Day 1 - 20 Meter Multi Seat Report-by Rich Owen

Another Windy Day with Welcomed Rain

When the morning broke over our home away from home in Yerka California, we figured the chances of flying was less that 20%.  The forecast called for lower than usual clouds and thunderstorms in the afternoon.  At the 10am pilot’s meeting, the CD decided to postpone the grid or any aircraft movement until 11:30am.  The task advisors (I’ll get their names tomorrow but my front seater is one of them), huddled together to see if there was any way we could fly today.  As the morning progressed the weather to the south around Mount Shasta look ominous. Low clouds that hugged the mountain top and visible rain to the south did not foretell a good day.  But a mark of a great CD is perseverance and a plan was formed to at least give us a chance. 

At the 11:30am pilot’s gathering, we had a presentation to one of the Standard Class Nationals participants.  Michael Marshall competed in the Senior Soaring Championships in Clermont Florida in March this year.  This contest is open to any pilot over the age of 55 (truth be told, they are a lot older than that!), but we maintain a slot for a Junior racer.  Michael was a guest and performed better than any guest had before.  Not only did he finish on the podium, he was the only pilot to ever podium in an 18 meter glider.  Because he was a guest, Michael did not receive a trophy.  However, the pilots felt he deserved the recognition and we made another third place trophy just for him.  Well done!

Finally, Rex released us to the grid and he began the process of making a task.  The 2 hour Turn Area Task was amended once we got airborne to Task B due to a rougher than expected climb in the start cylinder.  We started at Craggy and went to China Start, Copco Dam, Deer Mountain and finishing at the Siskiyou County airport. At takeoff the winds were again over 20mph and gusty making tows a little exciting until you got above 5,000ft. Over half of the 20-meter ships had a hard time getting to cloud base.  The start occurred rather late so you needed to get going soon.  Pete Alexander in the Team 98 ship was in a group of three aircraft which included Jacob Fairbairn and Mike Westbrook in TX with John Cochrane and Rick Indrebo flying WS.  The first leg had us running a convergence line into the China Start turn point.  Early in the leg TX and WS took a more easterly route with 98 going further west.  Pete’s choice was based on a change of wind direction that placed him upwind of some higher terrain.  After a short run, we found ourselves higher and further down track than the other ships. Our turn around point was based on going to the furthest point we could without running out of the convergence line.  The convergence line was still working on the way to Copco Dam but it soon gave way to marine air that was flowing into the valley.  Several wind changes and broken cu made the next 50 minutes interesting.  Rain also entered the picture as forecasted, further complicating the situation.  There were some interesting traces from Copco Dam to Deer Mountain and you should look at them in your free time.  Several pilots took a big detour to the east to stay in sunny conditions while 98 took a more direct route.  All of us thought our day would end early sometime during this flight and we did have one landout and one engine start.  Pete remarked in the cockpit that “if we just keep airborne, something good will happen”.  And that something was a 9kt climb under horrible skies. 

At the end Team Dallas (Jacob and Mike) finished in first place with a speed of 112.7kph over 225km, with John Cockrane and Rick Indrebo in WS finishing second.  Team 98 finished third with Pete Alexander and Rich Owen.

Once the ships were on the ground, the rain finally fell upon the airport.  Some of the gliders were unable to get completely covered up before the rain forced everyone indoors.  Rex and Noelle laid out appetizers and cold drinks to help the pilots relax after a demanding flight.  The coming days look very encouraging with higher temperatures and very little rain.  However, blue skies may be making an appearance soon.  Until Day 3, stay high, go fast and come home safely!

Rich Owen
Team 98 back seater