Day 5- It was even hotter in the paddock on the 5th day but the forecast was for that additional heat to help create stronger lift. I had a decent start with Zippy, Jonny and Craig. Carl and Ben were above and only sightly behind as we headed out on course. When we got to the first mountain about half way to the t-point, we found one of the sweetest climbs of the comp. It was a smooth 500 that felt coastal. Literally like butter. After climbing as high as we felt we needed to and gliding off, my feelings were confirmed by Dustin on the radio saying " that climb was UNBELIEVABLE!".
Task Committee hard at work- photo by Dave Aldrich
As we pushed through the t-point, Zippy, Dustin and I lead out but weren't finding anything. Dustin went one way and Zipp and I went another as we continued to get lower. Luckily, out in front we saw a field break off several small dust devils that soon turned into a house sized pipe of spinning dirt. I was a little worried because we were low enough that we would intersect it just at the top of the dust. I griped the bar tight and flew just down wind of it. I was a bit surprised to not only not feel turbulence but I didn't feel anything....no lift, not a bump. Zipp went one way and I went the other and fortunately found 500 that we both climbed in as the gaggle caught us from behind coming in much higher above us. It was a fight for position for the rest of the day and I was not where I wanted to be at the end of the task. Getting close to what should be final glide and I was lower and behind but I felt that my numbers were acceptable and snuck under and away from Jonny, Robin and Dustin as they were taking their last climb. I was definitely sweating it a bit as my numbers got worse for a portion of my final but in the end, I squeaked into goal and won the day.
On glide- photo by Dave Aldrich
Day 6- We had some big dustys roll through the launch line adding a bit of spice to the first part of the day.
Dustin coming out of the cart- photo by Dave Aldrich
Once in the air, it seemed to be a repeat of the conditions we had the previous day. It's funny, during a task it seems like so much can happen and this task was no let down. I got low at the first t-point and HAD to take a climb without getting the t-point. Even though I was less that 2ks from it, I was so low that I was worried I would land if I didn't climb. Unfortunately, the entire gaggle had already tagged it and to make matters worse, the thermal drifted us away from the t-point. I had to leave the climb early to tag the cylinder and drive on course to find some lift. I hear on the radio that Zipp had gone down and I knew it was going to be a little sporty on this leg.
Zippy getting a pull from Greg and his trike- photo by Dave Aldrich
I climbed with Davis for a while and then dove down course line when I saw dust devils busting out of a field out ahead. It was a repeat of the day before and again I was rewarded with a good climb, this time 700fpm, which got me back in the game catching up with the lead gaggle. We turned the next t-point and while on our way back over the resort, it became painfully obvious a gear switch was necessary. Lift went from 4-500fpm to 50fpm and we all struggled to stay in the air. Dustin called that he was getting a stellar line toward the last t-point and I left with less than marginal numbers. I was hoping to get one more climb. Turns out, I didn't hit a bump and with most of the group, landed just inside a couple of miles from goal. Joe Bostik won the day on his T2C with Dustin getting in 2nd. Craig, Carl and Robin were the only others to make it in.
It was a privilege to have a crew of pro's out to film the comp. Zippy's a super star
Last day- I knew I needed a good finish for the day to have any hope of moving up in the standings. It turned into a really good race day which is a good thing because Zippy, Craig and I all found ourselves in a horrible position, leaving the start cylinder almost 12 minutes after the last start. The saving grace was that the first leg was slow and difficult, causing some to land and allowing us to catch up pretty quickly. We ended up catching the lead gaggle when, in the latter half of the course, we all climbed to almost 11,000'. I saw Jonny and a couple others go on final but I was still lower than the gaggle and thought I needed a bit more height. As I climbed, I watched their line and saw that they were getting a killer glide so I left early, taking a risk, sneaking off onto final. The air was indeed buoyant and I got between a 12 and 20:1 most of the way. It was super fun standing on it as fast as I could fly for the last couple of miles, finishing with a strafe of the folks hanging out on top of the resort roof. Turned out that Larry and Robin had both landed short and my 4th for the day was just enough to move into 4th overall. Now all that was left was to clean up and party down.
Overall, we flew 7 out of 7 days and had racy conditions for all but 2 of the days. Santa Cruz Flats was run with professionalism and efficiency. I highly recommend it as one not to miss, whether your open class or sport class. Thanks to all who made it possible.
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