SAFA Skysailor Magazine

14 SKY SAILOR March | April 2020 I t all started with doom and gloom. The country was on fire and the smoke was delivered to us via the varying winds. Visibility was occasion- ally nil, either due to smoke, or dust, or both. The first three days were cancelled. It sure looked like we were going to see the worst Forbes Flatlands ever. A few pilots decided to pull out of the comp and head somewhere smoke free. I didn’t blame them, time off work is quite precious for most of us. The 4th day our fortune turned and we woke up to a much better day, at least a taskable one. I was one of the task-setters and must say, we’ve never faced such a challenging forecast on any previous Forbes comps, but we did our best, considering the circumstances. We set a task south to Old Junee, partly because the fires were burning in the mountains and a SW wind change was anticipated. Finally, it turned out to be a distance task, largely due to the one hour delay initiated by the safety committee. I strongly disagreed with both half hour delays, since it didn’t improve safety, but I respected their decision. Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t call them wimps. Trent took the crown for the day, pushing ahead as usual, followed by Josh, then Pedro. I felt the day was quite turbulent, partly due to the upcoming SW wind which created some convergence at first and later stopped us from completing the task. Still, we had a day in the bank! Lukas encountered a large brown snake which made his wait for the retrieve car in the dark a lot less boring. The 5th day promised better conditions. Again, we had winds from the west, so we decided on a crosswind flat triangle south, then back via a short final leg to the Bogan Gate goal – not at all in Bogan Gate! The safety committee had learned from the previous day, and we just got on with preparing instead of fighting pessimism before even setting up. On course, we encountered strong lift, mostly marked by dust devils. Due to the wind, I had some ‘interesting’ climbs which made me quite restless to push ahead. I learned from my previous day’s mistake and didn’t push too aggressively into the crosswind, but since everybody did this gave me an early 10km advantage which I managed to hold the whole way, winning 1000 points for the day. Jonny came 2nd and Filippo 3rd. The air was very good on Jonny Durand ready to launch Forbes Finally, Forbes! So, here I go: After 28 years of coming to Forbes (except for the few years when it wasn’t held), and loosing at least five un-loosable Flatlands, I can finally add this into my collection too. Josh came 2nd with brilliant flying and Jonny came 3rd. by Attila Bertok Hot and dusty launch All photos: Peak Pictures Attila Bertok amuses the launch crew, Greg Cain and Lizzy Nevins