No Contest Day at Cordele

The gray skies kept the sun away and the temperatures low this
morning. Many people were sporting about in their long sleeved
sweatshirts or jackets to keep the cool-ish air at bay. But ever the
optimist, pilots were assembling their gliders and filling them with
water (15m Nationals, not the Club Class guys...) hoping to get in a
day. Today (Tuesday, 12 MAY 09) was supposed to be the first contest
day for the 15m pilots, but it wasn't to be.

Most of us gridded. Some on the grid did forego taping. There were a
few "realists" who didn't even bother to grid. The first sniffer
launched at 13:34 and lasted a full 15 minutes in the air. At least
he didn't beat the towplane down. A second sniffer was launched. He
found a little 1 knot stuff under the overcast, but he was low and the
day was progressing and the outlook looked quite dismal. Our CD, Sam
Giltner, pulled the plug on the day at 14:00 hrs and I didn't hear one
complaint.

Later in the afternoon, there was a LIVELY discussion about Club Class
in America. John Cochran and Ken Sorenson were there at the behest of
Sam Giltner to listen to the Club Class participants. The meeting
could have gone on for a bit longer, but the call of Belgian Beer,
hosted by Baude Litt, brought the meeting to a quick close. For those
of you not accustomed to Belgian beer, I have a word to say: Stay
that way. It will leave more for us who appreciate excellent
beer! :-) Many thanks to Baude for hosting this event!

One of many things I forgot to mention: The Chamber of Commerce here
provided bags of "stuff" from the community businesses. One was a
little packet of beef jerky. Not being a beef jerky eater for reasons
unknown, I did take the packet with me on yesterday's flight. Dang,
it was EXCELLENT. I'll try to remember to bring the package back into
the room on another day and tell you who supplied the product. Very
tasty!

Later on this evening, as in about 30 minutes, the "low country boil"
will be served over at the Ramada Inn motel.

From the now sunny south Georgia town of Cordele,
Ray Lovinggood