With 5 start gates to choose from, task 4 was underway but we were a bit uncertain as to which one would be best to take. Some took the first and second but It looked like the majority chose the 3rd gate as did I. With thermal markers out on course, it still wasn’t easy. Lift was light and the top of the lift was low but we managed to get going in good speed…..well, not real racing stuff, but better than task 3. About half way down the course it started to shade out from over development in other places. I found myself wishing I had started earlier and figured It best to go into survival mode at that point. Even under shaded ground we found enough lift to get through some mountains to find lift on the other side. Many pilots landed there in the fields where it was shaded. I witnessed one landing on the side of a rock in the middle of the trees on one mountain. A few followed me through those hills rather low, but we all managed to climb out near fields on the outer edge. Part of the gaggle I was with had cut through a different route and caught a good thermal farther on course. They made it to cloud base rather quickly and the rest of us who were still in the game headed over there to get in on the action. About 10 of us thermalled up in the remnant lift and we didn’t quite get as high as we wanted, but it was just enough to get us going again. One big problem now faced us…….we were over 20km from goal and it was all shaded. Kari informed us that she was getting close to goal but wasn’t sure if she would make it. Again I went into the best possible flying mode since it was a 14 to 1 glide to goal and 22km to go. I think I was about 11km out when Kari said she barely made it into goal. (Kari had taken the first start gate). I felt confident about the situation as I was pushing half bar. The shortest distance may be a straight line, but flying a straight line put most of the pilots I just thermalled with on the ground a few km short of goal. With an educated guess, I chose to fly off course a bit and not to my surprise, I found boaty lift that was just enough to get me into goal with about 30 feet to spare. That is the closest I have ever been to the ground coming in to goal! I have to admit, I was cursing goal lines just before crossing. I like cylinders but lines are better for spectators. It felt good to be in goal and I’m still kicking myself for making one bad decision in task 3, but that is part of the game. We woke to sun on our last day and we are now waiting to see what today will bring. Australian pilot Brian Webb has said many times, “you don’t hold a comp when the grass is green”. With the record amounts of rain during this comp, that just can’t be avoided!
Tom.