VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

DAY 2 PISTOL RIVER WAVE BASH (Friday)


Antonie Martin's goiter out in front of the Beachcomber

The forecast for Pistol River Wave Bash Day 2 was for very light wind. Suddenly around noon, the wind came up from the south.
The crew and riders quickly set up in front of Inn of the Beachcomber in Gold Beach. ...read more.

[Vimeo]http://vimeo.com/274257464[/Vimeo]

PISTOL RIVER WAVE BASH DAY 3 (Saturday)
barefoot skatesailing



[Vimeo]http://vimeo.com/274351668[/Vimeo]

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PISTOL RIVER WAVE BASH DAY 4 (Sunday)
heats run


Pistol River forecast looked meek for wind in the fourth morning of the contest window but just after noon wind speeds rose enough to run pro men brackets and the first women’s heat in the light winds and decent swell. The pros delivered excellent performances including landed goiters, airs and carving wave rides.

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[Vimeo]http://vimeo.com/274513145[/Vimeo]

PISTOL RIVER WAVE BASH - DAY 5 (Monday)

Congratulations to Riley (tied 5th Amateur) and Jessie (7th Amateur)! See results. See more.

S1 – Cape Sebastien (2018 June 13)


Cloudy (with a chance of wave sailing). 24 hours travelling down. Had the post-travel-funk. Morning rain had cleared before I got to the coast. Arrived to find clean waves in Port Orford and light wind at the Cape. Opted for the Cape. A few lingering Pro’s, Redbaron, and a few of the locals including Luke. Some of the locals were calling it a sub-par session, but enjoyed getting wet and the clean modest waves and lighter wind made for a fun session. Lots of waves to go around. A few memorable rides. One gear-striping closeout (and swim). One folding on demo gear. Thanks to Fanatic Jonathon for the stubby 88 demo – fun board that (floats well for a 88 and felt loose on the wave). Thai food dinner in Brookings. Dark starry night at Harris Bar NFS site. All good!



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S2 – Cape Sebastien (2018 June 14)


Windy. Ran some errands in Brookings. Checked out the surf break on the south side of the river beside the harbour – nice clean lines that reminded me of the wayside at Port Orford. Also checked out the break at the Brookings sign north of town – peaky break that looked like Wick. Next stop the Cape. Arrive about 10 and it was windy already. Luke was already out with a few of the pros and he scored a few nice bombs. Johnny, Heather, and Vero arrived today to join the south Oregon coast party!

Decided to rig 4.0/92 – a touch light, and let the “hate” come to me. Super fun racing out with power in the inside gusts, not so much in the inside lulls (got rolled standing still in the impact zone during ill-timed lulls more than a few times). Saw Tsawwassen and his stunt double (KP) catch consecutive waves and a party wave. Tsawwassen seemed to like his Kode custom demo. Saw the pros throw down some moves I have never seen done at the Cape before – Takas, Gouters, back loops (landed cleanly) – super impressive to see it in person. Wind kept amping up. Even KP said it was “windy”. One guy did an unplanned downwinder to Pistol River (trouble controlling his gear on the outside). Good of Heather, and Vero to go down and give him a drive back. Called it after a spell of ‘full hate’.

Video of Antoine Martin at the cape that day can be viewed here.

Redbaron and Tsawwassen took to the water again, but I just wasn’t feeling the pull.


Then took a quick look-see at the south jetty and saw Dana take to the water but opted for Super Burritos instead (shredded beef with green sauce for me) then off the campo.


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S3 – Cape Sebastien (2018 June 15)


Firstimer. On the water before 9 am and overpowered on 4.5. Uber low tide made for some modest shore pound on the ‘flat’ conditions. Vero’s first wavesailing session and she did well – some down-the-line and even went for that ‘extra’ hit! Dana graciously offered to take some photos and even caddied my board up the hill. Took a second shift on 4.0/74 to take in ‘the hate’. Then off to Crescent City – the ocean was alive at Brookings.

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S4 – Crescent City (2018 June 15)


BYOT. We arrived to find the best conditions of the my three visits and ended up sailing the worst of the three. Jessie got the last of the good stuff then made the leftovers look easy (they don’t call him ‘the king of slog ‘n ride’ for nothing). It wasn’t. One carbon base was crushed by a mean growler (Tsawwassen’s). To make matters worse there seems to be a toilet paper shortage in Norcal – better bring your own! Grilled surf and turf on the beach thanks to Redbaron, Tsawwassen, and Johnny. Twilight drive and overnight camping to sleep amongst the giants in Redwood National Park. Time well spent in Norcal.

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S5 – Cape Sebastian (2018 June 16)


3.4. Surf check at Crescent City. Errands in Brookings. Wind/swell check at the rock. 215 mile relay team runners. One ‘cheerleader’ doing handstands atop rental van in wind gusting over 40 mph. Rigged 4.9/74 at the cape. Rigged down to 3.4 before took to water as the hate had arrived. Michael and Switzerland Michael were the first two out. Jessie brought back loop in nose first. Comfy (as can be expected for the cape) on 3.4. Jumps gybes and rides. Fun that! Switzerland Markus sailing 4.4! Just say yes to the 3.4!

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S6 – Cape Sebastian (2018 June 17)


Fathers (on the water) Day. Mellow, fun, gentle, playful, warm – all words heard on the beach to describe this session. First out then the whole crew followed on the freshening wind. Even rode a wave with two of my boards (one driven by Johnny).

Quotes of the day:

Clayton: “You guys choose a good week to come down – both wind and swell.”

Me: “Which do you like better the strong wind of yesterday or the gentle wind of today?”
Swiss Markus: “Strong wind good. Light wind good. Big waves good. Small waves good. Surf good.”

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S7 – Cape Sebastian (2018 June 17)


Gear rinse. Waited out the fog-powered ‘power hour’ of 4.2 while Jessie was out on the water. I did some landscaping instead. Once the wind backed a little I returned to the water for a short cool-down stint to rinse my gear. Shared a party wave with Swiss Markus. Saw Swiss Michael nail an air flaka. More fun in the sun!

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Kus - can we get a ruling on that C36 double session at the Cape yesterday?

nanmoo wrote:Kus - can we get a ruling on that C36 double session at the Cape yesterday?

Nice to see you are reading along Moo. Evening glass-offs aren't the same without you. For clarity:

• Wetsuit off.
• Dry clothes on.
• Left the site (on foot) to gather my landscaping supplies.
• Several hours and a meal in between.
• More than three reaches each session.

BTW there was a guy at the Cape yesterday who rivaled your Hindenburg skills. Luckily I was spared this time as it was between my two sessions and I was not on the water at the time.

S8 – Cape Sebastian (2018 June 18 )


Surf checks. Morning fog and south wind gave way to sunshine and glass for a SUP at the Cape following surf checks at visitor centre, Meyer`s Beach, Secret Cove, and the Cape. The XL south swell at the Cape won. All seven took to the water – Swiss Michael, Swiss Markus, Redbaron, Tsawwassen, Johnny, Heather, and I. There was also one local surfer out and Luke longboarding in Hunters Cove. Some bombs were caught and some smooth faces ridden but they proved hard to catch so wave counts were pretty modest. Still memorable. Post session surf checks at Pistol River viewpoint, Port Orford (creek and wayside), and Rocky Point, but nothing drew us out onto the water again. Also marked the end of the first wave of campers as Swiss Michael, Swiss Markus, Redbaron (may return), and Tsawwassen all headed north; and Johnny and Heather headed south (may return). Sad when the group splits. Safe travels all!

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S9 – Cape Sebastian – SUP (2018 June 19)


Content. Figured since I was now travelling solo I would stay at Turtle Rock RV Park, but when I pulled in and checked out the last available spot it just didn’t feel right. Stayed at the campo and it only felt slightly creepy being there alone. Decided to stay local and forego the trip north to Florence. Did laundry, assembled my 2018 trip playlist, and ran errands this morning. Arrived at the cape just in time to see the fog cap burn off the island to reveal glassy sets. Vintage station wagon drive-by signaled something special was going to happen today. A calmer (less competing NW cross swell), steadier (less roll) younger brother version of yesterday where almost every wave was up for grabs. There was still a variety on offer, but differences were not as extreme. Joined by a veteran surfer from SoCal who is staying in Port Orford who had stacks of local knowledge and was super chill. He was headed for Kissing Rock, but returned to the cape. Fun to have someone to share the session with.

Quotes of the day:

Hawaiian (who lives and SUP’s the south shore of Oahu): “Those are some nice looking waves! Where is everyone?”

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S10 – Crescent City – SUP (2018 June 19)


Glass Off (a real one). NW wind stirred things up at the cape just after we left the water and teased, but never amounted to much, but I was glad because I was curious to see what Crescent City looked like for an evening SUP. The peeling right that we saw at the north end of the beach was there again, only bigger. Took first few waves further to the south then gradually joined the pack of about six surfers hitting the peak of the right. Some friendly, some not so much, but all good. Scored more than a few and some were moderately steep with some torque, but slow enough that you could stay out on the clean face (if no traffic in the way). That was the icing on the two session SUP cake today. Low risk, high reward, super fun! Pelicans flying by in formation and an osprey dive fishing. One guy surfing in a shorty – looks like its officially summer in NorCal. One week in and just hit double digits today. A slower pace than years past, but that`s OK. Dinner at the Big Game Casino (three decent chicken tacos for eight dollars. Overnighted in the redwoods again. Planning on a surf check in the morning.

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Headed your way Friday, but probably start with Newport and Flo given the Cape will likely be flat.

I am heading South Thursday Night (June 21).
Will be in Gorge Friday, then the forecast will decide when I leave for the South Coast.
Hope to see many of the crew down there.
Seaweed forecast has a hint of SS early next week.

In hood for another day or so then headed back to the coast.