After a promising start to a 299km task, conditions at the top turnpoint of Hallett 130km north of Gawler did not turn out to be as forecast, at least not when the competitors arrived there.
John Grant, Ben Terrell and Pete Temple with their retrieve crews, including CD Mandy Temple, in a field 130km north of Gawler.
Norm Bloch seemed to be racing ahead of the other gliders and was just short of the turnpoint. Suddenly he turned south and started climbing in a straight line. Oh no, he had clearly started his engine and was heading for home. Soon Geoff Brown and Erik Borgmann followed him. But three pilots continued on the task.
It seemed that Pete Temple, a Gawler pilot, had more confidence in the local conditions. He continued northwards at roughly 3,500ft (only 1500ft AGL) to Hallett and turned south towards the lower country. It seemed as if he was going to succeed where the others had failed. But soon, he turned back northwards, clearly seeking a climb.
He was joined by Ben Terrell and John Grant. It soon became clear that conditions were difficult. Before too long, all three pilots had landed in the same field, far from home.
The three pilots had landed in a large, nearly flat wheat paddock … with many rock hazzards. With some minor landing damage, all gliders were retrieved and arrived back at Gawler airfield soon after 10pm.
As no competitor finished the task, it was not a valid race. Tomorrow, 7 Jan 2025 will therefore be Race 1 SGP Gawler, weather permitting.
That is gliding, and tomorrow is another competition day. The weather forecast is for improving conditions for the rest of the week. Keep watching.
