Steady Eddie and we all are ready - Mexico day Nine

After a late night back for some we still manage to keep to schedule and even get some lunchtime rolls made having lost total faith in the "packed" lunches which turn out to be a bag of snacks which go on a first come first served basis.

Gordon heads off to the team leaders briefing with out trackers and the rest of us have breakfast and sort kit which is now getting little on the dusty and smelly side.

Wayne is still not great but elects to come up the hill along with Kaz as Team support crew which is much appreciated.  Gordon call in to see if I want an "early bird" place which after yesterdays performance seems a good idea and I am lucky enough to get pulled out of the hat and get one.

The ever cheerful Hi-me arrives spot on time and we load and go picking up Gordon and Wayne on route, nothing much to report from the meeting other than a glitch in Carls score from yesterday which will hopefully get sorted soon and should both his and the teams position improve noticeably :)

on the front line

wow you certainly loose weight at these comp's

Emergency services got it all covered 

Up the hill it is the same as everyday, sunny, cool, with the wind up the hill and flyable, what a place this is,  We all have good rigging spots on the font with me eighth early bird to go before the main field so at least we will all be in the air early.

yesterdays downfall B10 small ridge to the wnw 2 hours soaring

Task set, briefing nice and quick and we have a team chat to see how to get around the 90k task and just as importantly how to get Hi-me to goal which is t two and a half hours away around the side of the Volcano.  All sorted and I get ready as the start counts down,

ready for revolution at the briefing

Dummy, sorry I meant wind dummy ;)

The air is good and it is nice to climb out without the crowds, now just an hour and a quarter to wait until the start. take it easy and relax, that's what Carl said, so I did and amazingly the time flew by as the gaggles increased and son it was time for the off.  Same type of start as yesterday once again saw a massive formation of gliders fly out to the start which must look like something else both from the ground and on the live tracking.

We quickly spread out with Carl racing ahead and grant hot on his heels, Steve is in go for it mode, Gordon gets a little stuck at first turn point and Phipps is taking no risks.

We all round the turn point and head to the second, one we have been to many times and just in front of yesterdays nemesis for me.  Gordon catches up Carl still leads the Brits.  Gliders start to struggle on a tree lined ridge (they are all tree lined out here) and it's not long before Steve becomes a victim landing at the foot of it after some tree topping.

The rest of us make it outing head off towards goal and into the bad lands Carl still pushing on is joined by Grant Gordon is closing and I carry on a steady rearguard action. Grant is struggling big time, we all go quiet, grant reverse from the tree tops and is back in the game.  Carl is calling a glide to goal and Grant not far behind, Gordon is strangely quiet.

The ground is high and even at 11,000' you do not have much to play with and its flat so having "friend" around you is a good idea and I have a few :)  Convergence cloud ahead and as we get under it woof up we go in an 8 up the glide angles come down quickly, 10:1 and I am off at 12,500' and 16K out. Th ground drops away and fills with greenhouses, lots and lots of green houses, best keep going.  100kph soon builds to 110kph as the figures get even better, in the distance beyond the green houses is the biggest field in all over Mexico and in it are some gliders.

A glider appears on my wing tip, the speed builds to 129kph its going to be a race, wish my arms were longer.  The comp sounds happy and we are in, phew, about time, first goal in the 2015 world's and about time, fingers crossed for some more.  An untidy landing and Carl calls me over to where he and Grant are. No Gordon, he has landed out on top of the plateau making "Steady Eddie" a scoring pilot and the team with three in goal.

Three Amigos in goal

Phew thats feels good

any more coming

It's a good goal to make with a never ending supply of beer, Red bull, Pizza and dancing girls, OK I made up the last one.  A text from Wayne and Kaz is much appreciated who had been keeping up with the action on live tracking.

The field empties

Hi- me and Steve arrive in good spirits and we bundle into the Truck with a stack of beers and off to find Gordon which turns out to pretty straight forward, by a cemetery and surrounded by the usual crowd of locals who had set fire to the verge to keep him warm, well that's what we think they were doing.  the beers disappear and we have there wee stops for Carl, hmmm.

Back to base too late to score but just in time to eat out, then off to bed and zzzzzzzzzzzz, well after a bit of a goal field bonus :)

Quote of the day " I'm coming in"

Tip of the day  "  Stay high, stay high - race race race"  that goes back a few years!