Goal Task 2 :)

Busy busy ...!

Unfortunately the wind was too strong on course today so I had to stop the task before the leaders reached Picketberg at about 30km of the 58km task :(
Provisionally the lead group was Pepe, Goran, Joerg, Felix and a few others as yet unidentified. Altitude bonus might well change things around at the top ...
When we hear reports of "serious level 2" and Felix Rodriguez comes on the radio to call unsafe conditions it really is a reflection that the sky is not friendly ... but for those who were slower and in still in the wind-shadow the concern was much greater since the forecast had shown increasing wind in the afternoon and what we were already experiencing on the ground (40kmh+) was way above anticipated.

The air was not just windy but getting extremely spicy in the 38degree+ temperatures with a lot of gliders parked pitching up down and backwards (sometimes doing all 3 at the same time!) in the strengthening gusts ... I guess I'll be answering complaints this evening too! :-/

So, a near mutiny back at HQ today: The guys in the 2nd and 3rd gaggles accused me of pandering to the pressure of the PWCA committe and the lead group who were low at the turnpoint. Checking the track logs later let us see that many of the whingers (the most vocal being 'local' pilots) were in exactly the same position and altitude as those who lead out but about 5-6km behind. So it transpired that they had the benefit of slowness to see what happened to the leading group of 20-25 pilots and make a different tactical decision which in their minds justified the moaning that the task was stopped.
Some commented that wind was not a danger and just required pilots to try a different task route selection but when the 'unsafe' area is exactly on the course/task line and at a turnpoint I don't follow or agree with the logic that it is still safely 'taskable'.
However, surprisingly no one made an offical complaint, they just just wore out my ear-drums with the whining.
Neither tactics nor personal considerations influenced my decision, safety was the only concern and gratifyingly a large number of pilots including a task committee member wholeheartedly agreed with my decision but apologised that they were generally being pressured by the noise-makers to keep quiet. Thanks guys for actually taking the time to comment.
Sure they All would have been jumping around and shouting if there had been a serious incident and given the comments about finding reverse-upwards-cravatted-gear on an EnZo and getting dragged through fences that was entirely feasible.
To my mind, no decision made on safety grounds can be a 'bad' decision. Possibly unpopular and given some of the larger than life 'personalities' in SA, any decision that didn't conform to their ideal was a wrong/bad decision, but hey ho thats life!

At times its not just a shitty job, its a Really shitty job being a meet director! ;)