Day 10…….had tasks….
open: race 407 km
18m: race 356 km
15m: AAT 256 / 467 km (Task duration: 3:30)
BUT
Matthew shared this picture with the text;”Launching in 2 hours. Righto.”
After a lot of rain in the morning,..then everybody at the grid,..then launching begins,…then TOO much and very gusty crosswind and….the day is cancelled!!!!! Another day,..how is it possible.In the afternoon it looked much better but still gusty wind.
So if tomorrow is a flying day there will be only 6 days in 15 m. ,7 in 18 m. and 8 in open class. Such a pity for a country as AUSTRALIA.
On the way to the grid as seen by Swiss Chris.
Swiss Chris describes the day :
“Wait and see
Grid orders have been received 15m 18m Open at 9am
We drove through the rain to the scales, which don’t like moisture
The satellite scans promise some blue sky after lunch time.
Soon thereafter 18m and Open class got cancelled.
The 15m had to grid on the hard runway 26.
The procedure created some more waiting time at the weigh station and on the taxy way.
Finally the weather got better but wind also increased, turning from SW more to S just while we started with towing the gliders out.
Some tow pilots seemed at the limit of their comfort zone with the combination of cross wind and heavy gliders in tow.
After two borderline tows the day unfortunately had to be cancelled for 15m as well under a sky full of cumuli.
The gliders got unstacked, turned around and towed back to tie down.
Fortunately Tim makes phantastic coffee at the Gliding Club House 
🙂
Gliders are ready for the last competition day.”
His next pictures at 7.30 in the morning show what was going on.
Another day to visit wineries, pet kangaroos or just sit in the pool. Not really why they all came to Australia, but as said a thousand times,…the weather is the weather!
Time also to check out the new gliders as Sebastian did already earlier.
“only just finding out if it fits “??
Sebastian in the JS 3 RAPTURE
As shared by the USA team.
Angry/concerned people as well . Born Dutch, but already living in the W of Australia for ages is Robert Smits. I guess he says what a lot of people think;
“Now I am confused… Again at briefing we’re told dangerous flying “is unacceptable”.
Yet it seems nothing is been done to stop it. So in fact it actually is accepted.
In my club if you show bad airmanship you get grounded. At the worlds you might get a day win and get away with risking other people’s lives.
If there are no rules in place to penalize such behavior it might be about time something gets changed....”
Please read the story below about gaggles!!!!!!!!It looks like nothing has changed!!!!!
AND,…when they know those dangerous pilots are only a few and known by the organizers….do something!!!!!!
This is DEFINITELY NOT GOOD FOR OUR SPORT!!!!!!
And time enough now to read what Bruce has to say about the day before:”
“ Sorry, I was distracted by the international party last night, and didn’t get to post my usual story. However, the party turned out to be everything that the Australian night wasn’t. It was free, it was fun, and the entire WGC gliding community came together to enjoy each other’s company.
Yesterday? In some ways it was more frustrating than the day I outlanded. At this stage of my competition, a day win would be a good outcome, and I went within a whisker of getting one. Andrew and I left last, and that part worked a treat, except that he sadly missed a climb that I got as we went into the hills at the first turn. It was at a really critical point, and meant that while I flew ahead and caught the early starters, he had to spend a lot of time surviving before he got going again. I ran along just behind the Germans, until 10km before the second turn, where we all got low and I managed to find a better climb and jump the gaggle. Then I lead for a while, around the next turn, with the three big German gliders breathing down my neck! At this stage I knew I was very well placed, and we had come together with both the other classes heading home. The last 70 km to Benalla was more challenging, and unfortunately I missed two climbs under other gliders, from where I got very low. I used a lot of time to get up, and by then had lost my lead. I swore a bit, but I had been pushing hard and finally paid the price. It was fun while it lasted, and seeing the tracker blinking quietly on my shoulder, I knew that there were plenty of spectators enjoying the ride too. Bit of a shame, but gliding is such a game of consistency, and I didn’t quite keep that going.
Last night it rained a lot, with storms and rumbling, but the weather looks like it may be flyable today. Strong winds are forecast, which could be the limiting factor.
Sorry no photos, but if you go back and look at all the others, then yesterday was just the same….. blue, blue, blue. 
😎
More fun news now!
Young meets “old”.
loved this story from Antti Lehto on FB yesterday.
“ Today in the WGC2017 international evening I met George Lee. George won his first World Champion title in the open class in Räyskälä 1976. I was 15 years old and worked in the hangar restaurant cleaning the tables. George was back then one of my biggest sports heroes. Just like Ronaldo or Messi for today’s kids. I had an interesting conversation with him and George is still active in gliding flying his Nimbus 4 DM.”
George and Antti now
And
George and his wife
in 1987
Not really changed!!!Still the same smile.
————-
And back to the fut…no past.
Day 10 in 1987 in Benalla;
The briefing was already set for 9.30 AM, so something was “brewing”, certainly,… when was said that the first launch would be at 10.30. The wind expected to come from the N. bringing good dry conditions, made everybody think of long distance’s ,but looking out side they could see a band of cirrus and the satellite pictures confirmed that and showed ,it would stay during the day.
So tasks from just over 500 km. again for all classes.
A great day for the USA pilots winning the day, in 2 classes. BUT also a day to think about!!!
No big gaggles necessary with this weather , but still it happened. Stan Witek in my friends glider and Leonardo Brigliadori touched in a gaggle over the TP at Deniliquin.
Here is what FINAL GLIDE said about it, after one of the USA pilots said over the radio around 5 PM:
” There is a piece of wing fluttering down through my gaggle”
“There had been a midair. Brigliadori’s glider pitched down violently .He reached for the canopy jettison knobs and prepared to leave his Discus. A second pull on the stick showed him that the plane might still be flyable. After getting it under control, he slowed his airspeed and jettisoned the ballast.Fortunately he was direct over the [Deni] airfield .Carefully he pulled the spoilers and landed. What he saw when he climbed out sent a chill through his body.Fully half of the Discus elevator was gone. Witek requested an air-to-air inspection of his glider by a nearby pilot and was told there was no visible damage. He flew back to Benalla ,where he landed safely.”
As far as I remember Leo could not open the canopy to jump, but in the end it was not necessary. He was damn lucky.
And…. you remember I wrote he out-landed a day before , LOOSING A LOT OF POINTS, cause he HE DID N’T WANT TO FLY IN A GAGGLE AND FLEW ALONE!!!!!
And hearing what happens now in 2017 in Benalla in blue thermals, 30 years LATER, the situation has not changed at all. A huge job is waiting for the FAI/IGC.
Open 512 km;As said the USA had a fabulous day. Ray Gimmey won the 1000 points racing with a speed of 127.3 km./h. Runner up was Bruno with 941 points so a few k. slower [124.3 km./h.]
And Ingo flew consistent over the area he knows so well . In fact he sends all guests from Sportavia who wanted to fly their 300km. to The Rock.
Standard 519 km;John Byrd was the other USA pilot winning the day. According to FinalGlide, he radioed his wife, while preparing for final glide “this could be an opal day” referring to the daily prizes that year; fine wines and /or opals. Finnish pilot Pankka was runner up and Austrian pilot Heinz Hammerle was on spot 3.
15 m. 509 km.; Holger Back was the man of the day. He flew the distance with 120. 6 km./h. His 2d win that week in the LS 6 a. He was slowly closing in to Brian in his LS6, still 1 overall ,as Holger jumped up to spot 2 . A late start and slow flight was not good for Gilles Navas;he only got 468 points and “tumbled down” .Werner [Meuser] was runner up and Sefano Ghiorzo 3d, with ” our “Kees as number 5 behind Lizzy’s and Leigh’s dad Martyn Wells.
That evening the notice board said; PREPARE FOR AN EARLY LAUNCH AND LONG TASK.
AND ….it happened!!!!! You can read it tomorrow.
Some more nice pictures from Mount Buffalo on the rest day.
to the left Gerrit Kurstjens and Heinz Hammerle, Adrian in the middle with camera and Robin Riley, George, Kees, Janet and Giep.
Janet Hider Smith involved in the daily bulletins . She died of cancer a few years ago.
Our daughter Inge, who had not only a fan club of birds,…….LOL.
She is an airline captain now.
CU tomorrow, when Trump is PRESIDENT of the USA, I hope he looses his bad temper and bad manners and behaves like a real president.
Cheers Ritz