Also looks like the guy in the water was shooting for Blueberry Lake Rd on a
northern peninsula jutting into the lake.

That was the original plan, . But the little spit was so short, and
it would have been down wind that I opted for a safe landing on the
water into the wind. Later walking that ramp there were large
boulders behind the tall grass to keep cars from using it. An
overshoot would have been very bad.

It all worked out fine after a big splash, and did it mostly correct
(no flaps, no spoilers, gear down, but I forgot to close the vent).
After it was over the glider was floating well (as I had be briefed it
would) and I got out and swam it to the nearest downwind shore.
Secured it so it would not sink, and walked up this little path to
assess my situation. I was rather dismayed when I found I had towed
it to an island!!!

Very quickly contest personnel arrived at the far shore after a radio
call from another pilot who had seen the landing. But I explained
that I was fine, and they needed to look for John in the trees. We
finally got the glider to shore with inner tubes under the wings and
tail boom. I don’t have an electronic copy of that yet, but that is a
funny picture…

The only damage to the ship was a bent gear door. The radio was not
working after the landing but all other electronics were. After a
night at 30,000 ft in a barograph calibration vacuum chamber it was
working fine the next morning. I flew the ship by 5:00 the next
day.

While I don’t recommend practicing this (the retrieves are a bitch) it
turned out to be a good option in a bad situation…

BTW it was decided that there can only be one Admiral (Nixon) so I
have been dubbed Commodore…

RR
Commodore, Bota Blanca Yacht Club