SAFA Skysailor Magazine

15 July | August 2023 SKY SAILOR on a triangular tour north of Sacele was set. It gave the field an option of taking the flats or the hills once more. With most of the pilots managing to break through the inversion just in time for the start, the main gaggle went for the hills with a very small group going for the flats. Today was tricky from the start as the leaders started to get flushed out of the hills. A strong NW wind and weak thermals pushed pilots up into the gullies in the hills, so many fled the area. Some pilots managed to jump from one mountain to the next to get to the first TP. The flats were possibly working better, but with limited pilots scouting the air, the gaggle in the hills took the lead. After the first TP, pilots pushed out into the flats under the cloudless blue skies. At one point it looked as if this was going to be a glide to the ground. After topping up to base, the lead gaggle then went on a long glide to the furthest TP by then some of the pilots from the flats were on their heels. For the rest of the way it was weak thermals and lots of leap frogging at the front, as those who pushed out inevi- tably got low and had to throttle back. A mix of survival climbs, pushing low and full bar were required to navigate the intermittent lift. Between the 3rd TP and ESS, it shaded over and there was a headwind. Some of the lead gaggle pushed a bit too low, too hard or too early and unfortunately bombed out. The remainder who had more patience and got enough height were rewarded with goal. It was a long day with pilots getting to goal just before the task deadline. Task 3 turned everything on its head. Well done to Andrei Gaia, first of this morning’s top 10 to make goal to claim the top spot on the podium, and Jinhee Baek, the only lady in goal. Full results are available here , and see the PWC website for more. A big thank you to everyone who has made this such a diverse World Cup, to the pilots who made the most of every opportunity to do other things on the rainy days, from visiting Romania’s legendary castles and taking part in less weather dependent activities, the chairlift at Bunloc and the Mayor and town council in Brasov for their warm welcome. Top 3 overall 1 Andrei Gaia 2 Nicolas Dinh 3 Ivan Centa Top 3 teams 1 Alas del Hombre 2 Ozone 3 Parapente Mag Top 3 women 1 Jinhee Baek 2 Tomoko Yoshikawa 3 Capucine Deliotashita Best newcomer Marcin Wirski (23) Results All photos: Courtesy PWC Social Media