Uvalde 2024 WGC
Late Report
Day 9
When the ships were all gridded, the weather did not look very good at all. Storms were popping to the east and we could see rain to the south of us. However, to the west and northwest the weather looked good. Soon the Open Class was being launched. After much discussion with the pilots and their opinion of the upcoming task, it was decided to let them accomplish the task.
The 20 Meter ships were launched right after Open Class and right away 4-5 gliders came back for relights. It seems where the gliders were dropped off, there was no lift to be found. You had to get away from the area over the airport to find lift. A couple of the ships launched again, but it was clear they would not be able to complete their task fairly. The 20 and 18 Meter Classes were cancelled.
The Open Class was given a 280km racing task which went northwest to Bracketville, south to Eagle Pass, southeast to Faith Ranch, east to Rancho Ecantado, northwest to Flying G, and then finish.
It was clear, you needed to get underway soon or you would not make it back. The PEV start was abandoned for just this day. All the ships left the start area right after the gate was opened. The first two legs were a little soft and most gliders were operating in the 1,000-1,500m () height band. Lift was in the 1.5-2.5m/s band so it appeared everyone was doing good. You just could not miss a climb. Some who went out alone did not fair well. Two thirds of the way to Faith Ranch the lift and cloudbases got better. Now the lift was 2.5-3.5m/s () and cloudbases in the 1,600-1,700m () range. The leg to Rancho Ecantado was difficult and required a large deviation to the west. Overdevelopment seem to plaque this leg. A slow climb to final glide finished off this task and everyone was home safely. It seems 7 pilots had to start their motors to save the day and avoid a landout.
In third place for the day was Jim Lee (USA) with Peter Szabo (Hungary) in second. Winning this difficult day was Laurent Abouliin (France) with a speed of 136kph () over the 380km () task distance. We still have 3 days left in the competition and many things can happen to affect the results. Stay tuned for the exciting final this week.
Cheers and congratulations to Vaughn, 2045 US Team member.
Rich Owen
Media Team
