Bogong Day 8

Clear day, but very high wind... At the 11:30am pilot's meeting, the day is called. There are 90km winds over the mountain tops. The Bogong is over, with only one valid task. We've been thwarted by smoke, rain, and wind this week, and while we would have loved to fly tasks everyday, we're still in a good mood. I managed to fly 5 out of the 8 days, with unique flights, and a good showing on the task day.

The awards presentation is early in the afternoon, and I'm happy to accept the prize money for my flight. Of course it would have been sweeter to be in second place after many tasks, but it was just the way things worked out this time. The $600 was wonderful, and took the edge off expenses for the week. I also saved a bit to spend on drinks for my mates that evening.

Lukas Bader, 1st, Germany (Litespeed RS 4)
Jeff O'Brien, 2nd, USA (Wills Wing T2 154)
Davide Guiducci, 3rd, Italy (Litespeed RS 4)

A pair of Blue Eye shades, local wine, and vouchers for accommodation next year to boot.

After the awards presentation, we had a lot of work to do. We opened our gliders and dried them out before short packing them on the lawn. With the help of Jeff and Scott, we were short packed and wrapped in three hours.

After packing the rest of our gear and getting the car loaded, we had time for quick showers before heading to the dinner party. Most folks hung around for a good meal compliments of the meet staff and Settlers Pub. They arranged a band after dinnner and the party continued most of the night. It was our last hours in OZ, and we weren't going to waste them sleeping.