DAY 4

If yesterday was brilliant, then today was… better than brilliant. In the past 2 days more than 40% of the competitors have set their personal best record! The morning began with low clouds and an overcast sky, but what we are learning here is that the worse it looks in the morning, the better the afternoon will be. By about 11:30, cumulus were developing all along the ridge tops and cloudbase had risen to over 2,000m. in the morning briefing, Jocky warned us of the possibility of overdevelopment, so pilots launched early and began flying XC in several directions. The beauty of the open distance OLC scoring system is that you can fly in any direction you choose, with no tasks, goals, or turnpoints! Just fly XC, and the scoring software will calculate the score of your flight (out and return flights, flights with up to 3 turnpoints, or triangles all score differently) automatically, you only have to turn in your GPS at the end of the day. This has allowed pilots to fly where they want, when they want, without having to fly into headwinds to reach difficult turnpoints on a traditional task course. This was by far the best day of the competition yet, and pilots were rewarded with long, high scoring flights, including a 117km out and return by one Slovenian pilot.

DAY 5

It dawned sunny and clear, so we immediately knew the flying might not be the best. Strong southeast winds saw the day cancelled by 11:00, and pilots returned to town to go swimming and sightseeing. The Ozone crew headed to the beach to check out a soaring site on the southern coast, and got these photos at right.

We are in the southwest region of the DR, where there is very little tourism. In fact, the only gringos we have seen here all week, other than the comp pilots, were a group of Americans that run an orphanage/school on the edge of town. We`ve been driving past and flying over this school every day, where they teach over 900 children with limited supplies. A couple of the volunteers at the school asked us to land there if we could, and if conditions allow it in the next few days then we will certainly try. In the meantime, Jocky prompted us to donate into a collection, with which a few of the organizers purchased 5 big boxes of books, pencils, and supplies for the school, which is the least we could do for the local kids. Jocky`s idea is a good one: when you`re enjoying the local people`s environment and using their land and resources on your flying vacation, why not give back at least a little bit? A little help can mean a lot in some countries.

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