This really helped the mood and everyone took away a good spirit.
The weather for the last day was a bit more pessimistic than the day before but the models didn't quite reflect it. A 2 hour AAT was set with a high chance of storms and a change coming through. The cynical suggested that the weatherman had been primed so as to get only a short task on the last day.
This time the sky was great as start time approached, the change was well away and Allan and I had sampled the first leg and deduced conditions were good. Being a short task with good conditions we both new there would be no room for mistakes and a good speed was possible
We started with quite a few in front of us and had an excellent run into the first circle. 2 thermals at 4knots and 1st leg L/D of 67 meant we turned after 40km at a speed of 129kph. The next leg NE towards the mountains west of Martin was going well but we needed a strong climb to get back to base and keep momentum up. Unfortunately
this was not be and we had to settle for 2.7 knots to get connected again. 2nd leg speed 69kph, but a fair percentage of climbing and the sky ahead looked great along the ridges. The third leg to the south was where most of the distance was and the climbs were good and solid particularly early on. As we tracked along the barrier ridge I elected to top up while Allan pressed on for a big climb. This separated us somewhat but we still shared info regarding the sky ahead and what other gliders around us were doing.
As I approached the bottom turn my FLARM and PDA stopped and so I lost some important timing info. The guys at Dingo base got me the info I required and juggling the setting in the LX7007 gave me enough to work out when to turn for home. This would be crucial for the final speed as final glide becomes a significant part of the task on such a small race. I was really looking for a good core under a couple of target cus and all I got was just over 2 knots. I elected to turn for home nearly 1000ft below glide as the sky was good and I couldn't waste any more time. Allan had already turned and was having a good run. It was clear after the first couple of pull-ups under the cus that I'd get the height I needed. The next cloud had a nice core and I decided to turn and get myself up onto glide. The run in improved my glide further and the last task finished fast, fat and happy.
At 101 kph off the stick I was quite happy, of course as I have learned at this comp, there's no room for small mistakes and below average climbs. The winners were only a few kph faster and there I was in 29th.
Mike
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