First Task of the Nationals

Wow! The weather here today was gorgeous: light and variable winds, lift to twelve grand or so, and clear blue skies with only contrail cirrus clouds. They called a tough task with a herculean first leg of 48 km, followed by a couple of return legs that no one completed. Some pilots bombed out early on, and many more hit the dirt along the first leg of the task. A few pilots made the first leg and continued on a ways from there, but no pilots made goal today. I made it to a point 17 km from the first turnpoint. Ray and Quentin made it just a couple of km short of the first turnpoint. Way to go, guys! Many pilots saw personal bests in distance and altitude today. Bob and Dave hit the dirt on the early side, but they are both eager to try again. Don had a nice flight to the end of the Lakeview valley with Motorhead Paul. Finally, Pete and Cheree are helping out with the retrieve operation here. Dave pitched in with that job today too.