Day 2 was cancelled due to strong winds. Day 3 gave us flyable conditions, but strong winds, blue and weak conditions, lift to 1600m (13-1400 above ground) and a 163km task made it a difficult day. Olav Opsanger was the only one from our team to make goal, while the rest was spread out along the courseline. I took a quite bad start misreading the start time on my instrument and had to go back against the strong winds and thermal up again, I feel that I am still too rusty after no “real” competition flying for 2 years, but at least it felt like my flying was a little improved since the first task. Body is hurting in many places though :-)

I could see the main gaggle ahead, but catching up is very hard as the gaggle is usually fastest in blue and low conditions. Tormod joined up with me and few other pilots and our small gaggle worked a few weak thermals until we spread out for another long glide. I hit the next thermal core and lost the rest of the pilots behind, now flying alone over terrain becoming more and more shaded under thick cirrus.

I spottet a few more gliders ahead of me but could not get the thermals they had, and had to turn upwind again to avoid drifting into very remote countryside with no roads or farms nearby. I landed near a farmhouse, and was well received by the owners who invited me and the french girl who landed next paddoc for tea and cookies. They had pilots landing there many times in the past years, and sailplanes from the nearby Narromine gliderport.

Olav Lien had landed in an area without phone coverage that was very hard to find, but in the end the local farmers helped our retreive driver to get through the fields and gates to get to him.

Today we have a better forecast with less winds and a triangle task back to Forbes airport again.