We drove from Forbes to Sydney, and dropped off Olav since he was going home. Lars and I went looking for used cars to buy, and Lars soon scored a Mitsubishi station wagon for $1500 at the used car street in Paramatta. I was looking for a Subaru Forester or Outback, but could not find one that had the right price and condition. I the end I found a 94 Toyota Landcruiser that looked OK and I got it for $9400. I hope it will hold up the next months, it feels solid, but probably have more km on it than the 228’ it says on the odometer.
This took most of the next two days, and we set off to Mt. Beauty on Friday night, sleeping somewhere outside Gouldburn, and arriving in Mt. Beauty on Saturday, just as they cancelled the first day due to bad weather.
The next few days were also cancelled due to weather. Yesterday we went up on Mt. Emu, despite windy conditions. We got a 109 km task, up and down the valley, and back to Mt. Beauty airstrip, with first startgate at 14:20.
It did not look like a good day, and it seemed like nobody wanted to start. Lars Olav had started before the start window as a freeflyer, got above launch and went up the ridge. Just before the first start gate we started running off the hill, and I was in position to take the last start gate.
The air was rough and I stayed away from the ridge, taking thermals further out and trying to stay high and away from the worst turbulence. I took it very slow and did not feel very motivated to fly the task, but got up in a nice and relatively smooth thermal after the first TP and decided to at least complete the task and get to goal. The final glide was OK from 22 km out with a tailwind and I came in to take 8. place.
It was a day that should have been cancelled due to the conditions, I played it safe and flew slow, while many pilots chose to land for safety, smart guys!
Today looks windy again, also the next few days look windy on the forecast. I begin to remember why I swore to never go back here after last year. At least it’s heating up a little so we can wear shorts again J