Just when I thought another day was going to be lost to rain, the weather totally changed and we did have a valid competition day. Last night it rained heavily with lots of thunder (!) and lightening(!!!) that was kind of unsettling to this tent dweller. Fortunately, the tent did not spring any leaks. The morning looked like more rain, but most of us put water in the gliders, hoping the day would develop into something workable. At about noon, the contest officials told us to dump ballast and pack the hangar - it was going to rain again. At the 1:00 weather update, the forecaster from Meteo France said that he thought we just might get a break in the weather. He was right. We began the launch at 3 p.m. in warm sunshine, with an east/southeast wind and lots of interesting clouds in the sky.
The task was a 151km "drag race" task. Tim completed the task, finishing 11th for the day. No points, but he kept up with the field most of the time. He said that he had never raced so fast so low all day long!
In the first group of 7 finishers drag racing for the finish line was Petr Krejcirik. He was coming in for a straight in landing when he ground looped and ended up sliding by tail first before coming to a stop. Fortunately he wasn't hurt, but some repairs to the glider are going on right now.
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