Yesterday was a good day. It was low and weak and we all still managed to get good speeds in. We had a 340 km long racing task and were rarely flying above 3000 ft AGL. My average lift for the task was 2.8 kts. It started blue and very low. I got annoyed at the start line where all gliders were orbiting gradually going down from 2800 ft AGL. We finally decided to go and try connect to the little Cu's visible on the horizon. We did so just before the first turn point and had a nice flight from there. It was low but lift was reliable and we felt quite comfortable even below 2000 ft AGL.
Asia and I managed to stay together for the whole flight. We lost sight of each other at some point but eventually found ourselves together again.
We all did well. Point differences are not big and we have a good starting position. Note, how close together all the speeds are. Very equal performance.
And here is my flight on the OLC:
On a day like yesterday I just have to forget about the engine. When you're flying that low you are often very close to the decision height and you still know you can get away. I have to fly like I had no engine at all and if worse comes to worst just land out. In the end I'm the one having the best crew in the world!
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It's pretty amazing what task you can manage and with what speed in yesterdays conditions. I think it's the glider. She wants to go. Somebody once told me: "She's very fast. Do not try to slow her down". I keep repeating it to myself every time I feel like slowing down.
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I've got no in-flight pictures - it was too stressful and low to even think about grabbing a camera.
We're now waiting for the Day 2 morning briefing. Weather should be similar to yesterday with the difference that there will be a front approaching in the afternoon so the day might be shorter. We'll see what the task setters have for us.
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