Slovenian Open task 1

Well we finally got to fly today after a long morning waiting up on launch. Actually, it was quite nice and very beautiful. Things were kind of different in that after we drove as far as we could up the mountain, we got to hike for a good half hour the rest of the way to the top. There was a small cable car setup which was able to bring up our gliders, but we were able to enjoy a beautiful morning hike through the woods, and then across the high alpine meadows. There was a very nice 'hut' as they call them, which are located on most mountain tops throughout this part of Europe. I was amazed at how many locals and visitors were hiking up to the hut to have coffee, or some really nice homemade soup, or a refreshing beverage.

The weather was still being difficult today, and cloud base was still at or just above the launch altitude. The organizers were patient and using their local knowledge, seemed to think that we might have an opportunity for a short task. We got up the hill around 10:30, and at 3:00 we started a short, 29k race around the local valley, keeping on eye on buildups and showers that were in the region. During the safety briefing, the meet director was talking about the weather and how there was "no chance of thunderstorms today". Right about that time there was a nice rumble of thunder... it was pretty funny, the timing of the thunder vs. the timing of the discussion about weather for the day. That ended up being the only thunder we heard....

The organizer only gave us a 20 minute window from the opening of the launch window to the start of the race. I remember thinking when he said this that "this will be interesting getting everyone launched and 4 kilometers out to the start position in just 20 minutes". Sure enough, even after seeing it coming, I still wasn't ready in time as were most pilots, and I was still 2K from the start when the window opened. They ended up stopping the task after maybe half hour - 45 minutes because of rain showers and potential convective activity. I was behind and never had a chance to catch up over such a short window of flying. I got to re-learn another very valuable lesson... that being that I should never be thinking that the weather's crummy and we'll probably not be able to fly - even if it is!! This was exactly how my mind was working this aternoon.... I should always be ready and able just in case we do get to fly.... this is such a head game!! I had the same problem in Brazil. The conditions were really bad, but those pilots who were thinking that "it's really bad, but you just never know - they might call a task anyway and we'll get a chance to see what we can make of the lousey conditions...

After they stopped the task when I landed I managed to get a bee down my shoe and a nice sting out of the deal....don't think I've had a bee sting since I was a kid.... It's clear this evening with a nice moon. Haven't had a chance to look at the weather forecast for tomorrow yet. I finally got skype up and running on my laptop, so now I can call anywhere in the world for only pennies a minute, and anybody who has skype on their computer for free... I was able to talk to Sue this evening and hear about her plans to come over to Slovenia to join me. I'm sure it will be an adventure and I hope she makes it without too many standby blues!