Day 2 - Dave

The task today for 18 m was a 318 km assigned task.  Off tow the day already felt better than yesterday with 2-3 kts up to 4000 ft.  Before the gate opened we were able to climb to 6000 ft a few km from the gate and I crossed the line about 5500 ft.

From there it was a downhill slide for most of the course as we worked a low band from about 2000-3500 ft with the occasional good climb to 4000 or 4500.

 

Just before the final turnpoint and at 1820, well beyond when we should have been home to avoid the weak end of day weather we hit a quadrant that was significantly better than the rest of the day and took 3 kts up to 5500 ft and then one more 3.8 kt climb to final glide height.

Today really tested my patience as I stuck with the gaggle and fumed in disbelief as they circled in 1 kt lift, but I didn't want to strike out on my own in the blue.  It seems there were a few that tried and ended up landing out.

There was however one pilot, our friend Sean Fidler from the USA, who pushed out on his own and won the day convincingly with a 101 km/hr speed in 18 m.