A Grind Up Craggy
The day started like every other day in a small town. I’ve been on the road for a couple of weeks so this morning I did laundry. You have to love this country and the people that live here. When the coin laundry opened at 6:00am I was standing in line ready to go. While looking around at all the various machines a very lovely lady, who could have been my grandmother, asked me if I needed help with my laundry. Of course, I accepted her gracious offer. She explained the various sized washing machines and the many options available. The best part is when she told me the best way to save money. It brought a smile to my face and made the start of my day so much better.
Laundry done it was time to get back to work. Team 98 went to work getting the ASG-32MI ready for flight. My pilot went to the task advisors meeting to sort out the day and help Rex Mayes (the CD) make up the task. It was decided that an Assigned Task would be called today. The weather was not threatening, it was totally blue and this is a national contest. We were beginning at Craggy Start with a 22km radius so we could comply with FAI rules regarding start cylinders. This put us over higher terrain and allowed for a safer start to the first turnpoint. A sniffer was sent aloft to test the waters and see if we could get high enough to complete the task safely. It took a little while before the fleet was launched into the air, but we were looking forward to another interesting day. Off tow many pilots found themselves low in the very beginning. It took some interesting tricks to get high enough to make it to the higher terrain by Gunsight. Pretty soon the entire 20-meter class was struggling under the same thermal. As the higher ships left the thermal to find lift nearer the edge of the start circle, we were soon all back together again. There was a large altitude difference between some of the gliders and we decided to go when we topped out our thermal. The task today went to China Start, Craggy South, Quartz Valley, Duzel, R-Ranch, and back to the finish. Our first climb was by two lakes with about 4 ships that set out with us. It was a weak climb and Pete decided to work it to the top. I found out this was a very important strategic decision for the day. The leg to Craggy South was a long, slow glide. It was so quiet I almost fell asleep in the back seat. In the higher terrain just before Quartz Valley we found a climb that took us up to 10,000ft. One thing I didn’t know, as well as a lot of other pilots, was that Quartz was right on top of a mountain. Pete’s decision to stay very high in the height band paid off dramatically. Many pilots found getting this turnpoint very difficult. We peeled off the mountain side and headed for Duzel with Mike Westbrook and Jacob Fairbairn in TX. Making this transition with 2 ships certainly improves your chances to find lift in the blue. Pete was being sneaky by hiding in TX’s blind zone before beginning a climb. Mike is no dummy and probably saw us on FLARM and returned to our thermal. We stayed with TX past Duzel where we got a climb to give us final glide around the last turnpoint at R Ranch and then home. At this point we separated. Mike chose a more direct course while Team 98 stayed over the high ground. On final glide to Siskiyou County, Pete often talked about the heavy sink you would find around Mount Mary. Because of that, we took a 4 knot climb to give us a 5 MC glide back home. Wouldn’t you know it, we did hit 9 knots of sink near Mt Mary but it didn’t last too long. Mike and Jacob in TX flew a great final glide and beat us to the finish.
At the end of the day Jacob Fairbairn & Mike Westbrook in Team TX (for Texas since they are from the Dallas area) finished in first place with a handicapped speed of 73.63kph over 196km. John Cochain and Rick Indrebo finished in second with Team 98 coming in third. After three contest days completed the scores are, in first place is Team Cochrane with 1860 points, second place Team 98 with 1685 points and Team Texas with 1432 points. There is still lots of flying to go, so stay tuned.
There is a rumor that tomorrow will be a rest/weather day and plans are already being hatched to fill the void. There are a couple of craft breweries in Etna and Weeds that may see a couple of glider pilots stopping in. If you are looking for a great place to eat in Yreka, try the Italian restaurant downtown called Strings. You will really enjoy it! I’ll try and post some tidbits from the rest day if they are rated PG-13. Until then, be safe.
Rich Owen
Team 98 back seater