Storms

No one was more surprised by yesterday's (Day 2) late afternoon thunderstorm than the weatherman. "No chance of storms," was the forecast that most of us remember.

"Yesterday's convergence line, unfortunately, was not calculated," he announced at pilot meeting this morning.

All of the U.S. Team pilots managed to land before the rain began to pour, but few had managed to tie down. Crew 98 Ben Mayes got soaked early and stayed late, making sure all planes were pulled into place and tied down. SS got a little extra help from Paul, Russell Cheetham's (E1, Great Britain) crew. The lightning that pilots had avoided on final glide continued for much of the evening.

Squeegees figured prominently in this morning's preparation of the Open Class ships, who do not go back into the trailers at the end of the day but spent the evening in the rain. The tie-down area and grid drain well; the ground is soft, but not muddy.

Today's forecast predicts a convergence line that could cause thunderstorms, as well as cirrus moving toward Leszno from the south. Accordingly, tasks are short (2 hour 15 minute for 15-Meter, 2 hour for Open and 18-Meter) and for the third day in a row, all tasks are Assigned Area.