Friday 13.05.05
Nothing moves on the top of Stranik after yesterday's loud disco, beef steaks with toasts and a desperate splashing out the rest of Saint Vincence wine from a barrel past eight in the morning. No surprise, today is Friday thirteenth. But weather fakes the date and after a scratching off a hoarfrost from front windows of cars a beautiful view of a clear blue sky and a ridge of Mala Fatra opens.
"From the time when Dohnalek is gone every day is flyable," some of early morning woken pilots reveals unexpected associations and chafes his frozen hands. It's clear watching the nice forming clouds and a light wind that this day will be definitely flyable again. Eager Russians rise up above the taking off zone shortly before ten o'clock and a discipline towards east to Svarin over one turning point Zazriva village is declared. The whole task is 83.8km long.
"Nice cumulus clouds but how to reach them?" sighs somebody with his head turned to the sky while the firts brave pilots Tomas Lednik and Tomas Bernat land down under Stranik shortly before one o'clock. An exploitable afternoon thermal activity starts to work only past one o'clock and the west taking off area seems to be very small suddenly again.
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"It was an experience again!" one of Czech pilots grumbles in a thicket under the west taking off point after a forward roll but a taking off of the other doesn't look much better. Simply Friday thirteenth.
Meanwhile the first large group of competitors flies towards the first turning point in Zazriva in a height of 2400 meters above sea level. Thermals are very strong in today's cold air but descents as well and only 49 pilots reaches the first turning point which is located in a distance of 27 kilometers. Altogether 38 pilots gradally lands on the second leg which is 57 kilometers long. Finally, eleven pilots arrives to the goal in Svarin village.
Miroslav "Radar" Stehula is the fastes with time 2 hours and 36 minutes but the winner of today's task is David Ohlidal thanks to a well pointing of the early start. Miroslav Stehula is the second and Karel Vrbensky the third.
Miroslav Stehula is always the first in overall rankig of the competition, Karel Vrbensky holds his second position and David Ohlidal moved up to the third position from the eleventh. We can expect the competition will be finished tomorrow due to a wind which grows stronger gradually.
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