Thursday

Cloudy.... really weak conditions. No pilots in goal. Long retreive after about a 19 k flight in desperate conditions almost the entire time. When I landed I couldn't even see where the sun was.... Winner only got 240 points I think.... Weather is not looking so good anymore.. Looking really sketchy for Saturday.... maybe even some rain. Definately not the typical Valle de Bravo weather. If we don't race tomorrow or Saturday, it would be the first no fly day in the 7 comps I've flown here over the past several years!

Watched a mid air today happen in the same really weak thermal I was in but several hundred feet below me. Both pilots and gliders were immediately all tangled up but both were able to throw their reserves right away and had soft landings with only a very minor scratch or two.... One of the midair pilots was our very only BZ from Sitka.

I think school was let out early today when I landed in a field near by in a very small and very rural village. All the school kids practiced there english with me. I think I answered the "whats your name" and "where are you from" question about a hundred times, and heard all kinds of various english words being offered up to me... They were really nice kids who probably don't get paragliders landing in their area too often. The first one to greet me when I landed wasn't what I expected. I didn't notice any animals in the field I'd chosen to land in. There was one animal, however, that usually has a entire field for himself. Mr. El Torro gave me a rather personal greeting.... walking right up to me and my glider and then casually sniffing my glider and then just stood there and we kind of had a standoff for a few minutes... About that time the kids all came running across the field and promptly sent the bull on his way...

It was really optimistic of the task committee sending us out across the lower terrain in these conditions. I think we were all hoping for a bit more sun energy to make it's way through so we could get around the course - even if very slowly...

Hoping the XC skies forecast is wrong for tomorrow and we get to fly...

Pics are of launch, task breifing, previous day top 3 finishers, view from our bedroom at our Casa del Lego in Valle, and my friend today at landing....