June 10, 2008

Sorry - no photos today. I did take some video, but not for the blog.

The Gorge is a strange place. Sometimes the difference between a great day and a no sailing day is just timing and luck.

Mike has stayed at Threemile last night because he had sailed late. He called in the morning, that it was already blowing 4.0. The forecast was for out east, so we headed to Threemile again.

When we arrived, it was very windy, almost scary. Mike had already been out.
It looked like it would be a great day, the wind was right down the river.

Kent and Andreas rigged right away and headed out. Most of the rest of us held back to watch the "Wind Dummies", to make sure we would get our sails right.

I rigged my 4.2 and took my small board (acid). I really downhauled the sail, because I was afraid I would be over powered. I got to the river and headed out. I drifted out waiting for a gust to waterstart. I never did get on a plane. I did stand on the board twice, but only for a few seconds, before I fell back because there wasn't any wind. I made my way most of the way to the Islands, and noticed that none of the people out in the river were planing either. I flipped the board and sail around and drifted back to shore - WAY DOWN WIND.

The others struggled back. Harold ended up dinging his board when he got washed by a wave out by the Island, and had to walk it back all the way around from the Island.

We all waited around in our wet wetsuits for the wind to build again. (Did I mention that the temperature was about 10c). The wind died totally and even started to blow in the opposite direction.

Jim, Cam, Moritz and others decided to drive to Roosevelt (about 1hour 45 minutes away - down river to a bridge and then most of the way back..). We ended up all stopping at Arlington (about 10 miles west of Threemile). It was very windy. Huge swells. Lots of experts. Forward loops, Back Loops, Twisty things etc..... The launch at Arlington is very scary. You walk down a steep bank and launch by some big rocks with huge waves crashing across your rig. I saw a few guy's almost lose their rigs on the rocks.

Kent rigged right away. He looked a bit apprehensive about the launch, but made it out without a problem and had a great sail. We all sat in our vans and watched. I shot a bit of video.
Kent came back in and tried to convince us to go out with him. No takers except for Harold.
Some of the group left for Maryhill to try to find a spot to sail. I watched for a bit more, and then left. I checked out Rufus, but the current was so strong that the waves were actually travelling upwind... There were no other sailors there, so I didn't think that would be a good idea.

Next I stopped at Maryhill. The guy's weren't there, and the current looked almost as bad. Again no other sailors - that probably tells you something...

I headed for Doug's Beach. I talked to a fellow who had been sailing there all day on a 3.7. He was about my size. He said it was gusty, but that he had had a great day. Unfortunately the wind looked like it was dying. It was now 6:30, so I headed back to Hood River, went to Safeway and got an oil change for my Van (I had meant to do that before I left Camrose).

When I got back to the house, most of the guy's were there, but we heard that Kent and Blaine were now sailing at Rowena. They had another great session on 4.8's.....

Go figure.....

Oh well, it's supposed to be good tomorrow. Will try again then.

Andreas and David flew home, but Cam and Moritz are due to arrive tomorrow.

Ted


Hi. It's Harold. Actually, I didn't hit Rowena. I stayed at Arlington, sailed the giant swells for about 3 hours (great fun and really, really exciting) and dragged my sorry ass into Hood River at about 930PM. Mucho thanks to Kent - he inspired me (shamed me?) into trying Arlington, encouraged me trying to get out of the harbour, and finally helped me lug my rig down the rock wall. Without his help I wouldn't have had a memorable day.

hi it's Kent. Thanks to Blaine I did my first (last) tripple ses day. 3 mile, arlington, and rowena. Arlington was the best day I think I've ever had. Massive glassy swells. Rowena was a blast just running fast and straight. Thanks Blaine! (By the way, the team seems to forget that I was the last off the water at 3mile because I swam across 1/2 the river....)

Greg tells a story about his bike ride today. It was cold, rainy and windy. He rode to Moiser, and then headed South into the back country. He climed a big hill with the wind at his back. When he turned around to go downhill, he found that the wind was so strong that he had to pedal. He got as much as a workout going downhill as going up. Riding back in the rain gave him a chill. He had to stand in a hot shower for 10 minutes to warm up.....

Lost of experiences.... Interesting day.