Upwind - Downwind in Typhoon Mujigae - Vid

[Off-Shore]

There is a lot posted about awesome downwind runs, but sometimes it is a battle just to get to the start of the downwind leg..

In this vid, shot in the aftermath of Typhoon Mujigae, I had to use every trick in the book to get to the upwind point, waiting for squalls to blow through and then doing sprints between moored boats, then hanging onto them, walking along the shore, kneeling, choking down etc etc. It took me 20 minutes to go the first 1km / 0.625 mile.  The key is conserving energy, and using every possible advantage, natural or man-made, to get you to the destination. The 2nd km was easier and then it was a wild downwind run in blown out conditions to the shore before it got dark and a taxi ride back.

Sometimes it is the journey that is more memorable than the destination...

https://youtu.be/PLAQg13wS9Q
Headmounted - GoPro 4 Black

[Argosi]

Reminds me of a lot of my "downwind" paddles where there's an upwind leg first - which is most of the time. When I'm trying to get upwind in strong winds, I have no qualms about knee paddling and pretty much using any trick I can think of - like walking my board on land for parts of the upwind leg or driving my board upwind several hundred yards to get a bit further upwind.

Luckily, we have Toronto Island to shelter us for much of the upwind leg - just need to get there in the first place. Here's a blog post and map describing my most commonly used upwind-downwind padddle:
http://supdownwind.blogspot.ca/2014/11/the-downwind-run-i-do-most-often-is-out.html

[Off-Shore]

Argosi, that's a great blog post and a really interesting upwind - downwind route providing maximum shelter.. And good you can do it twice if you have time. The upwind / downwind route in the vid is my before and after work one and is a dog leg shape, and requires a car for pick up. The upwind leg is actually perpendicular to the wind in a valley and depending on the wind strength it can skip right over the top of it and it is virtually calm, or it can get funneled down it and be a crazy battle to get out (as in the vid). The downwind leg is 2kms / 1.3miles.

If doing solo (as in this case), I take my car to the launch point, paddle the route, stash my board near the end beach, grab a cab (15mins) back to the launch point to pick up my car and then go back to the beach to collect my board and head home. I can do the whole thing in 1 hour 15 mins (home to home) with the paddling taking 25-35mins depending on wind. Not ideal, but with work and kids this works well. I ended up doing this twice yesterday. One at first light (start 6am) and the other just before dark (start 5.30pm).  We're lucky at this time of year as we are still just in shorts and a rashie. By end Dec we'll be in a 2mm wetsuit top, and by Jan in a 3mm Farmer John.. So we take every opportunity we can to get on the water.

[clay]

Here's a blog post and map describing my most commonly used upwind-downwind padddle:
http://supdownwind.blogspot.ca/2014/11/the-downwind-run-i-do-most-often-is-out.html

Argosi I just put 2 and 2 together that this is your blog, I loved reading the DW tips post you have, that was so helpful in learning about DW.  I forward that page to people who want to learn.

Robert great post, I like what you said about the journey.  For me the journey is the destination.   

[Argosi]

Here's a blog post and map describing my most commonly used upwind-downwind padddle:
http://supdownwind.blogspot.ca/2014/11/the-downwind-run-i-do-most-often-is-out.html

Argosi I just put 2 and 2 together that this is your blog, I loved reading the DW tips post you have, that was so helpful in learning about DW.  I forward that page to people who want to learn.

Robert great post, I like what you said about the journey.  For me the journey is the destination.   

Good to hear that my downwind blog is helpful. My intent was to encourage more people to get into downwinding. I just updated the Instruction and Tips page to include some safety tips.