6.30 p.m.

A long day out in the field!  Having gridded the gliders at 11 a.m., it became apparent that the conditions were not as good as hoped, the temperatures were not as warm as forecast and it was not going to be an early launch.  So another task was set:

 

Open:  Task C:  278.7 km.  R.17 – Bothaville – Control NW

Club:    Task C:  200.9 km. Hoopstad – Schuttesdraai – Control NW

 

Launching started with a sniffer who took some time before reporting that the conditions were improving and then the remainder of the Club class was launched.  Their gate was opened shortly after 13.30 p.m., with the Open/18m. class following and their gate opening at 14.25 p.m.

 

Not too much later we had the first reports of some Club class pilots outlanding in the Hoopstad area.  There was a long wait before any further news before finally the first finishers at approx. 17.00.  Conditions were blue and although there was lift around, there were also long stretches of no lift.  The pilots had to work hard today as none of them have reported easy straight-forward flights.  Some pilots got down to less than 500 m. before luckily finding some lift, and also some reports of wave before the start.  So a really mixed bag for the day.

 

Currently it is still blue and it is hard to imagine that there could be storms and hail tomorrow.  We will have to wait and see.