Monday 30 May 2011

Lasham Regionals - 30 May 2011

Today is Monday (a Bank Holiday in the UK) and typically the weather is awful.  As I stepped outside the tent this morning, there was thick fog, or probably more correctly, seeing as Lasham is 618 feet above sea level, orographic cloud.  Either way, it is un-flyable. 

I took Django for a walk first thing and surprisingly even with the thick cloud, it is still quite windy.  I can’t remember such a run of windy days as we’ve recently had in the UK.

Briefing was postponed by an hour and held at 11:00 directly after which, the organisers scrubbed the day again. 

This gave me the opportunity to collect all the British Team gear ready for the competition from Phil Sturley.  Somehow I need to share this kit around the other team members that will be driving to Sweden as there’s quite a bit, and along with the radio kit and mast, it weighs a fair amount too.

We discovered early in the morning that the 110 amp hour leisure battery that we’d only purchased last year, probably has a cell down.  We intended to take this with us to Sweden, so the decision was made to go and buy another battery promptly from a local caravan centre as I needed to be back after lunch in time to take part in a weather briefing with the rest of the Junior Squad.

Battery duly purchased, and another three goldfish for the pond (don’t ask!), we returned back to site in time for the briefing (Steve headed back home to put the fish in the pond – therefore no fish were harmed in the telling of this tale).  Pete Masson did a great job covering what is a huge subject for glider pilots – the weather, and I’ve come away with a whole load more excellent web sites to review and get used to as well as search for valuable information on the weather in Sweden.

I took the opportunity to take a quick peek at the Tibenham Regionals results on line - this is the first time in 20 years that Steve and I have not flown this regionals.  Well could you believe it – being that much further East, they actually got a contest day in, whereas Lasham didn’t….amazing!

Looking forward to a flyable, if not fantastic gliding day tomorrow...

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