Around the Ranch

  It was tough to get motivated to fly yesterday.  On the downside, the east wind was predicted to be marginal for towing and a thick cirrus blanketed the sky.  On the the upside ... well there really wasn't an upside!  Pilots were swinging in swings, laying in hammocks, sleeping on benches, or chatting in small circles around the ranch.  I walked out into the field around 2:00 and saw no birds, no cummies overhead, but did see some cummies to the east and south and the wind was tolerable.  About 20 minutes before lunch at 3:00 a ragged line of cummies formed overhead and the birds started soaring.  Everyone grabbed a quick lunch and pushed out to launch.

  I had a sweet tow and was dropped off in a mellow little climb.  I stayed with climb until I was about 4 miles (6.4 km) downwind at 5000 feet (1600 m).  I flew back to the ranch and hooked up with Jason and Patrick.  We shared some climbs and then had an unproductive glide upwind.  All three of us were low on the downwind side of the field and were working this weak, elusive, wanna-be thermal as we drifted away.  It was fun sharing the hunt with friends.  We split up at the top of that climb as I headed south to get some pictures, Jason headed back towards the ranch, and Patrick cruised off to the southeast.

  We all settled back to the ranch after after a couple hours of airtime to land in a weak sea breeze.  Jason and Patrick had good landings but I managed to whack with gusto in front of everyone.  Sigh.

Flights: 1, Airtime: 2:12