The Chilly But Smokin Spring and Summer Gorge Report

[covesurfer]

Yep, on my first Viento run, Bill had a small barbecue with him on the back of his board. He stopped and waited for me part way down and we had grilled salmon that he caught on a long trolling line. Nice. Those were the days.  I still remember Bill paddling slow, like 3.5 to 4 mph because he hooked the best fish at that pace.

I don't know when everything went to hell. But it was probably on the second run we did. I think that's when I met Karen for the first time. Bill's right, it's Karen's fault. Mostly. But Rod could also be used as a scapegoat. Then there's Art, who likes to race Rod. Supposed to blow tomorrow, maybe we could get out there for a nice friendly paddle. 

[PonoBill]

Yesterday's run. I was a bit slow after Wells because I ran into a log. Though I'd broken my board, paddle and leg all in one fell swoop. But everything was OK.



5.7 MPH average into a 2 knot current. Fricken' crazy it was.

[starman]

For those at home wondering what's all the fuss considering those numbers Bill posted. You have to understand it's ALL into a sometimes stiff current.

Here is the other side of the coin, I was on a 5 year old Laird and managed 3.86mph avg that day not working very hard.

My max speed (not avg) for my run on the 2nd was 12.5 mph on another surfboard.  

The overall times are not always impressive because the current works you pretty good through the sections when the wind backs off. So I pretty much just started focusing what my max speed was for any run to see how much fun I was having. The better the number meant I was catching good swells and connecting them.

This place is one of the top SUP downwind destinations in the US. It also spoils you pretty good.

[headmount]

Is that what the current is? Only 2?  From when I was there it seemed alot stronger than that.  At any rate it looked like a great day... except for the logs.  What board were you using Bill?

Starmn... You talk about spoiled.  It's cranking today over in Kihei and I can't get it up to drive across the island.  Still kinda trashed from 6 days in a row over here earlier in the week.

[PonoBill]

Usually the current is three to four, sometimes five. right now they're holding back a lot of water, not sure why, but the level is changing all over the place. I'm not really sure what it was, just a guess. If you fall in you go backwards pretty quickly.

This place spoils you the same way. I came back from Portland this afternoon, it was hot and I was wearing levis because I went to a cooking class. I thought about going home and putting on boardies and going for a paddle, but with no wind, and a hundred people on standups everywhere I just couldn't do it. If it had been blowing 40+ I'd would have been shedding clothes on the way to my back door, but with 10 kts I couldn't bother.

[covesurfer]

My wife and I went for a paddle for a couple hours late today. The wind was actually blowing by the time we went but only about 12 to 15. Lots of kites, one annoying guy on a jet ski and a lost dog rescue (he was out swimming in the river and we escorted him back in where his owner was). Kind of a circus.

Really makes me appreciate those downwinders we have.  I always try and enjoy the hot still days but I'm sure glad there aren't many of 'em. Kind of cool to see so many people out on stand ups  today - but I don't think we will be seeing them on any of our downwinders any time soon. They really don't know what they are missing.

[CascadeSup]

Does anyone ever do downwinders out in the eastern Gorge?   Looks like The Wall had some big bumps on August 23.

[PonoBill]

Yup. They can be pretty crazy.

[headmount]

Man that place looks like a dream spot.

[covesurfer]

Been a while since anyone posted on this thread....lots of people came for the GPC and experienced some really good downwind conditions on the Viento run. Some probably are telling their paddling and non-paddling friends about how incredibly good it can be now that they've experienced it. But summer doesn't last forever and the nights have a chill in the air. The long stretches of west wind days have begun to dwindle, but as Indian Summer gradually gives way to Fall, the east wind returns to the Gorge.

As the seasons change, there are more and more days where the wind reverses - Hood River will be light easterly or glass but as one travels down the Gorge to the west, the east wind builds, usually peaking in the western Gorge between Wind Mountain and Troutdale. In the Fall, Winter and Spring, gusts of over 50 mph are routine at the west end of the Gorge.

In September, before the reverse pattern really sets up firmly, it is typical to begin to see some nice, less violent, easterlies develop in the 15 to 30 mph range. These winds are great for windsurfing from Home Valley all the way down to Rooster Rock and also provide lots of opportunities to do downwinders with a kite, windsurfer or, best of all (as far as I'm concerned) on a standup. Today was one of those days. Unlike west wind Gorge conditions, easterlies are blowing with the river current. With fetches of more than five miles, a nice rolling swell can develop and when you paddle it, you never are fighting current to stay with the waves.

With afternoon air temps around 80 and water about 70, I set off with two paddling buds to try my first Viento to Cascade Locks downwinder. Josh was in an OC-1 and Mark on his ski. With the necessary car shuttling, I got the chance to set out before them and get a nice lead that they would begin to erode as soon as they hit the water.

I set off from Viento going west for the very first time in about 10 to 12 knots of wind with small waves that were just starting to white cap. For the first half hour, it was just a nice pleasant paddle. Gradually, I began to notice that I was starting to get some really nice little glides. These just got better and better and better the further west I paddled. By the time I was down to Home Valley, there were some 2 to three foot waves that offered a nice push. A few more miles to the west and the river opens up to well over a mile across and the swell increased to the point that I was getting some really good surfs.  The river is so wide at this point, it feels like you are paddling in a coastal setting.

As I neared Stevenson WA and Cascade Locks on the Oregon side, I made my way through 4 or 5 windsurfers out on 4.5's or 5.0's. The sit down guys were beginning to reel me in and Mark passed me in his ski - surfing all the way with a big grin. About 2 miles from the end of the run, the wind was up to a steady 20 knots with gusts probably hitting the mid-20's. The swell was 4 feet and oh-so-surf-able and you can link up glides like crazy when you don't have to fight the current! Josh came in just after me so I guess my head start timing was about perfect. Usually, these guys are so far out in front that I lose sight of them.

At just shy of 12 miles, according to my Garmin, it was a perfect distance. I was out of the water in 2 hours and did not really feel like I paddled hard at all. Pulled out at the swim beach just east of the boat marina entrance. The scenery everywhere in the Gorge is absolutely incredible but this paddle is particularly beautiful.  I'm not thrilled about the end of summer but this was a reminder that with the change in seasons, there are new things to experience and enjoy. Tomorrow morning, I'll meet up with the usual suspects for some OC 6 paddling and a bonus coaching session from somebody that actually knows what they're doing. Late summer in the Gorge is pretty darn nice.

[covesurfer]

Photos from the end of today's downwinder to Cascade Locks.

[PonoBill]

Pissed that I missed that to go spend hours doing a financial review, and then tomorrow missing the OC6 for three hours of lawyer meetings. Oh well, there's next week. this weekend is the second to last car race for the year. It will be a blast, but I have to admit that I have more fun on a downwinder than I do in a race car.

Can't believe I said that. 

I think racing at Sear Point after the BOP is going to be an interesting test of my passion for racing. I might just be bored with local tracks. We'll see.

Great post btw Gregg. the east wind runs were always my favorite downwinders on windsurfers. We might need to go even further west and try the lower Columbia runs. Beautiful there too, though there's no real lower Gorge.

[laszlo]

Good for you Gregg. I thought about doing a Home Valley to Stevenson downwinder, but my wife was not available to drive me. Yesterday I windsurfed at Stevenson, and the swell looked very surfable. By the way I think the wind today was stronger than you indicated. Here is the graph from Stevenson today, showing a remarkably steady 30-31mph average from 10am till 2pm.

[covesurfer]

Yah Bill, we missed you out there! Laszlo, I'll call you next time - this being the first easterly d/w, we did not get well organized until the last minute. Not surprised it was that windy, it is harder to judge when the wind and current are going the same direction. Good luck at the track Bill, we'll miss you in the OC!

[PonoBill]

Today was nuts. Several times I was going so fast I was scared to fall, and I got a couple of drops that I thought were going to give me a nosebleed. Hard to believe we're doing this on a river. I think Karen did the 8.5 miles in about 1:05. I stopped to tie my camelback and slippers onto the nose (they wee driving me crazy), and still probably got in under 1:20 even though I was screwing around chasing big rides.

Greg. Mark and Art went back for seconds, I had to go sand my busted board.

Kim Reuter took out two first timers (she's nuts) and they came in thrilled with the ride. In retrospect, it would have been a pretty easy day for a newbie in some ways. Just manage to stay on the board and you'd make good time. Still, talk about tossing someone into the Fjord to see if they could swim--it was CRAZY out in the middle.

I surfed the length of the sandbar off Wells (probably a quarter mile or more) with hardly a stroke, standing behind the rudder on my F16. Tomorrow is probably going to be just as good. If you're within 500 miles of the Gorge you should hat up. It's going to be epic.

We've been all trading tips on how to stay on the board when you're standing on the tail. the guys on Naishes are all the way off the pad--that's about six inches from the end of the board, and they're all planning to wax that last six inches. That's how nutty it's getting.