If you'd looked out the window and seen a sky like that over the Wolds today the last thing you would have contemplated doing was going gliding let alone going cross-country. The task setter thought optimistically otherwise, setting a 182.5km task - whilst no doubt his arm was being twisted by the club Treasurer! JZK being towards the front of the grid launched into the overcast murk around 12:45pm.
After about a quarter of an hour scratching around and gaining virtually no height (max. start height 5,000ft - in our dreams!) we drifted off towards the first turn point at Fridaythorpe, all of 13.6km downwind of Pocklington. This is pretty much where we stayed for the remainder of the flight except for occasionally drifting a little bit further downwind towards the coast all at not much more than 1,000ft AGL. Plenty of opportunity to practice field selection.
Field Selection (Shaun Dayman)
We did manage a half decent climb to just shy of 3,000ft in an attempt to progress the task only to lose it getting back upwind before eventually throwing in the towel and landing in a field just south of Sledmere - retrieve crew already on route. Kudos to Mike Armstrong for his persistence and determination. The last third of the grid couldn't even be bothered to launch and most of those that did launch landed back having gone nowhere!
Many chefs (Shaun Dayman)
Italian meatballs tonight.- Shaun Dayman
