Day 4 produced an epic task of 157k with Jack Brown being the only sole who made goal before it closed. He is my HERO. a couple of others flew the course and got speed points or made it as far a McNeil canyon before the end of the day. The rest of us got dirtied by strong into wind legs out past the first turn point, which made for epic retrieves. 4-6&7 hr flights were reported by most with max altitudes of around 4000m. clouds, strong thermals and always into the wind, at least it seemed that way. convergence lines and shade out completed a wonderful day of making war against the winds. a couple of reserve tosses rounded it all out to equal a typically awesome Chelan day of fun. there was no one right direction to go. smoke we north first some to the east. I ran the middle and found myself not alone, but lonely as I cruised towards the first turnpoint. 3.5 hrs later I made it to the first turn point and begun the battle towards the west & brewster's. It was late. I saw several dirtying below me as I constantly tried to stay up around 3000-3500m just to be able to yo-yo long enough to move forward along course line. An impressive convergence line kept me at 2700m for 45 minutes as I made 25k/h headway. In the end I was above and following 3, then 2, then 1 glider towards turnpoint 2. looking behind me all those who had been there had disappeared, only Francisco was tagging along. The big butte shaded out and lift was very lite. too lite. I cruised on into Bridgeport and landed in the football field of the High school. It was a hero's welcome as 8 kids came running full of questions and proudly exclaiming they were my number 1 fans. Francisco flew 2 k more and returned to land with me. A quick pack up and a ride to the chief joesph bar made for classic american flavor of burgers and beers as we waited comfortably for our ride. It was midnight when we got back to HQ, but all were very happy with the day.
A rest day followed, THANK GOD! cause u can only go big so much before you have to go home and rest. Plus it was too windy. Sun bikini watching by the lake, swimming, lawn games and a bbq made for excellent times with great people.
Today the weather is back on line. We will fly again with a lower base of around 10g and light & variable winds. The last day promises to be even better. Needless to say Chelan has been kicking ass and taking names. All those PWC pilots who didn't come must be very bummed out as we have been ruling the sky. Oh, and did ya notice that the USA pilots are still in control of the top place finishes? YEAH!
For best examples of what we are unto everyday I suggest checking out the PWC video's on their site. Very well done and humorous. http://www.paraglidingworldcup.org/
Blue skies!
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