Cravat on tow.

Last Sunday, when taking off, a wind not on the left lines meant I launched with a cravat that would not release. I did check my lines before launching and everything was good, so, no, it was not for lack of checking it.

The important thing in tow is tocontrol your wing. Even though it is not noticeable, I felt something wrong because I had to lean too much to the right to keep flying straight.

When I felt clear enough of the immediate task of flying to watch my wing, I saw the knot and the cravat. I tried to clear it by pumping the brake, but it didn't have any effect. And to keep flying towards the car, I had to compensate too much on the other side, so I felt uneasy trying to pull deeper.

I tried reaching for the stabilo. but again, no effect as I needed to pull deeper than I felt comfortable doing at that altitude because of the risk of getting into a spiral to the ground.

I consider going as high as possible in tow and then try to clear it more aggressively. But I decided to land. More aggressive maneuvers would not guarantee release and could end up in a worse situation or at the minimum with severe damage to the wing.

My challenge was that with the cravat my wing was behaving like a speed wing. My tumbling on landing was due to the unexpected speed even after flaring. But I've learned to just roll with the inertia and nothing was hurt, except for a light scratch on my face. Got to lower my visor on landing.

I'm sure there are more lessons here. I want to hear them and debate them. Thanks!