Strong winds today, with rowdy thermals as a consequence. Quite a roller coaster ride. We had a 122 km task with a 15 km start cylinder and everyone was convinced it was going to be a late, but fast day. Which it was. I saw a nice cloud developing on the edge of the cylinder short before the 1st start gate and I got very high there, but my timing was off and I had to return because I was going to lose to much time if I started then.
I took the second start gate, which was probably early, so I was alone during the first half of the flight. About halfway, after the first turn point, I got low and lost a lot of time. I feared I would have to land and had to work broken lift for quite a while before it really turned on again. That was also the moment that I saw a whole armada of gliders (well 7 or 8) come my way. They took the 3rd start gate and caught up with me. One thermal later, I looked like a complete rookie when Jonny and Jeff Shapiro outclimbed me in a spectacular fashion. I somehow didn't catch it and they were right in the core. Still a lot to learn...
I came into goal 6th, having started a start gate earlier. In the provisional results I'm 7th for the day and I don't think that's going to change. That also puts me in 7th overall. A good day :-)
And Jonny made a video about yesterday's (where I had the rare opportunity of seeing him come into goal) and today's task:
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