East Coast Championship Day 1 & 2

I arrived at Highland Aerosports in Ridgley Maryland late Saturday afternoon.  I spent the rest of the evening and most of the following morning catching up with old friends and making new friends.

We called a task for the first day on Sunday, but everyone knew it would be either too windy or possibly rainy.  No one was surprised when the task was canceled by 1:30.

Just the opposite held true for the second day on Monday; everyone knew it would be a great day and we were not disappointed.  We called an 87 km straight-line task for the open class and a 53 km straight-line task for the sport class.  Although the pace around the airfield was relaxed, most pilots were excited about hooking into a good day.

There was a moderate NW breeze so I wasn't eager to launch early and have to fight to stay inside the start circle.  However after more than half of the open class launched, I decided suit-up and go fly.  We did struggle to stay in the circle; some more than others.  I was lucky enough to ignore the crowd and fly directly upwind and found a great climb that left me just inside the start circle at cloud-based when the clock rolled over.  Sweet.

I listened to everyone else on my radio frequency struggling to get a good start while I was cruising along the course line.  I was out front and flew the entire course alone.  I lost vital minutes struggling low over a small town and then again as I tried to figure out where goal was.

The goal field was near the coast so I was on the lookout for a sea breeze.  I didn't see any signs of wind when I arrived, but noticed a SE breeze after flying in a NW wind all along the course.  I tried to swing wide over some small fields separated by deep drainage ditches filled with water.  I got caught in sink behind a tree-line and had to turn downwind to avoid landing in the ditch.  I flared hard and tried to run it out, but yes, I whacked.  (The only consolation was that I saw at least 4 other pilots set off tremor alerts).

I broke down and then took off my shoes and socks to wade through the muck and briers on my escape route.  The pilots at goal shared stories until gliders were loaded and we headed off.  The scores are available online.

Tomorrow looks like another good day.

Flights: 1, Duration: 2:16