2016-09-16 Waiting for Wind

Waiting for Wind

I was up early enough to say goodbye to Kent and René before they left (7ish).  Eddy was still asleep on the couch, so I headed straight to Dog River Coffee to do my blog update.  Al showed up a little later - he wanted to have breakfast before heading out.  Blaine and Brad dropped by also, but only to say goodbye.

Al and I headed over to Bette's where we met Marten.  Al left right after breakfast.  Marten, Brandon and I were planning to kite in the afternoon if possible.  The forecast was marginal, but it looked like there was a chance of wind.

I walked down to say goodbye to Bart and then drove up to sailworks to visit and say goodbye to Dale, Jim and Bruce.  I spent the rest of the morning packing all my gear into my van so I will be able to get an early start tomorrow. At noon, I drove over to the Event Site to sit and wait. The wind was Westerly, but not strong enough, so we all went to Solstice for lunch.

After lunch, it looked for a while like we would be sailing.  The wind was building and white caps started to appear across the river.  Then, just as Ross showed up, the wind suddenly dropped off.  The kites that were out, were dropping out of the sky.

You don't see the water this calm very often...

We had a nice afternoon chatting and reading - but the wind did not build again.  Even Bruce Peterson, who had gone out on his slalom rig could not make it work.  Ross decided to go for a bike ride, so we agreed to meet at pFreim's for supper at 8:00.

Marten with his bus!

Late in the afternoon, while sitting in my chair reading, I glanced up and saw my friends Wayne and Lorie Tomchick walking past.  Wayne is an old air cadet buddy from the 70's who I haven't seen in years.  We learned to fly together 45 years ago.  He was a windsurfer for a while but now kites.  They had just arrived and are staying for seven days.  Too bad I am leaving tomorrow.

Lori, Wayne and Ted

It was almost dark when we headed over for supper.  Wayne joined us a little later.  It was a great evening.  We even ran into Mike P.

Ross and I are planning to drive straight through tomorrow.  Marten and Brandon will take a couple of days, but don't have any plans yet as to where they will stop, although they may stop at Roosevelt for some kiting if it is blowing.

Safe travels everyone.

2016-09-15 Hatchery - Last Day - Almost

Last Blast!

OK - first I want to apologize to Kent - talking about the windsurfing foil that he is going to buy and how he is going to fund it along with his  new Mountain Bike, which arrives next Tuesday, and the biking trip that he is going on next week!  Apparently, I went too far when I mentioned his comment that either he or Lorna would have to stop spending.  Apparently, that comment was made in confidence after a few glasses of red wine.  But then again, anything is fair game on the blog...
It sounds like he is definitely going to purchase a foil, but probably next spring.  He said the only reason he didn't buy it this fall was that the Slingshot rep didn't have one in stock....It will be interesting to see how many of us follow suit!

Handre and Cam were gone by the time we got up.  Cam wanted to get home by Friday, and Handre had to be in Calgary for a seminar.

We had a slow morning with the usual routine.  Someone commented that the first part of the trip was sort of unsettled with all the trips out West for East wind, but that the last few day had settled into the normal routine.  Coffee at Dog River followed by Breakfast at Bette's.

The forecast was for wind in the corridor, maybe a bit lighter than yesterday.  The call was the Hatchery.  After the usual morning visit to the shops, most of the guy's headed across the river by noon.

Gerry dropped Eddy off at the Event site, where Marten and Brandon were going to sail.  I decided that with the lighter wind, I would try another day of Kiting as well.  I had found a lucky penny earlier in the day - so maybe it would be a good day.

Brandon - getting a boost!

I think everyone had a great day.  The wind was a bit lighter.  The big guy's were on 6.6m sails, most were on sails in the five meter range.  They sailed until after 6:00pm.

Kent had a great day on his slalom board and 5.6 Hucker!

At the Event site, Brandon was the first on the water.  The wind seemed to be building so I thought I would let it settle in before going out, so read for a bit and ate my lunch.  The wind wasn't picking up as much as we thought, so I decided to take out my 13.5.  Marten and Eddy followed shortly afterwards.  Marten, Eddy and Brandon worked their way up to the Hatchery for a while and sailed until late.

Eddy had another kitemare.  He was coming back from the Hatchery when his kite suddenly deflated. It was the same valve that came loose the last time.  There he was in the middle of the river, a long way from the event site.  He partially inflated the kite and then drifted for a while before Marten came by to assist.  Marten towed Eddy for a while, and then a guy came up on a Jetski and asked if he could help.  YES!  Eddy rode back in style - but frustrated with his kite.

I had a great sail, other than once when I had a pretty good crash and lost site of my board.  I dragged back and forth where I thought it was, but to no avail....  Finally, another kiter picked it up and dragged it over to me.  It was way to the North, just upwind of me.  No wonder I couldn't find it.  I now know that there is an eddy near the sandbar that pushes everything North across the river.  Bart calls it the toilet-bowl effect, and he uses it when racing his sailboats.  Going East, you aim right at the sandbar as the current is actually opposite to what it is in the main part of the river, so it pushes you along.  Then as you get close, you head out to the channel and get pushed out as you go.  After I got my board back, I continued on without difficulty.  I was able to go upwind pretty well at will, but the farther up I went, the stronger the wind got, and I was at the top end of my range already.  I did manage to stay upwind of most of the "beginners" so it was easy to stay out of everyone's way.  When I decided to go in, I was able to do an easy downwinder straight to the beach.  Just as Cam told me, when you are going downwind it feels like the wind is lighter because you take your speed off the windspeed.  This is opposite to a windsurfer.  I landed further out on the sandbar to avoid all the chaos closer inland, and then landed the kite without difficulty.  Good day!

Ted's Kiting GPS Track - as usual, I forgot to turn the watch on at first...

It was about 4:30 when I finished packing up.  There was no sign of Marten, Brandon or Eddy, so I decided to head over to the Hatchery to visit with the guy's and take some photos if they were still sailing.

Harold, Gerry, Blaine, Brad, and Ross (Kiting) were still out, so I got out my cameras and took some shots and video.  Kent joined me on the rocks and worked my Camera while I shot video.  Maybe there will be a short 2016 video after all.

Ross

Brad - mid jibe!

Gerry, Making it look easy!

Blaine

Blaine - Tack gone bad....

Blaine, who had sailed over 50km, was last off the water at about 6:30.  We sat around and told stories until dark, then headed up to the Taqueria Mexican Restaurant where we met Marten, Brandon and Eddy.  We had a table for 13 and enjoyed "The Last Supper", sitting outside on the deck.

Relaxing after a great day of sailing/kiting.Clockwise from Left - Ross, Kent, René, Blaine, Harold, Brad, Al and Ted

Everyone is planning to leave in the morning, except Ross, Marten, Brandon and I.  We are hoping to get one more light-wind kiting session, and then head back Saturday (possibly sailing at Roosevelt.

What a great trip!  Safe travels to everyone!

Ted

Harold - after a long day of sailing!

René - had a great day on his 5.6 Hucker and big board!

2016-09-14 The Hatchery

A normal Gorge Day - complete with some exciting Self Rescues.

Today started out like a normal Gorge Day.  Coffee at Dog River, and then Breakfast at Bette's. Temira's forecast was for wind in the corridor later in the day, so we had all morning to laze around and shop.

Morning at Bette's.

Kent, who yesterday told us there was no way he is buying a foil - because he found out the price was almost $2000US, has now found another brand that is only $1000.  It comes with a shorter mast for learning (you don't ride as high out of the water), and has all kinds of great features that will make it easy to ride.  He still hasn't put down any money, but as of this evening, he seemed sold on the idea. Kent's new bike arrives Tuesday, so he is not sure if he can take the double cash hit.  Apparently, he is spending money faster than it is coming in - he says either he or Lorna will have to stop spending.....we will see how that goes.

The wind started to pick up earlier than expected.  I got a text from Gerry saying that Kent was sailing on his 4.8m revo at the Hatchery.  A mad scramble ensued as everyone headed across the river.

Marten, Brandon, Ross, Cam and Eddy went to the White Salmon Bridge to go kiting.  I was waffling between kiting and windsurfing, but Gerry's text made me think that it was already almost too windy for my 9.5, and it was likely that the wind was going to build, so I ended up at the Hatchery with the others.

Blaine - all ready to go - just waiting for wind.

I am always amazed at this place.  As I drove across the bridge, the the water was "Waterski Calm". A few miles West at the White Salmon bridge there were whitecaps, and at the Hatchery it looked even windier.

When I arrived at the Hatchery, the guys were coming off the water.  The wind had dropped off.  At first, I thought I would head back to go kiting with the other guys, but the river looked like it might not even be kiteable.   I decided to have lunch and wait to see what the wind was going to do.

René had not made it back to the beach and had to swim.  When he came off the water he was very frustrated.  He told us the story of what I think was an amazing self-rescue. His downhaul rope had come undone on the water so his sail and rig came apart.  The rope end was frayed so he couldn't re-string it.  He tried to get the attention of the other guys in our group, but no one came close.  Gerry did circle him early - but at that time, he thought he was OK and had the situation under control.  He had to MacGyver a different way to tie down the sail, after threading the mast into the mast base - all the while being pounded by waves.  Once he was able to get it all together, he sailed back to shore and only had a short swim to get back to the beach.  Great Job!

Rene's improvised downhaul line.

After lunch, the wind picked up.  One by one, the guys got back out on the water.  Everyone seemed powered, so I rigged my 5.6 and headed out.  Most of the guys were on 4.8-5.2 sails.  Everyone had a great sail.

Kent - mid-Jibe

Brad sailed 74km in a single two-hour session.  His GPS track is so crowded with reaches back and forth that when you zoom in, you still can't separate them.  Wow - talk about stamina!

Brad - Jibemaster!

After a while, the Kiters all arrived at the Hatchery.  Ross showed off his slashy surfing style.  Marten (kiter) and Kent (windsurfer), had a great time chasing each other around, working the waves, and Marten boosting huge jumps.

I think everyone had a great day!  When we were done, everyone gathered at the parking area at the Hatchery.

Marten - Boosting High

Eddy told us about his Kitemare.  His exhaust valve blew when he crashed the kite, so the kite deflated.  He was on the other side of the river.  He had to blow it up on the water while he was trying to swim in the waves.  Once he got it blown up enough, he was able to drag himself across the water -where he climbed up over the rocks and then walked back to the White Salmon Bridge.  (He did get a ride from a friendly guy in a truck for the last 1/2 mile.)

Eddy - relaxing after a great day kiting!

It was dark by the time we finished telling stories and de-rigging.  We walked up to the Horsefeathers Brew Pub for supper.

When we got back to the Condo's, Handre and Cam packed up.  They will be leaving early in the morning.

Another great day!

Marten

Ross

Kent and Brad

Marten

Ross

Big Jim

The toque group - Brad, Blaine and Big Jim

Cam - ready to go home after 7 days in a row.

Blaine

Blaine

See all of my photos on my Flickr site here.....

2016-09-13 a Low Wind Day...

Low Wind Day

The call was for moderate Easterly winds starting about noon with the best winds out West.

After a "relatively quick" breakfast, the gang headed to Bob's Beach at Stevenson.

Ross, Cam, Eddy, Marten, Brandon and I went to Rooster Rock to try our luck at Kiting.

At Bob's Beach, the guys got sailing, but on big gear.  Blaine was making it work on a 6.6m Sail, René was on his 7.5m Retro and Big Jim took out his 9.0.  Unfortunately, René got caught downwind and had to do the big walk/swim.  

It was a beautiful day, and was still early - so it was time for alternate activities.

Golfing was the call, so Brad, Al, Harold, and Big Jim went to the Hood River Golf and Country Club.  Both Harold and Big Jim got a Birdie.  Apparently, Harold did the "Birdie Dance"... it was his first ever birdie.  Brad said that Harold's "Birdie Dance" was not something you really wanted to see.  Apparently, all of the Birdies occurred after Al had distributed some "Aiming Fluid" (beer).

Kent and Handre went on a 27km mountain bike ride to Post Canyon,  Blaine, took his road bike to the Rowena Lookout.

Blaine's Road Bike Ride.

At Rooster Rock, we all got out kiting.  Keeping upwind was a bit of a struggle with the wind and current both acting to flush you to the West, but the beach is long and wide open so it wasn't a problem.  We all had very good kite sessions.  I felt in control the whole time, and didn't lose my board once, so that is a big improvement on my last session - although this one was in light wind and very flat water.

Marten ready to kite!

Ted's windsurf track.  Much better than the other day.  A walk up the beach at the end.

After kiting, we all sat on the grass in the shade and had a beer or two before packing up and heading home.  

Marten, Brandon, Ted, Eddy and Cam

Brandon had a great day.

The Quote of the day came from Eddy when we got back to the condo's and met up with the rest of the gang.....

   "The wind blew, the shit flew, and in walked the kitesurfing crew...."

We all hung around at the condo's for a while telling stories and then went to 6th Street for supper.  It was excellent as usual.

When we got back to the Condo's, we all watched the 2015 Windsurfing Video premier.  I think everyone had fun watching it.  Big Air Jim was even able to watch along - via Cam's phone and Facetime.  Lots of Fun.

Big Air Jim recovering from his finger operation... watching the video with us.

2016-09-12 Bobs Beach and Rooster Rock

Chasing the Wind.

The forecast for today was for Easterly winds building around noon at Bob's Beach in Stevenson, and further East at Roosevelt State Beach Park.

We ate breakfast at Bette's as usual, and then a few of us stopped at Sailworks before heading east.

Kent is still thinking about purchasing a foil.  Apparently, most of the barriers have been breached. His wife Lorna has even told him to go ahead and buy it.  (We think she must have another expensive renovation project in mind or something...).  Kent, however, is waffling.  Sailworks should have the new foils in within a few days.  Jim (from the Sailworks shop) has even offered to let Kent try out a foil behind his boat.  We are all waiting in suspense.

We all arrived at Stevenson around 11:00.  It looked windy, but only a couple of guy's were out, and none of them seemed to be going anywhere.  A few of the guy's rigged, but only René was brave enough to actually go out.  He was on his new 7.5 retro and his big board.  We all needed a wind dummy, and it was René's turn to make the sacrifice.  And sacrifice he did.  The combination of light wind and current take you downwind very quickly.  After planing briefly, he got caught in a fishing net, and then after he got free he did not plane again.  He ended up west of the island with a very long walk back.  Needless to say, nobody else went out.

The crew watching René get closer and closer to the bridge...

René is down there somewhere....

While René was making his way down-river, Cam and Eddy decided they would try their luck kiting at Rooster Rock.  Ross was going to meet them there... they talked me into going with them.

Al decided to drive to Troutdale to have a visit with his nephew.  He had a great visit and dinner with them, and was able to hold their 3 day old son Vedder. Very proud uncle!

Al and his Nephew's 3 day old son Vedder.

 Rooster Rock State Park is a beautiful area.  You have to pay to get in, but there is ample parking and a nice grassy rigging area.  The only down-side is that you have to take a long series of steps down to beach level and then walk a half kilometer or so to get to the water.  For kiting, it has a perfect launch area with a wide open beach and almost no obstructions.

Rooster Rock State Park

The wind was very light.  Ross and I sat on a picnic table and chatted, while Cam and Eddy drove to the upwind end of the beach to try their kites.  It may be that Cam just wanted to be close to the clothing optional beach which is further east.  Apparently they "saw, but did not participate".

Cam got out on his 18m Foil Kite.  He was making it work but did lose a lot of ground to the current - particularly at first.  It was amazing watching him sail on almost flat water.  A few other kites were just floating down the river, with their owners trying to swim them to shore.

Cam on his 18m Foil Kite.

Eddy had left his 14m kite in Gerry's van, so the largest the had was his 12m kite. He gave it a try anyway.  He was able to get out a few times, but the combination of the current and the low wind speed made launching the kite very difficult.

Eddy - Walking his kite upwind

The guys sailed for a few hours before packing up and heading home.  When I got back to Hood River, most of the guys were having a beer on Ross's deck.

Kent and Ross were off for a Mountain bike ride.  Apparently they made it to the top of the last hill, and then Ross broke his chain.  How fortunate - as he was able to coast all the way back to their car.

My friend Marten, and his friend Brandon, arrived from southern Alberta and were introduced around. They are both kiters and looking for a group to hang with.  They seemed to fit right in.

We somehow got separated going for supper.  Everyone seemed very tired.  No party tonight - everyone went to bed early.

Cam - Making it work!

Cam - Jibing

Cam sailing in no wind!

Rooster Rock Park

2016-09-11-Wind, Water and Kitemares....

Wind, Water and Kitemares

Temira's forecast called for Westerly winds picking up by noon to the 23 to 26mph.  It was a frontal system, and she said in her forecasts that she was going on a hunch because the models weren't predicting that the wind would last very long, nor be as windy.

Cam, Ross and Eddy were all going kiting and talked me into giving it a try.  They all assured me I would be OK with my 9.5m kite.

Ted - ready to go!

Most of guys all headed to the Hatchery where they were surprised that it was a lot windier than predicted.  Kent rigged, and as he turned his back for a minute to get his harness a big gust picked up his whole rig and sent if flying.

The guy's sailed all day.  Most had two or three sails rigged by the end of the day.  Sail sizes were all small.  It was gusting to 40mph plus. Gerry started on a 4.7, then went to a 4.2 and finally to a 3.7. He says he should have gone to the 3.7 much sooner.  Everyone apparently had a great day!

Ross, Cam, Eddy, Handre and I got to the White Salmon Bridge at around 11:00.  It looked pretty windy, but what do I know.  Handre was there just as moral support.  I reminded all the guys that I would need some assistance and asked that they keep an eye on me.  They all agreed.

Ted with his kite! Thanks Handre for the photos.

When we got down to the beach, there was a race to get out on the water.  Ross was first, then Cam and then Eddy.  I did still have Handre to help me, who had launched one kite before in his life - and that was Eddy's a few minutes before.  Anyway, the launch went well.  I walked out, struggled to put my board on, and then got out - narrowly missing a bouy - lucky....

Cam, Eddy and Ross all had a great kite session - but over-powered.  Cam described a scary time when he was launched and only had one foot on the board.  I struggled.  The wind was quite gusty.  I could get going, but then there would be a lull, so I would cycle the kite, and then a gust would come and I would lose control.  I lost my board twice, but the GOJOE, which is a goofy looking balloon thing that bolts to the top of my board, worked really well keeping my board upright, and downwind so I could body drag over to it.

Big Jim passed me a few times while I was kiting.  He was sailing from the Family Beach site, and seemed to be doing fine cruising back and forth, although he must have been fixated on getting across because he ignored my waves and shouts - even though he was only very close a couple of times - he may have been thinking - damn kiter.....

Ross came over to check on me a couple of times.  The second time, he said that he didn't think I would be able to get back to the beach, so he would ask Handre to drive across to the Event site to pick me up.  I said OK.

Shortly after that, I got going well, but then had a big crash.  I got my board back without an issue but struggled again to put the board back on my feet.  I must have banged my chicken loop, because all of a sudden it let go from my harness.  I was still attached by my safety leash, so I wasn't too worried. I still had my board, and was trying to get my chicken loop back to my harness, when the kite powered up, I started to get dragged, and then all of a sudden the safety harness came loose.  I could only watch the kite fly away down the river.  I was in the middle of the river just downwind of the bridge.  At least I didn't have to struggle anymore.  I had my life jacket and board, so all I had to do was swim/float downwind to the Event Site or Sandbar.  As I swam, I continued to watch my kite disappear down the river.  It looked like it was going under the bridge.  Swimming with a kiteboard is awkward, but I found that if I floated on my back, I could use the board as a sail and it would push me along.  A few people came by to ask if I was OK.  When I was about half way to the Event Site a guy from Olympia, Washington offered me a tow in.  He was a very good sailor with lots of experience.  Apparently he had taught kiting for 15 years.  He showed me how to hang on to his harness and how to hold my board.  We towed in fairly quickly, sometimes almost planing.  My hand and arm was quite sore by the time we got to shore from hanging on - but it was much faster than swimming.

Ted's GPS Track...Unfortunately, I forgot to turn my GPS on until after my first few runs and crashes.

When we got close, he dropped me off and I was able to walk to the sandbar.  I thanked him, but forgot to ask his name.  Miraculously, my kite had been dragged up onto the tip of the sandbar.  Someone must have seen it drifting past, and towed it in.  It was still  inflated with no damage other than very tangled lines.  I survived and my equipment all survived.  Actually, there was never a time when I was scared - but I was very tired/exhausted.

I gathered up all my junk and walked up to the event site.  I decided to sit for a while, and if Handre didn't come by, then I would walk to the waterfront park where Big Jim was sailing.  A few minutes later, Handre drove up.  It was certainly the classiest rescue I have ever had - getting a ride back in his new BMW GranCoupe.

Ted - back in one piece

Apparently, Handre had come over to the Event Site as Ross had asked, and waited for me for about 45 mnutes.  When I didn't arrive, he assumed that I had made it back upwind, so he went back across the river to the bridge.  When I wasn't there either, he headed back.  I owe him big time for his persistence.

Ted's pile of gear - post rescue

We got back to the bridge at about 2:00, in time to meet up with Ross, Cam and Eddy, who were heading up to White Salmon for "Breakfast".

After "our meal" we headed down to the Hatchery to see how the other guys were doing.  They were done!  The wind was finally dropping and/or becoming more gusty, and they were all exhausted after a fantastic day of sailing.

Apparently, a 3.7 day is not the best day for me to try to learn to Kiteboard on my 9.5m kite...

Blaine and Brad - relaxing after a great day of sailing!

I gave Eddy a ride back to Windance so he could get there before it closed and pick up a new (2014) 7m kite that he had purchased.  After that we hit more shops and then headed back to the condo's.

Gerry and Al - both tired after a lot of sailing!

The guy's called and said they were heading straight to China Gorge for supper, so Eddy and I headed over.  It was a great meal as usual.

When we got back, I set to the task of trying to untangle my lines.  I had lots of help from the guys which made things easier.  I was surprised that it only took 20 minutes or so.

Tangled mess.....

We spent the rest of the evening drinking red wine and telling stories.  What a great trip!