| Flight details: | Task 2: After a grey and damp morning, conditions turned surprisingly good. I had a good climb to 2000m straight from launch, but lost height on the way to the first turnpoint on the ridge. I should probably have topped up at the turnpoint itself, but, with a 3k cylinder around it, I succumbed to the temptation to dive straight for the second turnpoint. I was drilled on the way, arriving -- as yesterday -- below Orpierre ridge height. Unlike yesterday, I scratched for a long time but never got over the ridge.
The last scrappy thermal was drifting me to a narrow col in the ridge, which I didn't fancy going through, so I pushed out into valley, flying over Phil as he scratched the trees on the ridge's nose. I glided straight to the ground, while about half a kilometre ahead of me a pilot found a nice climb.
Phil and a Swiss pilot named Isabelle landed nearby. Isabelle declined Phil's suggestion that she should -- like him -- take her shirt off to hitch us a lift. As usual, the retrieve bus turned up quickly, although we had to wait while another pilot broke the record for the slowest glider pack in history. |
