Author Topic: AWSI is over, so now the wind can pick back up  (Read 1126 times)

PonoBill

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AWSI is over, so now the wind can pick back up
« on: September 13, 2021, 07:04:24 AM »
The standard Gorge wind returned yesterday after a week of punky junk. Last week there were a few bright moments, but it was hardly what anyone who lives here would call good. I spent most of the day at my shop, working on my new Boosted Foilboard, but the big rollup doors started rattling about noon and got serious about it at 1:00, so I headed to the event center to get wet.

I didn't expect too much, so I was quite delighted to see a river full of whitecaps and some clearly nutty stuff up at the hatchery. I got my board and foil carried down to the bank, but wound up talking to FLkiter who was here last week with the Axis crew for the AWSI show. Nice guy, very capable, and interesting to talk with. He offered to let me borrow his 999 wing, which was tempting, but I planned to do a lot of upwind/downwind runs, so I stuck with my own toys.

I finally got in the water about 2:00 with a 4.2 Strike and the 980/390 foil combination. Easy money in the brisk wind. Not what I'd call nuking, since I didn't have to break out the 2.8 or even the 3.5, but some solid gusts, and the swells up at the upper hatchery were respectable and super fun.
I made most of my switchfoot jibes, so that was good.

I did a couple of long upwind/downwind runs but I started getting cold (big sissy) and hungry--I hadn't eaten anything but a Macintosh apple all day. So I bailed to head home to warm up and eat.

FLkiter was still there--no, I don't remember his actual name--and we wound up talking again. Turns out he wasn't in any hurry to leave, he just had enough of our "cold" water.  I should have borrowed that 999, though I wouldn't like to have scratched it up, which is always a possibility with the highly variable water level in this hydro dam-controlled lake we call a river. If they need more electricity from Bonneville Dam I'm likely to hit gravel coming in. Somehow another half hour passed, but at least I was wearing dry clothes.

I'm looking forward to getting a 999. I meant to see if I could grab the one I scratched instead of Axis shipping me a fresh victim, but I didn't get back to the event center before Axis had struck camp. Evan Mavridoglou, if you're reading this, please substitute the scratched one in my shipment of new toys. It will fit in fine with the rest of my beaten-up gear.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2021, 07:09:29 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.

PonoBill

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Re: AWSI is over, so now the wind can pick back up
« Reply #1 on: September 13, 2021, 07:10:36 AM »
Looking good already this morning. Yea!!
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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