Task 4

Difficult day on launch and in the skies today. They were expecting thunderstorms in the afternoon and so everyone wanted to get out on course as quickly as possible. Launch conditions were definitely not cooperating though. Winds we very light on the hill with dust devils blowing through all the time. Toward the end, they started switching sides of the hill, some going to the north and some to the south, but even that didn't work so well because the wind was often exactly 90 degrees to the hill. Was very hot and frustrating for pilots.

I finally got tired of being a nervous wreck watching guys launch in very iffy conditions and as soon as the last Brit was off, I headed down. I wasn't at the goal field long before Gordon was reporting rain on the course. Nick and I ran around trying to get some info from the safety channel until eventually they stopped the task at 3:44. Pilots get the distance they flew up until 20 minutes before the stopped time. Days like this aren't fun for those of us not flying because we have no idea then how anyone did. We still don't know, other than rumors at the scoring room that the longest flight was 77 km. At that point, I believe Manfred, Christian and most of the other Italians had already checked it. I guess we won't know for a few more hours.

Apparently about 20 or so landed at the camping field. All of the Brits landed at the gliding club. Gorgeous, giant field and although it was sunny there, there were huge cu's most everywhere else.