Monarca Task 4

Well day 4 was a very different race day than what is typical for Valle. Despite an excellent forecast, 30 minutes before the start saw about 100 pilots groveling around in front of launch and not getting up. Seeing the great forecast the task committee went big and called an 84k race to goal. Wil and I both launched about 30 min prior to the start and struggled with the crazy gaggle around launch and then just decided to leave low for the Pinon. We made it ok and were able to eventually get up on the crazy thermal mesa for the start. The inversion was so strong, along with some high cirrus filter, that the day never really turned on. It was a struggle from the get go. Wil and I tagged Divis togethert and then got separated. I got stuck in some major gaggle suck while flying with several of the top pilots. I looked over to the 3 kings and saw Wil and a few others getting much higher and couldn't understand why we were wasting time over Maguey when they were doing so much better. Sometimes the gaggle gets a mind of its own....
I didn't see Wil again until almost to the Llano turnpoint about half way through the race. He was killing it with Dave Prentice and a couple of others. We were first and second to the Llano turnpoint, a great race so far. After that it became very difficult. Wil headed from the turnpoint on a long glide but at this point the serial class gliders were at quite a disadvantage and from that point it was pretty much the comp gliders that were still in the race. I managed to make it back to launch and get up with a few others and by this time the high cirrus had moved out and we were hoping that the day might finally turn on but it just never came together..... I managed about 67k with Brad Gunnescio making it the furthers along the course at about 73k. No pilots in goal today. Wil flew 56k and did very well given the glider he was flying. Don't know how many were ahead of me today...

Wil wrote up an excellent post for the Blog but I manged to delete it somehow before it was posted.... I'll let him tell about his landing and adventure getting back to Valle......

Jack

My last prayer on that long glide was a bird who had just taken off on what looked to be an excellent line. I left some zeros I was circling in to chase the bird and it looked like he was about to hook into something good, but instead he smirked at me and began flapping in a different direction... jerk. So i peeled right and landed in a clearing. After flipping the now circling vulture off for a sold ten seconds I made a report on the radio. About five minutes after I landed I encountered some very helpful locals. I spent the next ten minutes trying to piece together two years of highschool spanish so I could communicate to figure out where I was. I landed on someone's ranch in a town of 100 people. I was guided to the center of town by and ten year old guide named Lupe, who was equiped with local knowledge and a donkey. Once in the center of town I grabbed a cervesa and fumed as I watched gliders overhead. Little ninos started to gather around and ask me basic questions that I began to understand as words filtered back into my memory. After that a few hombres showed up in a red gmc and they spoke some english. They had grown up there and were home for the holidays, they all lived in different places in the states. They gave me a few beers and we just chilled and made jokes for awhile.

Then a flying buddy showed up, Melanie from Jackson Hole. I was glad to see another gringo, as this was my first true mexican land out experience. I introduced her to my new amigos, but they were quite bashful, guess Melanie can be intimidating. They gave her a beer and dipped out, and by the time the retrieve vehicle showed up we were surrounded by curious little mexicans who were laughing and playing with us. I actually ended up doing a little fencing with some of the more rambuncious ones. haha. As we boarded the bus their heads drooped and their eyes watched us leave, I guess we must have been much cooler then we thought. Or they were simply sad their entertainment was leaving. Either way we picked up three other pilots who had more cervesa, and made it back to headquarters around seven o'clock.

Hopefully I won't drop too many spots, but it's alright if I do, because I got to fly like a rockstar today with the best in the comp for a good part of the race, which means I learned a ton just by watching them work their magic. Don't let Pops fool you, he flew a very smart race, especially at the beginning. Buenas Noches.

Wil