Not the best of days. Broken thermals, blustery wind. Watched as some others went over the back at about 1000ft ATO and soon heard reports of disappointing flops around 5 to 10km. Not particularly inspiring for XC but a great day to hone the thermalling skills after the winter soaring. But mid afternoon, with the sky a little emptier I caught a decent climb and decided to go with it for a while. The climb strengthen with altitude and i finally left the hill drifting WNW by myself. The climb took me to base (around 3000ft). Tried sitting in marginal lift but got bored and ran downwind. Sink all the way and started considering landing options (possible distance to pub being of primary importance). Aimed for a likely looking village but caught a surprising second thermal which took me back to base. Then again. Finally a flock of seagull showed me to a final and very broken thermal which lofted me over the village of Kingsclere and I soon came down on what turned out to be a private golf club. Very friendly lot though and was made very welcome at the 19th hole! A fast retrieve from a friend wrapped the flight up nicely. Not an easy XC day but good enough for the time of year. And I like seeing a second Sky Surfers XC entry.
Jason Smith
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