JWGC USA update

On Monday, December 14, 2015 at 5:38:45 AM UTC-6, wrote:
Yep. I let out a scream of "NOOOOOO!!!!" on the last day when Boyd's tracker said he had landed out.

We certainly came close! We had some bad luck and plummeted from 6000ft AGL to 850ft without hitting any reasonable nibble. The sink was atrocious and the only reprieve was a weak little thermal over the field we were planning on landing in. All three of us, plus a straggler were parked in this little thermal, digging out. It was certainly a slow climb, but we got away and made it back home. Prior to plummeting out of the sky, we were really cooking along. If we had managed to keep the pace we were going and come back at minimum time, Boyd would have gotten third place. It was a good tactical gamble, but it did not work out.

Climbing out of that field was certainly exciting. It was the most fun low save I ever had, being in the company of three other gliders.

Best Regards,
Daniel

I noticed a lot of time on that last day with ground speeds showing 140 KPH or so, and vertical speeds of 4 to 5 M/sec down. For most everyone. And for rather extended periods of time. Glad you guys kept it together. I am sure you have heard this before, but I have been told when running crosswind, and in strong sink, immediate turn upwind.

Haven't been there or done that but it is interesting to me how at the world level, you live or die by the gaggle (or leaving it) and in the US, we hate the idea of the gaggle and the group flying and call people "leeches" for doing so. To me, this seems a far greater difference than our scoring system differences, or assigned versus AAT ratio on number of tasks, direct versus finish line or cylinder.

Thanks for the insights so far!

Steve Leonard