Agreed. Circling direction is more often dictated by other gliders in
the thermal than meteorological phenomena and physics.


The protocol I was taught was that unless you are first into the
thermal, you follow the left or right pattern of the gliders already there.
I've never had a preference of right or left. I was taught to turn into
whichever wingtip went up.
I was also taught that the most efficient technique, that is the
highest rate of altitude gain, is in a 45-degree bank turn hopefully
"coring" the thermal.
Up here in the Mojave Desert flying out of IYK, I've been in a couple of
10 Knot thermals but 5 to 6 is the most common. I can't ever remember any
kind of cyclonic rotation of any of them.
That said, I did once, inadvertantly fly into a dust-devil. I NEVER want
to do that again. If I had seen any dust indication that it was there I
would definitely have avoided it in the first place.