The 2010 Chelan USA PWC is finished. It was an amazing week of racing.... I really don't know how it could have been any better, and I saw nothing but smiling faces at the awards celebration this evening. The top 2 overall spots went to US Pilots, while the next 2 places went to top Japanese pilots. I finished 5th overall and, even though I had a disappointing last day, I flew quite well and won not one, but two world cup tasks which was a great accomplishment for me.
I have my PWC Superfinal ticket in the bag, and put away some really good NTSS scores to help me in my quest to make the US National team for the FAI Worlds in Spain next summer.
11 full on days of racing, half of it battling full on walking pneumonia... I'm plum tuckered out! I'm feeling much better but honestly, for the first time in the last 10 years, I don't even want to see a paraglider for awhile. I haven't bothered to add them up, but someone said we had raced around 1000 kilometers over the past two weeks....
As far as today went for me.... It wasn't what I was hoping for for the last task. Usually the last task is a short and easier race which gets a very high number of pilots in goal. It was pretty much the opposite with very difficult conditions and only a few pilots in goal, with the pilots taking over 4 hours to complete the course. We had a great race out to the North and I flew really well with the lead gaggle to the first turn point. After we made the point, however, and turned back into the wind, it became quite difficult. A much larger gaggle which was following us but from a slightly different direction flew over us after we left the turn point, only they found a very good climb to 10,000 feet which was far higher than we had climbed, and were able to make much better progress into the head winds. I just wasn't patient enough, and tried to join them deeper into the flat lands, but when I went on glide in that direction, I was absolutely just flushed to the ground from 5000 feet. When I realized that things were getting desperate, I turned and ran with the wind to increase my chances of finding a thermal, but in huge sink that was relentless for me, and was on the ground wondering what had happened in no time.......Soon after I landed the dust devils started kicking off all over the place... I just got caught in a big down cycle and couldn't hold on long enough....
Next up for me will be the 2nd round of the US Nationals in Sun Valley, Idaho the end of August.....
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