Just in case you were wondering, this is not how a boat should be launched
Monday, June 29, 2009
How NOT to Launch
(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/LWcCN)
Just in case you were wondering, this is not how a boat should be launched
Just in case you were wondering, this is not how a boat should be launched
[Blog] How NOT to Launch: Just in case you were wondering, this is not how a boat should be launched http://ping.fm/YwwrY
[Blog] How NOT to Launch: Just in case you were wondering, this is not how a boat should be launched http://ping.fm/X8lVc
Friday, June 26, 2009
Second Hood River Race
(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/4qkMk)
I participated in the second race in the Hood River Big Winds series on Thursday, June 25th. I love the idea of a race series on Thursday night. Nothing much else going on, it stays light until ten in Oregon this time of year, and it's a reasonable after-work drive from Portland. Diane packed a picnic dinner, we tossed the dog in the truck, picked up the grandkids from the OMSI Summer Science camp (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) and headed up the gorge.
We got to the registration in plenty of time, had a quick dinner by the river, watching the kite and wind surfers, and headed for the hook.
While I was getting the board off the car I noticed two SUP paddlers rounding Wells Island. A few minutes later they showed up on the shore--Michi Schwieger and Dave Kalama. What a surprise. They had been at the first race along with Robby Naish, and I knew they were headed up to Canada to poke around, but I didn't expect to see them at the second event.
Since there was no elite paddler class this time they took off at the same time as the women and juniors, and just cruised with them, providing tips and encouragement.
The Men's race started ten minutes later and I pulled into a comfortable early lead, rounding the tip of the hook well ahead. Then we hit the wind. I'd say it was blowing twenty knots. I'm guessing twenty because it felt like thirty. I dug in and paddled hard, but two young whippersnappers got past me and pulled out a little lead. I could see a wind shadow near wells island, but there was also a lot of side swells. After a long grind I finally reached the shadow, wobbled off balance as the wind shut off and promptly got knocked off by a swell. Five paddlers got past me before I regained my feet and started paddling hard for the buoy.
After rounding the buoy I slowed a bit to catch my second wind, then started stroking hard, working to catch the little runners. I did a lot of short stoking into the swells, then quickly turning on the face to extend the run and build speed. It worked pretty well, You can see from the GPS track that I got a lot of runners and maintained a pretty high speed. I passed my way up to fourth from eighth.
I started catching up with Dave Kalama in the downwind section--he was standing on his board with his paddle up catching wind, talking to the woman in last place and giving her tips on paddling. He was moving almost as fast as I was. What the hell is with that? I didn't pass him until the last upwind section, where I was two strokes from blowing a gasket and he was still chatting calmly. Clearly he's made some kind of deal with King Neptune.
The leaders were just ahead of me heading for the last stretch. I had some thought of beating them by making an all out effort--as if they wouldn't be also. I nearly got the guy in third, but he saw me coming and redoubled his efforts. We crossed the line about two board lengths apart.
Fun race. The short length and high average speed belied the difficulty. It's not easy. 1.9 miles in 24 minute with an average speed of 4.6 knots. But it's a true sprint--I had nothing left when I crossed the line. I think this is another good format for SUP racing.
I participated in the second race in the Hood River Big Winds series on Thursday, June 25th. I love the idea of a race series on Thursday night. Nothing much else going on, it stays light until ten in Oregon this time of year, and it's a reasonable after-work drive from Portland. Diane packed a picnic dinner, we tossed the dog in the truck, picked up the grandkids from the OMSI Summer Science camp (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) and headed up the gorge.
We got to the registration in plenty of time, had a quick dinner by the river, watching the kite and wind surfers, and headed for the hook.
While I was getting the board off the car I noticed two SUP paddlers rounding Wells Island. A few minutes later they showed up on the shore--Michi Schwieger and Dave Kalama. What a surprise. They had been at the first race along with Robby Naish, and I knew they were headed up to Canada to poke around, but I didn't expect to see them at the second event.
Since there was no elite paddler class this time they took off at the same time as the women and juniors, and just cruised with them, providing tips and encouragement.
The Men's race started ten minutes later and I pulled into a comfortable early lead, rounding the tip of the hook well ahead. Then we hit the wind. I'd say it was blowing twenty knots. I'm guessing twenty because it felt like thirty. I dug in and paddled hard, but two young whippersnappers got past me and pulled out a little lead. I could see a wind shadow near wells island, but there was also a lot of side swells. After a long grind I finally reached the shadow, wobbled off balance as the wind shut off and promptly got knocked off by a swell. Five paddlers got past me before I regained my feet and started paddling hard for the buoy.
After rounding the buoy I slowed a bit to catch my second wind, then started stroking hard, working to catch the little runners. I did a lot of short stoking into the swells, then quickly turning on the face to extend the run and build speed. It worked pretty well, You can see from the GPS track that I got a lot of runners and maintained a pretty high speed. I passed my way up to fourth from eighth.
I started catching up with Dave Kalama in the downwind section--he was standing on his board with his paddle up catching wind, talking to the woman in last place and giving her tips on paddling. He was moving almost as fast as I was. What the hell is with that? I didn't pass him until the last upwind section, where I was two strokes from blowing a gasket and he was still chatting calmly. Clearly he's made some kind of deal with King Neptune.
The leaders were just ahead of me heading for the last stretch. I had some thought of beating them by making an all out effort--as if they wouldn't be also. I nearly got the guy in third, but he saw me coming and redoubled his efforts. We crossed the line about two board lengths apart.
Fun race. The short length and high average speed belied the difficulty. It's not easy. 1.9 miles in 24 minute with an average speed of 4.6 knots. But it's a true sprint--I had nothing left when I crossed the line. I think this is another good format for SUP racing.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Paddle Oregon Invites SUP Paddlers
(My Original Blog Post: http://www.kenalu.com/2009/06/24/paddle-oregon-invites-sup-paddlers/)
Paddle Oregon, the premier canoe and Kayak adventure on the Willamette River is accepting reservations for their annual 90-mile, five-day trip. And for the first time they are accepting Stand Up Paddle surfers. This is a comprehensive excursion, including delicious northwest cuisine, daily baggage shuttle, safety paddlers, camping accommodations, showers where possible,entertainment, t-shirts, reusable lunch bags, ACA insurance coverage and logistical support.
From the website:
Paddle Oregon, the premier canoe and Kayak adventure on the Willamette River is accepting reservations for their annual 90-mile, five-day trip. And for the first time they are accepting Stand Up Paddle surfers. This is a comprehensive excursion, including delicious northwest cuisine, daily baggage shuttle, safety paddlers, camping accommodations, showers where possible,entertainment, t-shirts, reusable lunch bags, ACA insurance coverage and logistical support.
From the website:
Now in its 9th year, Willamette Riverkeeper™ is proud to present PADDLE OREGON as the premiere canoe and kayak adventure on the Willamette River.
ITINERARY
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[Blog] Paddle Oregon Invites SUP Paddlers: Paddle Oregon, the premier canoe and Kayak adventure on the Willamette River is accep... http://ping.fm/i28zU
Paia Inn One Year Party and SUP Race
(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/7M2WA)
Paia Inn is where I would stay if I was going to Maui and didn't have a house within fifteen miles of Paia. Great place, very lively, private beach access to a nice break. Perfect place for a SUP vacation. We reviewed it about a year ago when they first opened, and just love the place. Right next to Lightning Bolt Surf shop and right across the street from Anthony's, the world's finest coffee joint. They used to throw really great parties on Friday night, but it got a little too big, so that had to chill. But parties are clearly in their DNA, and they're having what looks like a great one for their first year anniversary--including a SUP fun race sponsored by Naish.
My prescription for economic doldrums. Go to Maui, stay at the Paia Inn, surf and downwind your guts out every day, and time it so you can do this. May not change your economic situation, but at least you'll be happy. Here's the details:
Paia Inn is where I would stay if I was going to Maui and didn't have a house within fifteen miles of Paia. Great place, very lively, private beach access to a nice break. Perfect place for a SUP vacation. We reviewed it about a year ago when they first opened, and just love the place. Right next to Lightning Bolt Surf shop and right across the street from Anthony's, the world's finest coffee joint. They used to throw really great parties on Friday night, but it got a little too big, so that had to chill. But parties are clearly in their DNA, and they're having what looks like a great one for their first year anniversary--including a SUP fun race sponsored by Naish.
My prescription for economic doldrums. Go to Maui, stay at the Paia Inn, surf and downwind your guts out every day, and time it so you can do this. May not change your economic situation, but at least you'll be happy. Here's the details:
[Blog] Paia Inn One Year Party and SUP Race: Paia Inn is where I would stay if I was going to Maui and didn't have a house wit... http://ping.fm/KILzc
Saturday, June 20, 2009
[Blog] SUP Sprint Rac...: I beat Dave Kalama at the inaugural Big Winds SUP race in the Columbia River Gorge at Hood River. Finished about five minutes ahead of him--long enough to get off my board, walk up to the deck above the river and take pictures of Dave, Robby Naish, and Michi Schweiger crossing the finsih line. So I'm going to share my simple recipe for how to beat these guys:
Good board
Lots of practice
Short race
and most importantly, a ten minute lead.
Here's a blow-by blow of this very fun event.
I heard about the Hood Sup Series on the last possible day--a press release posted on the Standup zone said it was June 18th, and that Dave Kalama, Robby Naish, and Michi Schweiger would be there. The prospect of a race sounded great, and it just happened that I didn't have anything too pressing to do that thursday night. It's an eight-race series, which sounded even better. Hood River is 72 miles from my house--about an hour and 20 minute drive if traffic is good, but planning to arrive at 6:00 PM could be problematic, the freeway that heads up the gorge gets jammed with traffic at rush hour. So I left at 2:00 PM for a 6:30 race meeting, and arrived way too early. I got signed up, drove down to the Hook where the race was going to start, and just hung out. I should have brought a sail--any sail, and sailed my 12'2" starboard, which is great fun.
I had plenty of time to look over all elements of the course, which is pretty short--about 2 miles. The prevailing summer wind in the gorge is against the current--west to east--which punches up nice standing swells for jumping with your windsurfer or kite. And the wind is frequently strong enough to blow a dumpster across the parking lot (which I witnessed years ago at Rooster Rock). The race started with a run along the inside of the hook, carrying a buoy on the port side, sheltered from the gale by the large berm of this artificial peninsula, then turned the corner into the face of what felt like at least a 20 knot wind.
The run to the next buoy was also against the wind though it might be buffered slightly by Wells Island just to the west if you took the proper angle, and from my windsurfing experience there I knew there are some funny currents close to Wells that might help or hurt. Once the bouy near Wells was rounded it's a straight downwind run to the event center slot. This is an odd place. Right off the end of the parking lot called the Event Center is a sandbar that kitesurfers use to launch. The sandbar goes well out into the river. Near shore there is a twenty foot gap in the bar that's about six feet deep at the center. It's rocky near the shore and shallow near the bar, so you have to go through this section with some caution and precision. It also angles somewhat to the current.
Once through the gap it's a short spurt to the next buoy which you take on the starboard side, then a sprint crosswise and slightly against the wind to the bout at the end of the inlet, around another buoy to starboard and a sprint more against the wind to the finish buoys.
I waited around on the hook for a while, then realized I had more than an hour to the race meeting, got bored and cruised up into Hood River. What a lively place Hood River is during the summer. Stuff going on everywhere. There was a skateboard clinic going on, crowds of great-looking active people wandering around. Like a ski town in winter, only in a lot less clothes. I got an ice cream at Mikes--one of those "gotta do it" places. Like eating breakfast at Bette's in Hood River.
Didn't really need an ice cream just before racing, but what the heck.
I wandered back to the hook and people started showing up. Soon there was a surprisingly large crowd. I had jersey number 46, and there were a lot more people that signed up after me.
You can see my Starboard Point to the left hand side of the launch area. Most folks were on standard boards, though the Naish crew had what looked like Glides. Looks like I brought a gun to a knife fight, but really, with my weight on it, the Point is no faster than the 12'2" Starboard that I also brought. The advantage is that it's a lot more stable and it has steering with is handy upwind and for rounding buoys, so I decided to use it. I also brought my S.I.C. F18, but elected not to use it, both because it would seem like overkill, and because with it's thick sides and long length I suspected it would be hell in the crosswi...
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Apache/2.2.9 (Fedora) Server at www.s3nt.com Port 80
Good board
Lots of practice
Short race
and most importantly, a ten minute lead.
Here's a blow-by blow of this very fun event.
I heard about the Hood Sup Series on the last possible day--a press release posted on the Standup zone said it was June 18th, and that Dave Kalama, Robby Naish, and Michi Schweiger would be there. The prospect of a race sounded great, and it just happened that I didn't have anything too pressing to do that thursday night. It's an eight-race series, which sounded even better. Hood River is 72 miles from my house--about an hour and 20 minute drive if traffic is good, but planning to arrive at 6:00 PM could be problematic, the freeway that heads up the gorge gets jammed with traffic at rush hour. So I left at 2:00 PM for a 6:30 race meeting, and arrived way too early. I got signed up, drove down to the Hook where the race was going to start, and just hung out. I should have brought a sail--any sail, and sailed my 12'2" starboard, which is great fun.
I had plenty of time to look over all elements of the course, which is pretty short--about 2 miles. The prevailing summer wind in the gorge is against the current--west to east--which punches up nice standing swells for jumping with your windsurfer or kite. And the wind is frequently strong enough to blow a dumpster across the parking lot (which I witnessed years ago at Rooster Rock). The race started with a run along the inside of the hook, carrying a buoy on the port side, sheltered from the gale by the large berm of this artificial peninsula, then turned the corner into the face of what felt like at least a 20 knot wind.
The run to the next buoy was also against the wind though it might be buffered slightly by Wells Island just to the west if you took the proper angle, and from my windsurfing experience there I knew there are some funny currents close to Wells that might help or hurt. Once the bouy near Wells was rounded it's a straight downwind run to the event center slot. This is an odd place. Right off the end of the parking lot called the Event Center is a sandbar that kitesurfers use to launch. The sandbar goes well out into the river. Near shore there is a twenty foot gap in the bar that's about six feet deep at the center. It's rocky near the shore and shallow near the bar, so you have to go through this section with some caution and precision. It also angles somewhat to the current.
Once through the gap it's a short spurt to the next buoy which you take on the starboard side, then a sprint crosswise and slightly against the wind to the bout at the end of the inlet, around another buoy to starboard and a sprint more against the wind to the finish buoys.
I waited around on the hook for a while, then realized I had more than an hour to the race meeting, got bored and cruised up into Hood River. What a lively place Hood River is during the summer. Stuff going on everywhere. There was a skateboard clinic going on, crowds of great-looking active people wandering around. Like a ski town in winter, only in a lot less clothes. I got an ice cream at Mikes--one of those "gotta do it" places. Like eating breakfast at Bette's in Hood River.
Didn't really need an ice cream just before racing, but what the heck.
I wandered back to the hook and people started showing up. Soon there was a surprisingly large crowd. I had jersey number 46, and there were a lot more people that signed up after me.
You can see my Starboard Point to the left hand side of the launch area. Most folks were on standard boards, though the Naish crew had what looked like Glides. Looks like I brought a gun to a knife fight, but really, with my weight on it, the Point is no faster than the 12'2" Starboard that I also brought. The advantage is that it's a lot more stable and it has steering with is handy upwind and for rounding buoys, so I decided to use it. I also brought my S.I.C. F18, but elected not to use it, both because it would seem like overkill, and because with it's thick sides and long length I suspected it would be hell in the crosswi...
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Apache/2.2.9 (Fedora) Server at www.s3nt.com Port 80
SUP Sprint Racing
(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/7ivWo)
I beat Dave Kalama at the inaugural Big Winds SUP race in the Columbia River Gorge at Hood River. Finished about five minutes ahead of him--long enough to get off my board, walk up to the deck above the river and take pictures of Dave, Robby Naish, and Michi Schweiger crossing the finsih line. So I'm going to share my simple recipe for how to beat these guys:
Here's a blow-by blow of this very fun event.
I heard about the Hood Sup Series on the last possible day--a press release posted on the Standup zone said it was June 18th, and that Dave Kalama, Robby Naish, and Michi Schweiger would be there. The prospect of a race sounded great, and it just happened that I didn't have anything too pressing to do that thursday night. It's an eight-race series, which sounded even better. Hood River is 72 miles from my house--about an hour and 20 minute drive if traffic is good, but planning to arrive at 6:00 PM could be problematic, the freeway that heads up the gorge gets jammed with traffic at rush hour. So I left at 2:00 PM for a 6:30 race meeting, and arrived way too early. I got signed up, drove down to the Hook where the race was going to start, and just hung out. I should have brought a sail--any sail, and sailed my 12'2" starboard, which is great fun.
I had plenty of time to look over all elements of the course, which is pretty short--about 2 miles. The prevailing summer wind in the gorge is against the current--west to east--which punches up nice standing swells for jumping with your windsurfer or kite. And the wind is frequently strong enough to blow a dumpster across the parking lot (which I witnessed years ago at Rooster Rock). The race started with a run along the inside of the hook, carrying a buoy on the port side, sheltered from the gale by the large berm of this artificial peninsula, then turned the corner into the face of what felt like at least a 20 knot wind.
The run to the next buoy was also against the wind though it might be buffered slightly by Wells Island just to the west if you took the proper angle, and from my windsurfing experience there I knew there are some funny currents close to Wells that might help or hurt. Once the bouy near Wells was rounded it's a straight downwind run to the event center slot. This is an odd place. Right off the end of the parking lot called the Event Center is a sandbar that kitesurfers use to launch. The sandbar goes well out into the river. Near shore there is a twenty foot gap in the bar that's about six feet deep at the center. It's rocky near the shore and shallow near the bar, so you have to go through this section with some caution and precision. It also angles somewhat to the current.
Once through the gap it's a short spurt to the next buoy which you take on the starboard side, then a sprint crosswise and slightly against the wind to the bout at the end of the inlet, around another buoy to starboard and a sprint more against the wind to the finish buoys.
I waited around on the hook for a while, then realized I had more than an hour to the race meeting, got bored and cruised up into Hood River. What a lively place Hood River is during the summer. Stuff going on everywhere. There was a skateboard clinic going on, crowds of great-looking active people wandering around. Like a ski town in winter, only in a lot less clothes. I got an ice cream at Mikes--one of those "gotta do it" places. Like eating breakfast at Bette's in Hood River.
Didn't really need an ice cream just before racing, but what the heck.
I wandered back to the hook and people started showing up. Soon there was a surprisingly large crowd. I had jersey number 46, and there were a lot more people that signed up after me.
You can see my Starboard Point to the left hand side of the launch area. Most folks were on standard boards, though the Naish crew had what looked like Glides. Looks like I brought a gun to a knife fight, but really, with my weight on it, the Point is no faster than the 12'2" Starboard that I also brought. The advantage is that it's a lot more stable and it has steering with is handy upwind and for rounding buoys, so I decided to use it. I also brought my S.I.C. F18, but elected not to use it, both because it would seem like overkill, and because with it's thick sides and long length I suspected it would be hell in the crosswinds.
I beat Dave Kalama at the inaugural Big Winds SUP race in the Columbia River Gorge at Hood River. Finished about five minutes ahead of him--long enough to get off my board, walk up to the deck above the river and take pictures of Dave, Robby Naish, and Michi Schweiger crossing the finsih line. So I'm going to share my simple recipe for how to beat these guys:
- Good board
- Lots of practice
- Short race
- and most importantly, a ten minute lead.
Here's a blow-by blow of this very fun event.
I heard about the Hood Sup Series on the last possible day--a press release posted on the Standup zone said it was June 18th, and that Dave Kalama, Robby Naish, and Michi Schweiger would be there. The prospect of a race sounded great, and it just happened that I didn't have anything too pressing to do that thursday night. It's an eight-race series, which sounded even better. Hood River is 72 miles from my house--about an hour and 20 minute drive if traffic is good, but planning to arrive at 6:00 PM could be problematic, the freeway that heads up the gorge gets jammed with traffic at rush hour. So I left at 2:00 PM for a 6:30 race meeting, and arrived way too early. I got signed up, drove down to the Hook where the race was going to start, and just hung out. I should have brought a sail--any sail, and sailed my 12'2" starboard, which is great fun.
I had plenty of time to look over all elements of the course, which is pretty short--about 2 miles. The prevailing summer wind in the gorge is against the current--west to east--which punches up nice standing swells for jumping with your windsurfer or kite. And the wind is frequently strong enough to blow a dumpster across the parking lot (which I witnessed years ago at Rooster Rock). The race started with a run along the inside of the hook, carrying a buoy on the port side, sheltered from the gale by the large berm of this artificial peninsula, then turned the corner into the face of what felt like at least a 20 knot wind.
The run to the next buoy was also against the wind though it might be buffered slightly by Wells Island just to the west if you took the proper angle, and from my windsurfing experience there I knew there are some funny currents close to Wells that might help or hurt. Once the bouy near Wells was rounded it's a straight downwind run to the event center slot. This is an odd place. Right off the end of the parking lot called the Event Center is a sandbar that kitesurfers use to launch. The sandbar goes well out into the river. Near shore there is a twenty foot gap in the bar that's about six feet deep at the center. It's rocky near the shore and shallow near the bar, so you have to go through this section with some caution and precision. It also angles somewhat to the current.
Once through the gap it's a short spurt to the next buoy which you take on the starboard side, then a sprint crosswise and slightly against the wind to the bout at the end of the inlet, around another buoy to starboard and a sprint more against the wind to the finish buoys.
I waited around on the hook for a while, then realized I had more than an hour to the race meeting, got bored and cruised up into Hood River. What a lively place Hood River is during the summer. Stuff going on everywhere. There was a skateboard clinic going on, crowds of great-looking active people wandering around. Like a ski town in winter, only in a lot less clothes. I got an ice cream at Mikes--one of those "gotta do it" places. Like eating breakfast at Bette's in Hood River.
Didn't really need an ice cream just before racing, but what the heck.
I wandered back to the hook and people started showing up. Soon there was a surprisingly large crowd. I had jersey number 46, and there were a lot more people that signed up after me.
You can see my Starboard Point to the left hand side of the launch area. Most folks were on standard boards, though the Naish crew had what looked like Glides. Looks like I brought a gun to a knife fight, but really, with my weight on it, the Point is no faster than the 12'2" Starboard that I also brought. The advantage is that it's a lot more stable and it has steering with is handy upwind and for rounding buoys, so I decided to use it. I also brought my S.I.C. F18, but elected not to use it, both because it would seem like overkill, and because with it's thick sides and long length I suspected it would be hell in the crosswinds.
[Blog] SUP Sprint Rac...: I beat Dave Kalama at the inaugural Big Winds SUP race in the Columbia River Gorge at Hood River. Finished about five minutes ahead of him--long enough to get off my board, walk up to the deck above the river and take pictures of Dave, Robby Naish, and Michi Schweiger crossing the finsih line. So I'm going to share my simple recipe for how to beat these guys:
Good board
Lots of practice
Short race
and most importantly, a ten minute lead.
Here's a blow-by blow of this very fun event.
I heard about the Hood Sup Series on the last possible day--a press release posted on the Standup zone said it was June 18th, and that Dave Kalama, Robby Naish, and Michi Schweiger would be there. The prospect of a race sounded great, and it just happened that I didn't have anything too pressing to do that thursday night. It's an eight-race series, which sounded even better. Hood River is 72 miles from my house--about an hour and 20 minute drive if traffic is good, but planning to arrive at 6:00 PM could be problematic, the freeway that heads up the gorge gets jammed with traffic at rush hour. So I left at 2:00 PM for a 6:30 race meeting, and arrived way too early. I got signed up, drove down to the Hook where the race was going to start, and just hung out. I should have brought a sail--any sail, and sailed my 12'2" starboard, which is great fun.
I had plenty of time to look over all elements of the course, which is pretty short--about 2 miles. The prevailing summer wind in the gorge is against the current--west to east--which punches up nice standing swells for jumping with your windsurfer or kite. And the wind is frequently strong enough to blow a dumpster across the parking lot (which I witnessed years ago at Rooster Rock). The race started with a run along the inside of the hook, carrying a buoy on the port side, sheltered from the gale by the large berm of this artificial peninsula, then turned the corner into the face of what felt like at least a 20 knot wind.
The run to the next buoy was also against the wind though it might be buffered slightly by Wells Island just to the west if you took the proper angle, and from my windsurfing experience there I knew there are some funny currents close to Wells that might help or hurt. Once the bouy near Wells was rounded it's a straight downwind run to the event center slot. This is an odd place. Right off the end of the parking lot called the Event Center is a sandbar that kitesurfers use to launch. The sandbar goes well out into the river. Near shore there is a twenty foot gap in the bar that's about six feet deep at the center. It's rocky near the shore and shallow near the bar, so you have to go through this section with some caution and precision. It also angles somewhat to the current.
Once through the gap it's a short spurt to the next buoy which you take on the starboard side, then a sprint crosswise and slightly against the wind to the bout at the end of the inlet, around another buoy to starboard and a sprint more against the wind to the finish buoys.
I waited around on the hook for a while, then realized I had more than an hour to the race meeting, got bored and cruised up into Hood River. What a lively place Hood River is during the summer. Stuff going on everywhere. There was a skateboard clinic going on, crowds of great-looking active people wandering around. Like a ski town in winter, only in a lot less clothes. I got an ice cream at Mikes--one of those "gotta do it" places. Like eating breakfast at Bette's in Hood River.
Didn't really need an ice cream just before racing, but what the heck.
I wandered back to the hook and people started showing up. Soon there was a surprisingly large crowd. I had jersey number 46, and there were a lot more people that signed up after me.
You can see my Starboard Point to the left hand side of the launch area. Most folks were on standard boards, though the Naish crew had what looked like Glides. Looks like I brought a gun to a knife fight, but really, with my weight on it, the Point is no faster than the 12'2" Starboard that I also brought. The advantage is that it's a lot more stable and it has steering with is handy upwind and for rounding buoys, so I decided to use it. I also brought my S.I.C. F18, but elected not to use it, both because it would seem like overkill, and because with it's thick sides and long length I suspected it would be hell in the crosswi...
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Apache/2.2.9 (Fedora) Server at www.s3nt.com Port 80
Good board
Lots of practice
Short race
and most importantly, a ten minute lead.
Here's a blow-by blow of this very fun event.
I heard about the Hood Sup Series on the last possible day--a press release posted on the Standup zone said it was June 18th, and that Dave Kalama, Robby Naish, and Michi Schweiger would be there. The prospect of a race sounded great, and it just happened that I didn't have anything too pressing to do that thursday night. It's an eight-race series, which sounded even better. Hood River is 72 miles from my house--about an hour and 20 minute drive if traffic is good, but planning to arrive at 6:00 PM could be problematic, the freeway that heads up the gorge gets jammed with traffic at rush hour. So I left at 2:00 PM for a 6:30 race meeting, and arrived way too early. I got signed up, drove down to the Hook where the race was going to start, and just hung out. I should have brought a sail--any sail, and sailed my 12'2" starboard, which is great fun.
I had plenty of time to look over all elements of the course, which is pretty short--about 2 miles. The prevailing summer wind in the gorge is against the current--west to east--which punches up nice standing swells for jumping with your windsurfer or kite. And the wind is frequently strong enough to blow a dumpster across the parking lot (which I witnessed years ago at Rooster Rock). The race started with a run along the inside of the hook, carrying a buoy on the port side, sheltered from the gale by the large berm of this artificial peninsula, then turned the corner into the face of what felt like at least a 20 knot wind.
The run to the next buoy was also against the wind though it might be buffered slightly by Wells Island just to the west if you took the proper angle, and from my windsurfing experience there I knew there are some funny currents close to Wells that might help or hurt. Once the bouy near Wells was rounded it's a straight downwind run to the event center slot. This is an odd place. Right off the end of the parking lot called the Event Center is a sandbar that kitesurfers use to launch. The sandbar goes well out into the river. Near shore there is a twenty foot gap in the bar that's about six feet deep at the center. It's rocky near the shore and shallow near the bar, so you have to go through this section with some caution and precision. It also angles somewhat to the current.
Once through the gap it's a short spurt to the next buoy which you take on the starboard side, then a sprint crosswise and slightly against the wind to the bout at the end of the inlet, around another buoy to starboard and a sprint more against the wind to the finish buoys.
I waited around on the hook for a while, then realized I had more than an hour to the race meeting, got bored and cruised up into Hood River. What a lively place Hood River is during the summer. Stuff going on everywhere. There was a skateboard clinic going on, crowds of great-looking active people wandering around. Like a ski town in winter, only in a lot less clothes. I got an ice cream at Mikes--one of those "gotta do it" places. Like eating breakfast at Bette's in Hood River.
Didn't really need an ice cream just before racing, but what the heck.
I wandered back to the hook and people started showing up. Soon there was a surprisingly large crowd. I had jersey number 46, and there were a lot more people that signed up after me.
You can see my Starboard Point to the left hand side of the launch area. Most folks were on standard boards, though the Naish crew had what looked like Glides. Looks like I brought a gun to a knife fight, but really, with my weight on it, the Point is no faster than the 12'2" Starboard that I also brought. The advantage is that it's a lot more stable and it has steering with is handy upwind and for rounding buoys, so I decided to use it. I also brought my S.I.C. F18, but elected not to use it, both because it would seem like overkill, and because with it's thick sides and long length I suspected it would be hell in the crosswi...
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