Task 3 rewrite-
I wrote up a detailed account of Task 3 but lost connectivity before posting – so I lost it. I am sure it was worthy of a Pulitzer Prize but I will have to do a digest version.
In Microsoft Word….
I got off to a bad start – me the bowling ball, other gliders the pins. Thermalling in a gaggle is just really hard for me anymore. I am sure I was a nuisance so I went off little on my own. At the start, I wound up gliding below everyone else and almost missed the first climb. While I dug myself out from below, I watched a couple gliders speck out near the first TP. I found that climb at took it pretty high myself, but I was way behind and alone. I saw Rob Clarkson way low and felt a little better, and when me and my wheels caught up with Dustin, I figured I was okay. Then next TP was easy; the third, a bit challenging. There is a big dry lake that looks like a swamp and I saw so many gliders very low there so I got conservative. Jim Scoles and I hooked up and had each other on the radio and we tagged TP3 together. The glide after that was dismal, but I found a corker at 1000’ and he came over to me in it. That got me to 8k and I had positive numbers for goal so I started to go. But the 16 miles I had to go proved too sinky and I soon had negative numbers. Needed a climb. Mark Dowsett glides great and I tried to keep up with him but I was dropping below pretty fast. I was over the town of Casa Grande, with 6 miles left and I was desperate at 1100’. Not gonna make it- searched for a place to land and did so. Bummer. 5 miles short. Mark made it in, as did a bunch of others. I am maintaining my spot but it’s LOW on the totem pole…. Maybe tomorrow…