content_image/591371.jpg content_image/591370.jpg
Thursday morning’s weather forecast was not favorable; winds on the surface, as well as at 3,000, 6,000, and 9,000 feet were all going out into the Gulf with no options but to land. Several teams saw this and landed. Meteorologist Day and Cayton had a long discussion via satellite phone, and confirmed the winds above 12,000 would hook out into the Gulf and bring them back to dry land near Panama City, Florida. All the available meteorological information told them it would work. If the team wished to stay competitive, they had to go high and out over the water. 

They began their ascent around 10:00 AM and went out over the water just east of New Orleans. It was relatively slow going but Cayton and Knapp finally made it back to land as planned and began a slow descent around 16:30. Equipment was secured in anticipation of a possible landing near the Apalachicola National Forest in the Florida panhandle. After confirming their position in the race, and with no place to land, the decision was made to continue the flight through the night. The weather prognosis was good, the winds would be relatively calm during the night and remaining ballast was good, so they calculated the needed distance and time to win the race. [Figure 11-14] 

Early on Thursday morning, it appeared that the team’s patience had paid off. By 0430, they were moving east about 6 mph and were just over Cross City, Florida. At sunrise, they were 13 miles further east, and just north of Old Town and Fanning Springs. Surface winds were calm and there was a thin layer of ground fog. As the sun came up, the balloon experienced solar heating and ascended to just over 7,000 

<img src='content_image/591371.jpg'>

feet. The flight continued in an easterly direction at 15 mph and by 08:00 the team came to the realization that they were in a perfect position to take over the lead. 

As the Cayton-Knapp team crossed Interstate 75, just south of Gainesville, Florida, they received word that the German team of Eimers/Winker [Figure 11-15, AC-13 ]  was on the ground, and near Cayton’s home in Savannah, Georgia. Cayton and Knapp elected to continue flying until they had a cushion of 10 miles before beginning their descent. 

<img src='content_image/591370.jpg'>

