Author Topic: That will teach me to brag...  (Read 1475 times)

PonoBill

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That will teach me to brag...
« on: October 13, 2020, 06:13:15 PM »
About the wind in Hood River. I came in with two 10" holes in my 3.5 wing today from my board getting blown over my head and landing on the wing. I foiled in with the now ventilated wing--it had holes on both sides. It was actually really nice, just about the effective size i needed--2.0 meters. It made me think about installing some zippers. If I wasn't worried about the holes ripping bigger I'd have stayed out. I have no idea what the instant velocity of the gusts were. I'm sure the average gust speed will be shown much lower--these were nutty powerful but short lived. Hmmm. Well, I just looked at it, and iwindsurf says it was 30 gusting to 50.

When we first got in the water I was on a 5.0 and Admin was on a 3.5. I was fully powered up and a little more, but it felt good--for the first reach. But on the way over to the washington side the wind built steadily and rapidly. The reach back to the Oregon side was insane. I was happy to head right in and go get my 3.5. By the time i got back in it was probably 25 gusting to 35. Spicy, but fine for a big guy like me. Just about the time I was thinking "this is so GREAT!" someone cranked to knob up to 11+ and all hell broke loose. The river cleared out. Pretty much just me and a kiter who was stuck over on the washington side getting dragged and dunked. And Admin getting blown onto the sandbar. I did three runs back and forth in a total maelstrom, laughing and yelling on the edge of control--big winds are the fat guys revenge, but i'm 30 pounds lighter and it seems to make a difference. I finally lined up the event center and came in like a bullet. I had to flare hard just to keep from running right up the beach (gravel--wouldn't be prudent).

I sat there for a while in the water, trying to decide if I was having fun or not. Then another guy went out and I decided I needed a few more reaches.

On the second reach coming back towards the Oregon side I saw a mongo swell that I just had to jump in on, I chased it down, turned on the face, and bam, got blown off the board. Should have dropped down further. Anyway, when I hit the water the board flipped and blew over me. Clipped me in the head a little and then fell onto the wing, stabilzer first. Fuck. It sliced through the canopy on both sides of the strut near the trailing edge. Session over. I foiled in and parked it.

So yeah. Sometimes we have some wind.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2020, 06:16:28 PM 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.

gone_foiling

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Re: That will teach me to brag...
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2020, 07:11:42 PM »
Omg, the wind you are getting is insane.. I was on my 6m tonight and gl240 catching some NW wind swells in the Gulf and it was the most blissful experience. That GL240 is magic in our neck of the woods.
Addicted to foiling at the moment.
My shenanigans on insta @gone_foiling

PonoBill

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Re: That will teach me to brag...
« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2020, 09:00:35 PM »
On the first reach at about 2:00 PM Admin and I took off at more or less the same time. I caught up to him, yelled the traditional "Ay Oh Rivahhh!" and zoomed by since I had 50 percent more power with my 5.0 and the wind was coming up. When I turned around after blowing the jibe, Admin was doing a very slick wide jibe and I expected we were both going to have a great session. Then the happy little wind turned into this in a period of about 30 seconds:

« Last Edit: October 13, 2020, 09:09:45 PM 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.

Admin

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Re: That will teach me to brag...
« Reply #3 on: October 14, 2020, 12:25:55 AM »
This is the graph I am getting.  Looks about right.  It was supposed to mellow out after that first blast passed through with the rain.  I thought it had but no such luck.  I rigged 3.5 for what I though would be a mellow session but that was 2.8 weather for sure.  Those gusts sure were powerful.  Today looks good!

« Last Edit: October 14, 2020, 12:32:55 AM by Admin »

 


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