Stephen Ell has emailed in his howidunnit from the exhausting Day 4. Most pilots were airborne for around 7 hours. Most ended up landing in fields in the dying minutes of the day - mainly scattered along the last leg.

'The local pre-start weather didn’t develop as forecast and many pilots started early for very good reasons (long task, imperfect weather). I was struggling so I dropped some water to climb up with the last starters and went for the line.

On track, the distant clouds looked better and higher and the gliders ahead pushed on at great speed (wish I’d kept the water now) and I quickly lost sight of them approaching Northampton. Suddenly it seemed darker and there was a lot more spreadout so I slowed down to think. I didn’t find much lift in and out of Thrapston (TP1) and found myself at 1000 feet near Rushden before contacting a half knot climb. I took 3 or 4 weak climbs between 1000 and 2000 feet, each time drifting downwind during the climb and dropping more water before the next climb.

Around Newport Pagnell I joined an LS8 that was shooting skywards like a homesick angel. It was the beginning of a strong cloud street that led us to some good clouds North of Newbury South (TP2). Ed Johnson (G9) and Phil Jones (210) were high above me. Gary Stingemore (in X1), who started after me, passed me going the other way like he was on fire!

After the turn I went more or less on track, but G9, 210 and X1 had cloaked and I lost the comfort of gliders turning ahead. Nearing Finmere (TP3) I fixed my sights on a glider turning tightly and gave chase. He was hard to catch and I kept losing sight of him. Also, I wasn’t sure whether to go for the sun directly on track, or stay under the claggy-looking clouds. I decided to try the clouds (more by instinct than logic) and was reassured by the sight of a glider pulling up in the distance. I reached the same height as him near Chipping Norton. It was Phil Jones in 210. I set off for the next cloud thinking Phil was with me, but when I turned the EB28 (Glider 13) de-cloaked like a Warbird on the opposite side of the thermal. We split at cloudbase and I had 100 feet in hand on MacCready 1 for Aston Down. There were wispy bits of cloud on the way back. Wave rotor clouds or dying thermals? I dunno, but they gave me reduced sink & occasional lift that allowed me to eek out the glide to 600 feet in hand at 10km on MacCready 1. A bit of luck there, I think. Others landed only a few km short (again).'

Stephen achieved 95.3kph. Allan Tribe was second (449.6k) and Matt Cook was third having flown 448.9k. All pilots received (the last of the) bottled beer from Stroud Brewery, with Allan and Stephen receiving glider batteries from J.E. Clarke Motor Factors. Many thanks to our prize sponsors.