A Racing task of 270km was set with the first leg of 88km heading north. Wind was 15kt from the west and cumulus to 4000' were predicted. As it turned out, the convection height was 3300' when the start gate was opened and didn't get higher than 3600' for most of the day.
Turns and I decided that our start window would be between 1330 and 1400 to make sure we were back before the day was likely to end around 1700. The Brits started at 1347 and Turns started with them. I was with the main gaggle and didn't see them go. By 1355 I was wondering how much longer I should stay with the gaggle -- only a half dozen had started. I could go now and not risk getting caught at the end of the day or I could stick with the gaggle and get an advantage by leaving a few minutes after them. I went for the low risk strategy and left at 1357 and a few followed me. The main gaggle started 10 minutes later.
I kept well ahead of that gaggle and almost caught a couple in front on the first leg. The few who followed me through stayed with me most of the time and never lead out. I made sure I had plenty of height going into the first turn because the second leg was into 15kt wind. It was streeting up the leg and I took the street to the north and others took the street to the south. It was on this leg that Gill Spreckley won the day. She gained a good ten minutes on everyone else picking the good lift along the streets. I didn't pick the best streets and the gaggle caught me half way down the second leg.
Heading for the second turn the sky looked very soft and the cus were thinning out. I decided to stick with the gaggle -- it was a fast moving gaggle. There was a lot of gear changing in this part of the task and I sat back to watch and learn. We had an interesting encounter with the German nationals pilots who were on a task heading in the opposite direction to us! Some how we end up in two overlapping gaggles going the opposite direction -- girls one direction and boys the other -- with the Eta in the middle of it all!
On the last leg I was tempted at times to push on when the gaggle was taking a few too many turns at the top of the thermal. But the risks are high and it is almost impossible to get away from a gaggle in this situation. The cus had thinned so there were not too many choices about where to go, so it was hard for me to do anything very different. I stayed with the gaggle to the finish. When to gaggle is an interesting question -- do you start with the gaggle, do you stick with a gaggle en route?