No I haven't figured why the weak link broke. There was a bit of crosswind so I swung a bit to the right of the trolley as I lifted following the tug but nothing out of the ordinary. The link had only done one flight since its predecessor had snagged on the tow carabiner and pulled out big time so it was new and relatively untested. It was also a break not a knot failure.
It only needed a reasonable pull in to get speed control and then flare a bit with no significant roll correction needed so it didn't make me work hard. Quest Air, Florida.
Wasn't a line break, it was a weak link break. If it was a line break you could be dragging several hundred feet of tow rope and asking for a real bad day.
Might want to train your students to check that they're not dragging several hundred feet of line after an actual line break before you kill another one, Pat.
Nope! You can use an old Frisbee (which is classic) for a landing spot. It should be located in the middle of the field or maybe slightly toward the downwind end of the field for single-surfaced gliders, and slightly toward the upwind end of the field for double-surfaced gliders.