US Nats August 20

Well I'm a bit gimpy this morning, and won't be flying anymore during this comp. At launch yesterday I launched with a bad tangle, and didn't notice it until after I had cleared the ground (about the same time the glider fluffers noticed it and yelled it to me). It looked bad enough that I opted for an quick top-landing rather than fly out to the LZ, as the whole hillside is pretty open and grassy. My right brake fan was all tied up in the knot which gave me zero flare authority on that side, so I landed hot and a bit downwind. This would have been OK except for the small pile of rocks hidden in the long grass that I stumbled onto as I landed.

End result is a sprained knee and I won't be flying for the rest of this comp. I'm a bit bummed as I was really in "the zone" and flying pretty well against the comp ships. In retrospect I could have probably made it out to the LZ and landed there OK, but on the other hand if I need to land quickly and there's something reasonable and closer (ie. a bald hill) I'll go for that.

The task for yesterday was an attempt at the Utah state record, 111 km OR to SLC University and back to launch. 3 people made it, and several more made it back to the LZ but missing the last TP (which was launch in order to close the OR, and they arrived too low to tag it, and there was no lift to climb back up and get it; this happened to Bernard who missed the last TP by about 50m!). The start looked very slow as the day was weak, but it eventually got better and if people could survive the first few km's (and many didn't, getting minimum distance) they could get at least half-way around the course. Josh and Brad came in within 3 seconds of each other, and Peter came in about 30 minutes later.

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