I agree with Tim. If we are going to endure the complication of having a devaluation scheme in the rules, then most certainly it should have kicked in for yesterday. For myself, I wouldn't mind seeing the whole devaluation concept thrown out in the interest of simplification. It seems to be impossible to get to a devaluation scheme that works right.

As the last person on the grid, I'm pretty sure I launched into impossible conditions. As Tim said, I glided away from the storm to no avail and had to put down in a farm field 8 miles south of Nephi. I don't give up easily.. That said I'm not personally inclined to file a protest since it doesn't actually make any difference to me - I'd already eaten thunderstorm humble pie on the two preceding days so I was out of the running. And for the record, Ron did a really outstanding job as CD for this contest even if there might have been a small mistake in opening the task for 15m handicapped class on the last day. It was really a great contest and very well run.

To share a certain beauty of the occasion it was this: As I had picked what I thought to be the best of dozens of possible fields in the area, I was flopping hopelessly in bits of turbulence at low altitude about a half mile downwind from that chosen field ready to make each turn my last of the contest. To my surprise, I sighted 7V a little west at the same low altitude flopping just like me. We both gave up at exactly the same altitude and glided into that particular farm field for simultaneous landings.