It was overcast again this morning, but the sun was shinning by the time Bubba, Drew, and I walked out after eating breakfast. The lift was predicted to be lighter than yesterday but the wind would be stronger; going from 11 knots at 2pm to 18 knots by 5pm. We originally selected a course that included a downwind leg to get pilots on course then a cross tailwind leg to the goal. We then found out that course went through a restricted military area that was active today, so be picked straight crosswind course to a point 38 miles away. Needless to say with the task was difficult and most pilots landed short.
I was hoping to get a good start, but had to settle for a climb that took me to the south end of the start circle when I should have been on the east end. Bo and I had a reasonable start from that position and we run a short line of clouds closer to the course line. I had a better climb and started pulling ahead of Bo. It was kind of nice to be flying on my own, not worrying about other pilots circling close to me. I was doing ok, if slow, until I missed a climb which isn’t good when the top of lift is only 2500. I took a couple short climbs and finally landed in a corn field next to a paved road about 12 miles from launch. I wasn’t even packed up when Bo, Bubba, and Drew drove up; what service!
The weather forecast looks wetter tomorrow, but each day the current morning forecast is better than the previous day’s version.
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