Nuking in the gorge

[PonoBill]

Bring your A game, or stay for a couple of weeks to get there. It's not hard, but it's different. The guys who have the most trouble are the ones that say "I surf all the time, I got this." Long day for them, generally.

[Blue crab]

Today rocked, I hope you got some of it. I was on the 11:00 shuttle, expecting 29-32 and it was much more than that. For most of the run the spindrift off the wavetops was hitting my legs like a garden hose. I spotted Nels Bergstrom on his prone board around the spit rock, and he got blown off the thing. I went by to check on him, while he was laying prone it looked like he was drowning--water blowing over the top of him.

The Wells Express was insane. I paddled hard at first, but finally just stood on the tail and dragged my blade to steer. Checked my speed about two minutes into not paddling and I was doing 9.7 mph. Finished the run with a 1:20 despite 200K flow. The only place I felt current was at Mitchell, and I went through so fast it was just a twitch on the rudder. I would have had a little better time, but I feel four times and stopped to check on Lars. I could tell it was a prone board once I got close, but at first, I thought it might have been a SUP rider who lost a paddle. Lars was grinning ear-to-ear.

All these HR guys are getting way too fast. That was a pretty good time and I got solidly beaten by two guys on 14's--an Allstar and the inevitable black and white Bullet 14. Those things are like belly buttons here. There were four of them on the 11 and I saw five on the 1:00 that I couldn't take--grandkid duty, and it was packed full anyway with a full trailer and two boards on the roof. Summer.

Yeah. Today confirmed that the Viento is really one of the world's elite outdoor experiences.  I got out of a conference call late and so hit the water at 1250. Had a blissful run with really high winds from start to finish.  Mitchell's was all mixed up and a bit less giving in terms of ginormous, even swells than on 7/2 & 7/3. However, between Mitchell's & split rock was otherworldly.  I got in a 78 minute run with a fall 100 feet from the sandbar because I was admiring some fancy kiting.  I finally bought a real paddle (V drive 91): it didn't help my times much but it made the whole thing feel like even less work.  I really only paddled hard 2 or 3 times.

The only downer was that my sons backed out at the last minute. It is interesting that as they age a bit they have developed much more fear of the sport. I suppose I should embrace this but it is such a pleasure being out there with them when it clicks.

[covesurfer]

This is fun to follow. Enjoy you guys! And keep posting.

[laszlo]

I just want to point out that some of the landmarks in a Viento run that have been given random names in the downwinding world have actual, official names, so that they can be located on maps. "Split Rock", which isn't really split, there are multiple rocks haphazardly arranged, is called Ruthton Point. It was named in the early 20th century after some locals. There are people who live there and that is their address. Just like Mitchell Point is actually called Mitchell Point. The "Wells Express" never had its own name, so I guess it does now. Before the Bonneville dam was built it wasn't even part of the river, it was just a low lying part of Ruthton Point. Before the dam was built Wells Island wasn't even an island, but of course it is now. And the Event Site is always called that, not Event center. I remember the excitement when Hood River announced that they were going to develop an "Event Site" at the riverfront for windsurfing races and launching.

I've been wanting to get that off my chest for a while. Now we can all go back to calling it whatever we feel like.

[digger71]

Thanks for clearing that up laszlo - good to be able to see those spots on a map.  Is Wells Express the shallow area just west of Wells Island?  The only time I've been there nobody was going right of Wells Island so I'm guessing that's not it.

Going to be there the week of the Gorge Downwind Champs and just realized the race is from Home Valley rather than Viento!
https://www.gorgedownwindchamps.com/races

Any advice on the stretch from Home Valley to Viento?

[laszlo]

Home Valley is on the Washington side. On a filled in west wind day the stretch between Home Valley and Viento might be lighter than spots further east. On a windsurfer doing a long downwinder always involved compromises between gear being too big for some spots and not big enough for others. Not really a problem for paddlers, just means more or less paddling effort, depending on the wind. And yes, Wells Express is the area just east of Ruthton Point, where the shallow water creates a corduroy pattern of swell that can be ridiculously fun to motor through.  Not a problem now, but later in the summer in lower water levels there are deadhead stumps just under the surface.

[PonoBill]

Wells Express is really the water line just off the sandbar. I get to define it since I named it. If you stay on the sandbar you get shallow water drag and peaky, splashy, but generally weak waves--though when it's really nuking, that might be all you want or need. Along the edge of the sandbar the water gets suddenly deep, and you get a rolling peak that you can ride for hundreds of yards, though it constantly tries to round you up to the right, since the water just to the right of you is moving slower. I also think I named Ruthton point "Split Rock" though that might be up for grabs. Maybe it was Rod. We used to say "meet at the split rock" though no one does that anymore. Everyone is trying to beat their buddies and set their personal best.

For example, on my second run today I wanted to take it easy, but there was this guy right next to me. I pulled out a good lead a few times, but whenever I looked over, there he was, and if I slacked off even a little bit he'd pass me. So I paddled like a maniac for the entire run. I feel like someone beat me with a baseball bat. Who the hell was that guy? He was on a Starboard Allstar, and his stroke didn't look very good. When he moved back on his board he did a little bunny hop instead of stepping back. And then bunny hopped forward. Didn't look impressive, but I couldn't shake him. I'd think I was just slow, but I was connecting bumps like crazy and my run was 1:34. Not blistering, but not bad, and we finished about 20 minutes ahead of the rest of the fastest of the 1:00 shuttle. I'll be scratching my head over this one for a while.

[Blue crab]

Here is some footage from 7/3 from what I now know to be Ruthton point to Wells Island. The video totally undersells how fierce the wind was at this point but does give a good feel for how long glides can be sustained in these mini swells. Kenzo and I had a blast sharing the same waves repeatedly:

[digger71]

That was a cool shot of the kid burying the nose at 3:27.  Thought we might see him come flying into the frame but he did a nice job of riding it out!

[PonoBill]

Looks like the marine layer moved a bit too far inland. Gusty this morning with a lot of south in the wind. Paddled OC6 in messy conditions, coming back into the wind we got a good foot of water in the canoe before I started bailing. My new nickname is "bilge pump". That's a lot of work. I need a day off to get some stuff done, and I could use some recovery anyway.

[laszlo]

We used to say "meet at the split rock" though no one does that anymore. Everyone is trying to beat their buddies and set their personal best.

I for one miss the old days. I know that racing is a big part of the sport and racers are training when they paddle, but why does every run have to become a race? In my group we usually do north shore runs and we usually stop and regroup a few times during a run. It is friendlier and not as competitive. Of course none of us are racers. To get the lowest times one has to crank through the flat sections too, which I don't bother with. For me its more about the quality of the glides than my overall time.

That's another rant I've been wanting to get off my chest. Old age must be making me cranky.

By the way, the glides going through the Hatchery yesterday were sweet! I always worry that I will look like a kook going through there, the biggest waves on the run with a large audience of windsurfers watching from shore, and it is always satisfying when I go through riding swells and grinning.

[PonoBill]

I thought the same thing yesterday when I was flopping around trying to get my board going. I could have knee-paddled to the beach, rested a bit, watched the birds, waited for the main group to catch up (I might have had to have lunch to wait for the tail end Charlies) but patience is a virtue I've never displayed. So I didn't. I blame Karen Wrenn. She started this paddle hard to the end thing and it lives on even though I haven't seen her in a couple of years. I still have your paddles, Karen. And Gregg Leion (Covesurfer)--he picked up the trend and pushed it further. And then moved to Maui. So now if I don't bounce back to my feet after a fall I feel like a slacker, and my watch keeps ticking.

Winter in Maui reinforces that. There's nowhere to stop but the middle of the ocean. Stopping in the middle of a Maliko run is a good way to get toppled off your board a few times. Boyum keeps his feet up when he stops (SHARKS!!!), so he's still going 4mph.

Anyway, sounds like a good idea, but I'm not going to do it until I get another 1:16, which may never happen given that my best time this year is 1:2something.

[covesurfer]

I blame Karen Wrenn. She started this paddle hard to the end thing and it lives on even though I haven't seen her in a couple of years. I still have your paddles, Karen. And Gregg Leion (Covesurfer)--he picked up the trend and pushed it further. And then moved to Maui. So now if I don't bounce back to my feet after a fall I feel like a slacker, and my watch keeps ticking.

Winter in Maui reinforces that. There's nowhere to stop but the middle of the ocean. Stopping in the middle of a Maliko run is a good way to get toppled off your board a few times. Boyum keeps his feet up when he stops (SHARKS!!!), so he's still going 4mph.

Anyway, sounds like a good idea, but I'm not going to do it until I get another 1:16, which may never happen given that my best time this year is 1:2something.

The statute of limitations on 'blame Gregg' is dangerously close to running out. I haven't been in the Gorge since Summer of 2013. Not that I give a rip about defending myself here. I never much cared how fast other people wanted to paddle and I never judged them by it either. I can still remember my first summer of downwinding in the Gorge, chasing Karen - and just about everybody else I can think of. A lot of runs, I remember feeling bad because everyone was done and I was still out there while they were loading up the vehicles. But, I soon learned that nobody cared. The main thing was going!

Considering that the Gorge is full of hard-core, competitive athletes, including a number of former Olympic-level sport peeps and the most comprehensive and effective youth development program anywhere (DEVO and JET teams), it really shouldn't be a surprise that people are obsessed with fast times. Now there are are also two world-class races there (both of which I wish I could come to).

Downwinding is about all about gliding. That's why most of us are out there. The more gliding you do, the faster and more fun the run.

When we joined the canoe club here this winter, on one of our first paddles our steersman asked, 'When does a paddle become a canoe race? When you see another canoe.' That's how it is in the world.

[PonoBill]

Yup.

All true except for one misstatement. There is no statute of limitation on Blame Gregg. I'm having stickers made.

And you get first dibs on the guest room.

[Blue crab]

Laszlo, you are getting annoyed at something that I don't really even think about.  Because I am generally slammed at work and in life, I get down to HR for 5 days each summer if I am lucky. I try to cram as many runs in as possible.  If I go with a friend or a kid, then I take my time and have a ball.  If I go alone, it is usually because my wife kindly dropped me off at Viento. I tend to gun it when I am alone out there because it feels good to get in a rhythm.  Plus we usually set a time to eat at Solstice or the Sandbar and I don't want to miss my family.  I rarely time myself but have started to do so a bit out of curiosity and because I recognized last summer that I have gotten a lot faster .

Everyone should feel free to have their own relationship with the sport.  For me, I could give a crap about racing and am just happy to be out there gliding.