When trying hard just isn't enough

I awoke to a pleasant morning with mostly clear skies. A local church made us burritos and orange juice for breakfast at the airport. Some pilots started moving gliders to the north end of the runway even before the pilots meeting since we would probably launch there again today. I found out during the meeting that, as a member of the protest committee, I would be dealing with an official protest. I suspect the committee will meet tomorrow morning to decide how to handle the protest.

Our task was a triangle to the west northwest, then north, and then back to the airport. With an east southeast wind, the last long leg would be upwind and difficult. I launched early after Bo and Mike. I had some trouble getting out of the cart, a first for me. Bobby dumped me off almost at cloud base which was 2500 feet. I made an exploratory glide upwind to the southeast, found nothing, and almost decked it on the return trip. I found a weak climb and was soon at cloud base with an ever increasing number of pilots. Soon the entire start circle was filled with pilots floating about at cloud base waiting for the start gate to open. The sky over the airport was void of clouds, so everyone was hanging out on the edge of a large cloud to the northwest. Johnny did his usual “I’m bored” loop to burn off altitude. Given the long upwind leg at the end, I decided to take the first start gate with many other pilots.

The first couple of climbs were good and predictable. However, I kept getting lower and lower as I approached the first turn point, basically drifting in weak climbs. I join up with Kevin and Mike G and snagged the first turn point. Dave came back upwind to the turn point after drifting past it. I then headed north but decided to turn around after seeing several pilots land in front of me. I wallowed around in some “almost” lift with many other pilots. I radioed to Julie that Dave and I were just a few turns away from landing. I watched Bo land at the intersection that was our turn point. Dave and I found a good climb and were immediately swarmed with gliders. The climbed turned into a 600 fpm elevator ride to cloud base where I joined up with Linda.

Linda and I headed north northwest under some clouds. We had several nice glides and climbs together. I found a reasonable climb out in the blue that let me climb away from Linda before I headed up wind to a couple gliders that were turning down low. As I got closer I could see it was Carl and probably Claire. I joined in and we gained some much needed altitude before sneaking up on the second turn point. Carl and I found a strong climb and were soon joined by Kevin and another pilot. I was now high enough to get the turn point and start the tough upwind leg. Carl zoomed off while Kevin and I banked up on altitude. Kevin gained an extra 700 feet on me at the edge of a cloud before we dove out into the blue. I didn’t have enough altitude to continue with Kevin so I stopped to join a pilot circling over a cotton field that turned out to be Carl again. We shared a measly thermal that drifted more than it climbed. I eventually decided I had enough and headed down course line to a frustrating but good landing in a cotton field.

Now everyone says things are bigger in Texas. I am now a believer. I landed in a cotton field that I thought had an access road. The road turned out to be a ditch between two fields. No problem, I’ll just hike out to the paved road just a short distance away. Well, that road was a 1.5 miles away. Ugh. I walked my glider, with harness still on, for about a mile before I gave up and broke down in the field. Julie and Dave, who landed just before the second turn point, showed up, hiked in, and helped me hike out my gear. Thanks!

This makes the 3^rd day I have not made goal. It is very frustrating but I am trying to learn from my mistakes. I am having a tough time adapting to the uneven climbs, that range anywhere from 100 to 600 fpm. I start out cautious, but turn on the speed after several 500 fpm climbs only to end up struggling with a series of weak climbs. I could have done better being more cautious all the time, but being cautious can cost big points when the day is good. Sigh. As they say, this sport is good for keeping one humble.