At 22:51 14 April 2020, John Cochrane wrote:
A good video on contest safety

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LwWncyUfng

Taken on a blue day when everybody sits in a gaggle until it's too
late to
get home.

Some of the fixes seem a bit complex and strategic -- points for
being the
leader. Some seem pretty easy -- assigned start times. And it's
interesting
that Germans are starting to think about a hard deck (flame suit
on).

John Cochrane BB


I was there at Benalla in 1987, and I was part of that gaggle. It was
day #1. My teammate (John Byrd) and I tried to lead out and break
free from that gaggle at least 3 separate times while out on course.
Each time, we got low while looking for lift and had the gaggle run
back over the top of us. We then proceeded to climb back up
through the gaggle and do it all over again because no one else
wanted to lead out. As the day weakened and we determined that
making it home was "iffy" at best, we just made sure that we stayed
on top of the last gaggle so that we could have the longest final
glides. John was just a little below me. The landing fields were
abundant in the last 30 Km before Benalla, so a lot of competitors
just drove straight ahead until they were on the ground. I flinched
at maybe 200 Ft and made a left 90 degree turn to land in a nice
field. That 90 degree turn cost me the daily win. I finished second
that day with John a short ways behind. So, yes, it was maddening
to start so late because of the "start roulette game", but the gaggle
itself was maddening on course because nobody wanted to take the
initiative and lead out. I was convinced that if others had been as
aggressive as John and I had been, the gaggle might have made
better speed, thus enabling us to finish, as opposed to winding up
12 Km short. That's contest flying...

RO