World Cup Portugal - Last task (4)

The Azinha launch was chosen for the westerly forecast and relatively low base day.  It is possible to launch earlier from this there so we were able to put in a quick task in the flat-lands to the east in order to escape the westerly winds which were expected to strengthen during the day.  Chateau Marx arrived early at launch and led by Pepe we adopted the German tourist technique of turf domination by laying out as much of our stuff over a large area over a prime launch area as possible.  This ingenious plan was thwarted by a shift in wind direction, but at least we all managed to launch ahead of the wind.

The result was a fast and furious fifty five kilometer race in the robust conditions.  Cloud-base was at about 2,200m ASL with a mild inversion at 1,500m which split the field early into the race as some punched through the inversion and others scurried along beneath searching for lift on a blue thermal day.  The results tell the story with 108 pilots in goal and the first eighty within ten minutes of the task winner.  

Today is raining and blown out so the comp is over.  The house did well with three in the top ten: Pepe in third, Claudio in sixth, and Andre in eighth.  Guy, Emile and Nuno managed top twenty places and Chris not far off.

Prize giving is tonight.  I will write a more detailed wrap-up soon.

Many thanks to Arnold and Marie who were perfect hosts.  Visit their web-site (www.paraglideportugal.com) if ever you plan to come to this part of the world.