I would agree with your comments providing you prefaced them with "in still air".
Competition glider pilots stuff in loads of ballast when flying into a head wind to up their glide speed and increase their range (think headwind case equal to normal light weight glide speed when you would have zero range)
Mostly so, but it goes a little further. Here is a more detailed explanation of why we often use water ballast on days of strong lift:
Re: [GBSCstudents] Water ballast
As elsewhere in this discussion, it can get quite technical. Most weekend pilots go without the complications of ballast, and simply enjoy the pleasure of pure flight using solar power and genuine renewable energy - all free from the sun
