Author Topic: Big Current  (Read 6863 times)

connector14

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Re: Big Current
« Reply #15 on: May 29, 2018, 12:36:17 PM »
I know this is all for fun and fitness, etc. but do you use anything to track your stats such as average speed, stroke rate or anything like that? I know the first time I did a Viento run (with a great bunch from Big Winds) I was doing over 9 mph when I did my first "wheelie" over the front of the V2 I rented. My heart rate got up to 175 on that run.....and I felt about dead after that first run. Can't wait to do it again someday before I can no longer "standup"!
I am currently using a Scosche Rhythm + and it "broadcasts" to my smartphone that is running Endomondo App and records all of my stats. I also have a Garmin GPS/Map 78sc on the deck and I can watch my heart rate in realtime on it as well as average speed and distance. It is waterproof. Keep my phone in a ziplock bag even though the S7 is supposed to be able to handle a splash or two...don't trust that.
I recently purchased a Garmin 735XT and my wife uses it and it seems to be working pretty well. You can watch hour heart rate in real time as well,  though I sometimes question the accuracy of these wrist based sensors. The Garmin has an SUP specific activity tracker that is pretty good.....shows stroke rate, distance per stroke etc. I tried a Samsung GEAR SPORT and I wasn't that happy with it.....I returned it and may get a Garmin like my wife's.
How do you track your heart rate while paddling? I have been looking for a usable, real-time heart rate monitor that is waterproof, and not having luck.
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2014 Bark Dominator 14....smooth and quiet
2014 Imagine Connector 14...the "barge"

PonoBill

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Re: Big Current
« Reply #16 on: May 30, 2018, 06:26:32 AM »
It was 499,000 today...

Bill, are you on wetsuit these days or the thoughts of that juicy steak keep you warm enough?

Spring suit. A 2/3. It's my permanent Orca suit that keeps me warms, though I've got a hell of a cold right now that probably has something to do with getting chilled to the bone.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

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Re: Big Current
« Reply #17 on: May 30, 2018, 09:17:06 AM »
It was 499,000 today...

Bill, are you on wetsuit these days or the thoughts of that juicy steak keep you warm enough?

Spring suit. A 2/3. It's my permanent Orca suit that keeps me warms, though I've got a hell of a cold right now that probably has something to do with getting chilled to the bone.

Cold sucks. Thanks for the tip. these suits look badass. I'll try to get one before hitting HR in a week or two.
Hope they'll be going easy on the current by then. I'll take 150 CFS over a steak  :)
« Last Edit: May 30, 2018, 09:20:19 AM by burchas »
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PonoBill

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Re: Big Current
« Reply #18 on: May 30, 2018, 08:49:40 PM »
150? In your dreams. I'll be thrilled to see 400.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

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Re: Big Current
« Reply #19 on: May 31, 2018, 07:12:04 AM »
150? In your dreams. I'll be thrilled to see 400.

I guess I was thinking late July like last year, oh well, I guess going on the right side of the river
for mid June is a better strategy?
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PonoBill

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Re: Big Current
« Reply #20 on: May 31, 2018, 07:26:08 AM »
Depends on what you want and how strong you're feeling. Tre Hendricks went up the middle last time I went. I was eddy-hopping with occasional forays towards the middle. The eddies are not the easy money they usually are--lots of current right to the rocks. The water is not only fast, it's deep, so the friction with the bottom isn't what you'd expect. This time of year, in this current I'd expect to smoke anyone that stuck to the middle if I eddy hopped, but Tre and I were neck and neck until we got to Mitchell Point where I went out far enough to clear the nutty current coming around the corner and then found some big bumps that got me all the way through with minimal fuss. Tre took a bit longer so I got a good lead. Then he took the inside line at the split rock and caught a massive reverse eddy up against the rocks that shot him through, I got stalled in the current towards the middle and never caught him again. He was a few minutes ahead of me at the end. I thought I'd catch him through the Wells Express but it was weird and hard with my long board and he pulled away.

The bottom line for all that narrative is that you can make any line work, and the best bumps are in the middle or left, but if you fall a few times (I fell eight times), or just poop out from all that high-cadence paddling, then welcome to the right side. I'll see you there--until the current stops being so crazy. When the big pulse of early runoff stops the current will drop quickly. Usually, that has already happened, but right now the river is super high chocolate milk with occasional logs mixed in to make it more interesting. When I paddled OC6 yesterday morning we stayed tight right to avoid the logs. I didn't see any yesterday, but a few days ago a lady windsurfer hit one and broke her wrist. It's a jungle out there. I'm going to go race my vintage car in Spokane this weekend. Seems more rational than trying to do a bunch of high current downwinders with the usual flock of loons.
« Last Edit: May 31, 2018, 07:30:04 AM by PonoBill »
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

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Re: Big Current
« Reply #21 on: May 31, 2018, 08:28:56 AM »
Helpfull info as usual. I'm all too familiar with slalom course from the Hudson (comprised of billboards, couches and the occasional corpses)
should fit right in comfortably :D

I guess with so much discharge you're not even bothering to time the runs? Usually you'll let us know when you made it under 1:20 ;D
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PonoBill

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Re: Big Current
« Reply #22 on: May 31, 2018, 08:38:31 AM »
2:20 is more like it right now.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

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Re: Big Current
« Reply #23 on: May 31, 2018, 09:06:58 AM »
Sh*t, that's like slow motion with some standing waves along the way... No chance you make it to the second shuttle.
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PonoBill

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Re: Big Current
« Reply #24 on: May 31, 2018, 09:12:56 AM »
Some of the less experienced folks are doing it in three or more hours. Some aren't making it to the event center at all.

It's been an interesting May. Kitesurfers that don't know how to self-rescue are getting washed down the river. With no sand bar yet, all the kiters are launching from the event center. They're saying "experts only" but I watched a guy get dragged across the grass yesterday. Good thing there was plenty of goose shit to lubricate him or he would have had grass burns. Something about the way he was screaming and waving his hands told me he wasn't really an expert.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

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Re: Big Current
« Reply #25 on: May 31, 2018, 09:18:44 AM »
 ;D ;D ;D

Who wouldn't want a front row seat for that shit show
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Zooport

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Re: Big Current
« Reply #26 on: May 31, 2018, 11:32:03 AM »
Hey PB, can you take and post some vid of your run tomorrow?  I've never been to the Gorge and would enjoy seeing those gnarly conditions in action. 
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connector14

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Re: Big Current
« Reply #27 on: May 31, 2018, 12:50:42 PM »
Pono......what site are you using for flow data? Is it pretty dependable?
"never leave the dock without your paddle"
Imagine Rocket 14 ...my new favorite, smooth and fast and lite
2018 Red Paddle 14 x 27 Elite
2014 Bark Dominator 14....smooth and quiet
2014 Imagine Connector 14...the "barge"

digger71

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Re: Big Current
« Reply #28 on: May 31, 2018, 01:56:30 PM »
Pono......what site are you using for flow data? Is it pretty dependable?

Sure Pono will chime in if I'm wrong, but this is the one I had bookmarked from my trip last year.  Discharge rate at The Dalles - nearest damn upriver of the town of Hood River.

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?cb_00010=on&cb_00060=on&format=gif_default&site_no=14105700

Just think about that number though - 400,000 cubic feet per second!!  That's almost 3 Million gallons of water every second.  Sheesh! 
« Last Edit: May 31, 2018, 02:01:39 PM by digger71 »

connector14

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Re: Big Current
« Reply #29 on: May 31, 2018, 04:50:22 PM »
When the wind is whipping straight up-river that makes for quite a collision......no wonder it can get to be like the inside of a washing  machine!!
"never leave the dock without your paddle"
Imagine Rocket 14 ...my new favorite, smooth and fast and lite
2018 Red Paddle 14 x 27 Elite
2014 Bark Dominator 14....smooth and quiet
2014 Imagine Connector 14...the "barge"

 


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