July 18th - Day 7 / Task 6

If cloud coverage (cirrus) was an issue yesterday, except for the 10-20% cloud cover North of Tremp, for today we shall have a BLUE DAY.
At 14:00 thermal strength in the different flying areas will oscillate between 3.7 and 4.0m/s and winds from 15km/h SW on the surface up to 18km/h NW at 2000mts. Top of the lift will be around 2100mts.
Towards 17:00 top of the lift will have risen up to 2500mts. Wind will be similar on the surface and only a couple of kms weaker at top of the lift. Thermal strength will decrease to 3.0-3.5m/s.
Today's QNH 953mb and 38ºC.

Top of the lift (green) and Temperatures (red) at 14:00

The schedule will be as usual: pilot briefing on Take Off at approx. 13:00.

Goal Foradada - Task 5

Results Task 5 here.
Updated Overall Results here.
Updated Team Results here.
Tracks Task 5 here.

23 pilots in goal, a difficult one indeed! Alessandro Ploner (ITA), current World Champion and toady's day winner, as he crosses the goal line:

He is going for his landing approach:

As we approached the goal's coordinates, we came upon several beautiful and huge landing fields; they all looked great. It was defined as a "dream field" and compared to those enormous fields in Forbes (Oz). The goal staff was already installed, looking very pofessional with the umbrella, the line and one of the marshalls looking through the binoculars:

Martin Harri (CHE) said that "It was a difficult task with a lot of wind and not a lot of height: max. cloud base was around 2300 or 2400mts, but the average was 1800mts. The route was tricky up to Vilanova, where I saw a lot of people getting low; then we had to fly into the flatlands where flying in a gaggle it was OK, but alone you had almost no chance. The last part of the task, you had strong head wind but there was "good air" (lift)."

This task may really affect the overall results since some of the leading pilots did not make it and other top ones were slow; a real "scrambler".

Task 5

Áger-Pociello-Vilanova-Port d'Áger-Monastir Avellanes-Foradada

With a weaker forecast than yesterday the Task Committee goes for a shorter task of 138kms, which will be scored less due to TurnPoints (TP) and StartGate (SG) cylinders.
They will first fly to the WNW of launch, then back to the Ager area and will stay S of Ager to avoid the highly cloud covered area in the N (90%).
The first SG was at 15.15 and apparently most pilots were going for that one.

Today's turn to give his opinion about the task, before flying it, was Marc Utrillo's, recently crowned Spanish Champion:
The first leg up to Pociello is quite difficult and maybe there will be several pilots landing in the area. Then it will be a bit easier coming back here and getting high again before going to Vilanova, which has a 2kms radius to avoid people from getting trapped in the hole or landing there. From Vilanova to the Monastery will be interesting because the level of difficulty of this leg will be directly proportional to the speed of wind. Right now there is not too much wind [forecast is 15km/h], but we will only know once we get there! Then the glide to goal is easy! I think maybe 40 pilots will make goal, but then again, I may be wrong!

I guess we will have to wait and see...

Juaki (Meet Director) describes Task 5

Just some minutes before the window opened

July 17th - Day 6 / Task 5

During TL's briefing at 10 this morning, the weather forecast gives us a day with less quality than yesterday with significant cloud coverage between 70 and 90 % throughout the day including high cirrus. Winds will be similar to yesterday approx. 14-15km/h form the W or SW.
Thermal strength will be consistent all afternoon varying from 3.6 to 4.0km/s.
QNH: 953mb Temp: 37-38ºC

Pilot briefing at launch around 1pm!

The End of the Day - July 16th

It is just amazing what happened today. The task committee, as said earlier, decided on a 197kms task (scored as 193.4kms) to make things "harder", make the best of the conditions today and to make pilots fly far...well, as you may have noticed 62 pilots made it to goal!!!!
Not only that, check these facts out:

2 pilots were not able to fly.
5 pilots had problems with their tracks, therefore got min. distance.
The "less scoring" pilot after that flew 127.07kms...
There were 6 pilots within just 1km short of goal.
CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT?????

I only have one word for it: AMAZING!!!
I now fully understand Blay Olmos' words yesterday when he said that the level in this competition is very high, he is totally right.
The pilots are flying awesome!!!
There were a lot of happy faces this afternoon in Vilamitjana, pilots just kept coming into goal.

Goal keepers were very surprised to see gliders flying past them before 6.30pm this afternoon, they certainly DID NOT expect them that early. It was a fast day: the first day flew with an average speed between 49 and 54km/h!

In the evening, I saw a large part of the Dutch Team at dinner; I went up to them to say hello and to ask them how it went. They had 4 pilots IN goal and another one short of goal. I congratulated the team on their flying including the one short of goal simply pointing out that, putting the competition aside, a 191.23kms flight was a serious performance! There was silence for a second...then one Martin van Helden said: "It's my personal record." and Tanno Rutten added: "Mine too!"
It felt nice to hear that.

What a day, people going further, flying longer, flying faster. I think this is what competition is all about: expanding our flexible boarders.

My most sincere congratulations for everyone!!!!

Full results to be posted tomorrow...

Check some pictures from Nikolay Yotov

Task 4

Results Task 4 here.
Updated Overall Results here.
Updated Team Results here.
Tracks Task 4 here.

Àger - Roda de Isábena - Laspuña - Antena Boixols - Talarn - Vilamitjana

The task committee went for a 197kms task with the first SG at 14.45; as Jonny Durand said: "It's ambitious, but possible!".

Joel Miron (Spanish Team and local pilot) was very excited about this flight:
Let's break the record [personal] ! It's a difficult task, but it looks very good. It's the first time in a comp in this area that such a long task has been set.
The first part, until Serra Ferrera, is difficult then it will be easier.
[Sierra Ferrera is a 20kms long ridge that allows you to fly in a straight line using the dynamic lift].

Pilot briefing with Juaki (meet director) on the left

July 16th - Day 5 / Task 4

Weather forecast for today is looking really good; maybe one of the best days!!!!
QNH: 1014mb
High temperature 38ºC

At 2pm top of the lift is expected to be 2400mts with thermal strength in the flying areas between 4.4 and 3.8 m/s; winds around 15 and 15mk/h from the S-SW quadrant. Cloud cover 10%.
Later in the afternoon, 5pm, thermals up to 3000mts with a strength between 3 and 4m/s and 30% cloud cover.
Winds from the same quadrant a couple of kms/h weaker.

With this forecast, they will probably be flying 200kms today!!!

Ignacio Ruiz , our weatherman getting info off the internet for TL's briefing.