still I'm the first pilot to get his glider positioned next to the runway at a
little after nine. It's a constant back and forth to get all the equipment out
of the hangar, setup and ready to launch.

BJ Herring is off first a little after ten. I'm next at 10:20. Mikey after me
and then the Brazilians.

I tow east to 3,100' just above cloud base and then head northeast paralleling
highway 16 toward Hebronville. I want to get as east as possible to counteract
the southeast wind and be able get around Laredo airspace. BJ reported lift just
below cloud base, but I didn't find any until I was down to 1,500'. It was weak
and I was thinking that maybe I wanted to land close to the highway and not risk
drifting into no man's land.

I stuck with the lift as I drifted northwest. Mikey came over to me and got in
the 100 fpm 200 feet above me. BJ was out front doing well. Mikey and I climbed
very slowly not finding any good cores drifting away from the paved road.

It continued this way for fifteen minutes until I didn't find the weak lift that
Mikey did to my west. I landed a mere ten kilometers out from Zapata. Mikey got
back up and continued north.

It took me four hours to get out from behind two locked gates with the very
fortunate help of Chris who lived nearby. Mikey got one hundred miles out. BJ.
stopped 165 miles out landing near Uvalde as the cu's ran out at the hill
country and he wasn't going fast enough. The Brazilian landed around Laredo and
were all picked up by six.

Sunday looks like stronger winds and south southeast. Nice cu's today, but not
streeted up as the winds weren't that strong. They build tomorrow.