Photos from the last task in Nordic Open

Today was the last task in Nordic Open 2009. The day started beautifully with blue skies and lots of sun. But as the pilots gathered at take off, the clouds were gathering.

In the end, an ambitious almost 60 kilometers long task was set and a ground start was declared. That means that everybody takes off at the same time and that is counted as the start of the task (normally, there is a start cylinder in the air, where everybody gathers and then there is a start at a certain time, a bit like in sailing).

A big gaggle formed in front of the take off, and another one further away, close to the ridge. But then the clouds moved in and it started to rain a little. A lot of pilots had to land when the lift died, but some managed to fly on.
However, they ran into more rain and in the end, the task was stopped. Pilots are still downloading their tracklogs, but a result is expected soon.

I stayed on take off, taking photos, until most of the competition pilots were away. Then I launched as well, but then, the lift was gone and rain was in the air. I did make it to the official landing, some eight kilometers down the line, which took me further or as far than many of the competitors :-)