A difficult day with long tasks, more than half of which were not completed.
The forecast was for decent lift under cumulus clouds that might dry up by late afternoon. Northwesterly winds would be strong enough to generate lift streets – and perhaps to make thermaling difficult, especially at low altitude.
Racing tasks ranging from 417 to 433 km were set for all classes. Unusually here, the tasks had limited overlap: the three classes would explore different parts of the Tabor task area. Pilots had no trouble finding lift off tow, and were occasionally able to climb above 6000’ – but the lift was inconsistent.
Start delays were again the order of the day. In Club class, a good number of the top pilots waited well more than an hour to start (on a task that very optimistically would require a full 4 hours, and – for many – closer to 5). Unlike many days, the best speeds came from pilots who did not wait nearly as long. Similar start delays were seen in 15-Meter class.
Inconsistent lift persisted, all through the day. Many good climbs – occasionally, to over 5000’ AGL – were found. But at times pilots would struggle to stay aloft, happy with 2 kts to 2500’ AGL. Speeds were thus not great, resulting in many pilots “falling off the back of the day” (they were forced to land – or start their engines and motor home – as thermal lift slowly died).
The consequence was more than 60 incomplete tasks, along with some late and low finishers. A notable example was Louis Borderlique of France in Standard class. He crossed the (5-km radius) finish cylinder at 1407’ MSL – 33 feet below the official elevation of Tabor airfield. This was a straight-in, no-pattern landing in an apparently adequate field that (I certainly hope) he’d previously scouted. This earned a big penalty, but gave him a valid finish, one of just 14 in Standard class.
US Team pilots were all among those who didn’t finish. In Club class, Tony got disconnected from lift and landed early. Sylvia persisted for over 5 hours and was getting close to home when the lift “switched off” – she chose to land at Sobeslav airport (just 16km south of Tabor) for a safe landing, an easy retrieve, and a scored distance of 406 km.
Jared and Mike had a reasonably good run to their final turnpoint, followed by a desperate struggle to make progress into the (still fairly strong) wind using the final scraps of lift the day offered. Jared started his jet engine about 47 km out and motored home. Mike fought another desperate battle against dying lift, this time with troublesome wind. He managed to crawl within 11 km of the finish, then chose to make the same safe landing as Sylvia: at Sobeslav airport. His distance was the best of all the non-finishers, good for 10th place.
-John Good