First flew a Bocian at Nympsfield after basic trainig and early solo flying in T49 Capstan, T45 Swallow and T21 Sedbergh. Bocian was a beautiful glider to fly but totally unforgiving of any incompetence or neglect. Sadly not many left after all these years.
My first solo was in a Bocian, from the Bath, Wilts and North Dorset GC. The Park. UK. We used have three of them. We have three Puchacz now. I would love to visit your club one day and try a gravity launch. Looks fantastic!
This isn't really about thermals, in the mountains you get lift from the wind going uphill (slope soaring). This seems to have been a very calm day, so perhaps not much lift there.
Always liked the Bocian. Good looking glider. I owned a Mucha 100A which was basically the single seat version. They're nearly all gone now, more's the pity.
