Chris Reed wrote:

We climbed (very slowly) to 400ft and then
stayed there while we flew in a straight line at
least 3 miles from the airfield. It's the only time
I've been field spotting on tow for such a long time.

Not suprisingly, I failed to soar once we reached
the release height of 2,000 ft

Was it not possible for you to use the in-air signals to steer the tow pilot
back toward the field?