Rob Kells Memorial - Day 4 - Stuck

We had a fun task to an airfield near Lake Placid (north northwest) and then south to an intersection to the south southwest.  We had a mix of cumulus and blue sections and most importantly, the winds were light.

I got knocked off tow by a strong thermal that took me to base over the field.  I watched two tows end early below me as they also hit turbulence.  I was at the start circle for the first start, but flew back upwind and waited for the second start.  I had a great start and quickly moved ahead of most of the pack hopping from cloud to cloud.  Everything was going great until I crossed a large green field south of Lake Placid.  I got low and groveled as the pilots that started with me passed by and then the pilots from the next start time flew in as I finally started climbing again.

The rest of the trip was low drama.  I shared a mix-master with Greg and Ricker followed by a 800 fpm (4 m/s) smoothie with Jeff and a couple other pilots.  I took a weaker climb with Mark before starting a long buoyant glide into goal.  Goal was filled with many happy pilots.

We all gathered across the road at the grill for dinner, drink, and stories.

The results are available online.

Flights: 1, Duration: 4:10, Distance: 118 km (73.3 miles)