nanmoo wrote:Those photos in the first link look frightening, if it's like that I am sticking to the cape!

guess I'm a wuss too Tony.....or maybe we have a keen sense of self preservation doesn't look all that windy so it'll be tougher to escape the macker, we shall see.

Hoping for Flo area anyway

BIG RAMPS=BIG AIR javascript:emoticon(':D')Should be a ton of fun! Can't wait see you all down there!

TrunkMonkey wrote:BIG RAMPS=BIG AIR javascript:emoticon(':D')Should be a ton of fun! Can't wait see you all down there!

Agreed!

BTW, skunk skunky in the Gorge today. Hoping to sail tomorrow; early departure for Pistola Tues AM.

May have to start paying rent at Doppio. At least my caffeine levels are topped up.

This is my picture of Young Fiona Wylde heading out for her heat

http://www.islandnet.com/~rkashino/pist ... 010_10.jpg

RK

I registered for the competition as well, looking to light it up in the womens division, I'm told that unlike the olympics, there will be no gender testing at Pistol River.

See everyone in Oregon.

I've got some honeymoon stoke to send back Victoria way! I went boarding on the Rio Vista Ca yesterday, big wind, big chop, freshwater and some really friendly people made it a wicked experience. Pistol river 3 days ago.... So fucking awesome!!! Big sets rolling through, lots of waves to choose from and big predictable wind.... It was my best session ever!... Anyway, Also got out in Florence, the wind was too light for me to battle through the waves and still stay upwind but if the wind was a little stronger all along the Central to Northern Oregon coast is just epic conditions for wave riding. We've got a 10hr drive today to get to Hood River but we'll probably just stay in Portland tonight, So with any luck I'll get a session on the river tomorrow and another in Bellingham tuesday. After that the wind will be steady for the rest of the summer in Victoria.....right?

Hope you guys have a great time and good luck to all of you in Pistol River. This gotta to be the worst timing ever for this USAR/Tech Rescue trainning. Will catch you guys later this summer in the Gorge or Coast.

Serious drag, Dan, hope to see you out lateron in July/Aug.

Too bad Dan...Ohhh the sacrifice to be a dangler! Hope it's worth it? Good luck!
Ewart

5 Things I learned or re-learned at BWD wavesailing camp this year:

1. The first Mexican food place run by a Mexican family is much better than the second Mexican place inside the sea star pub run by some fat white people.
2. The Cape is my favorite spot - anywhere - hands down, despite being sharky.
3. Getting douched in the river mouth is refreshing.
4. A certain not-to-be-named pro is a douche, whereas the rest are really, really nice, especially Josh Stone, that guy must be related to Sandy Beach.
5. Never borrow Morewinds Nalgeen bottle.

My 2011 Gorge/Oregon trip is now officially over. I am back to the land of cloud and self-serve gas stations. It feels a little more than strange not to drive for 6 hours and sail twice each day this week.

First off, I wanted to say “thank you” to the BWD crew! I can’t say enough about your group – solid people all and solid sailors all! I can’t imagine three trips down in a year! I am not sure I could take it mentally or physically.

My reason for going on this trip was to: challenge myself (check); learn (check); and have fun (double check). Mission accomplished! Funny though, I am already starting to think about next year – still so much to learn!

I said to BWD that if there was a prize for the ‘most washes’ on this trip I would win hands down. BWD replied by saying, “If you are getting wet you are learning.” Well, I must have learned A LOT then!

There is one other quote that sticks in my mind from the trip: Wind Doctor said, “I am just learning to wave sail.” My reply was, “You are already there!” Wind Doctor rips! But that is pretty typical of the group: solid, modest, inclusive, and willing to help you along – an awesome experience meeting those that I did. I really appreciate all the support I got from your group.

As a thank you to the group I have:
a) Made a modest donation to the BWD site (to help nudge it along). I feel a little guilty about this one, kind of like when you buy a Christmas present for some else knowing you are going to use it too.
b) Posted some highlight pictures here (I “narrowed it down” to about 100 in eight galleries here at BWD). I will try to chip away on labelling these as time permits. If you feel some are not worthy of being here let me know and I will delete, as required.
c) Posted all pictures over at flickr (so even those that may have value to you can be downloaded). Click here to view. Note I may only keep these up until about mid-August, so get them while you can!
d) Here is the link to my windsurfing log for my trip (I promised I would post it so it might help provide some material for the “blues” song). This one is the first for the trip and the other 10 are listed on the right side of the screen. But be warned one person referred to these as ‘novels’.

Here are a couple of trip stats from my trip that I was reflecting on:
• 3,000 km driven
• $1,000 in windsurfing equipment (replacement/upgrades)
• $800 in travelling costs
• 110-72 litres was the board range used
• 92 litres was the average board size
• 40 knots (estimated) was the maximum wind speed
• 23 hours total time on the water
• 11 sessions in 8 days (each posted within 24 hours and all included air time)
• 10 members of the Big Wave Dave crew met
• 7 sessions on the Oregon Coast (in waves) at 3 different launches (Pistol River, Cape Sebastian, Florence – South Jetty)
• 7/3/4 were the times 5.0/4.5/4.0 were used
• 5/4/4 were the times 110/85/74 were used
• 5.0 – 4.0 was the sail range used for the whole trip (all 11 sessions)
• 4.6 m was the average sail size
• 4 sessions in the Gorge (all in rolling Swell) at 4 different launches (The Hatchery, Waterfront Park/White Salmon Bridge, Arlington, Swell City)
• 2 states sailed (Washington, Oregon)

I hope you enjoyed some of the stuff posted, I know I enjoyed collecting it! And if you are one of the luck ones who is going down again this year, please take a ride for me when you are there.

p.s. If I don’t response to messages over the next month it is because I am off the grid until the early part of August.

Awesome, glad you enjoyed yourself.

Wave riding is one thing, but getting repeatedly douched in the waves and living to tell about it is always the best part of the day anyways.

- Tony

Glad you had fun C36 and glad we to talk to you early on. Sometimes hard breaking into our tight little group.

Hope to see you next year. Watch for a thread similar to this so you can sync up with the trips.

-Mark

I'm not going to lie, as I sit in the lab here at UBC interpreting blood cholesterol data and relating it to frequency of ischaemic attack, I hate all you lucky BWD 2011 Coast trippers a little bit!! (All hate results for envy ofcourse!!)

My list is a little longer than Nanmoo's (likely because I had a LOT more to learn).

I thought I would write these down while they were fresh in my mind to use in future to refresh my memory. I am posting them here for the benefit of others thinking about a first time Oregon coast trip. If those more experienced with coast sailing (pretty much everyone else who went) have a different perspective or see something that makes them wince, please post your thoughts. I am sure others would benefit from your knowledge.

General
• Enjoy the moment – it is all good (even the washes)!
• Try stuff beyond your comfort zone (on and off the water) – you will be rewarded with many blessings.
• Travel with good people who know the spots you are going to – it makes a world of difference!
• Prep your gear before you arrive (repair, replace, tune).
• Start with setting up your gear the way you know it works for you at home and then make adjustments (this will limit the new stuff you are dealing with until you settle in).
• Take breaks – it’s OK, you are working hard.
• If the waves are overhead high and/or closing out, leave the PDF on the beach (if you are washed in the bigger waves with a PFD on you will be dragged by the whitewater and not released).
• Make sure your chin strap on your helmet is snug so that it doesn’t get pulled off your head when you get mowed.
• If you choose to wear boots, make sure to rinse the sand form you boots each night or your feet will get rubbed raw.
• The sand gets everywhere – take steps to minimize this (as suggested in the Oregon Coast Windsurfing Guide).

Rigging (at Pistol River)
• First time there walk down to the beach and feel the wind (if there is blowing sand in the air, I know it is 4.0 or less for me).
• Look at the river (to the north) from the parking lot to judge wind speed, direction, consistency, not the ocean – the ocean never looks all that windy to me unless it is cranking (this might save you a walk down to the water’s edge or a second trip back for a smaller rig).
• Rig in the ‘pit’ in front of the parking lot – there is some grass and it is sheltered from the wind.
• Do not rig or re-rig on the open beach (unless you want sand jammed into EVERYTHING) – even switching rigs can be tricky in the blowing sand.
• Rig so you have enough power to punch out through the waves (you don’t want to be bobbing in the impact zone) even though this may mean being overpowered on the outside (more of an issue at Cape Sebastian than at Pistol River).
• Peak wind seemed to happen about mid-afternoon each day, so rig accordingly. You might want to under rig if you arrive early and let the wind come to you (depending on how comfortable you are reaching the outside underpowered or slightly underpowered).
• If you are underpowered or overpowered, come in and take a break and see what the wind does, it might just be temporary – in general the wind seemed pretty consistent at Pistol River once it had ramped up and settled in for the day.

Punching Out
• Speed is your friend (as suggested by Fish) so don’t slow down for whitewater, don’t slow down for steep vertical faces – only slow down/stall (or chicken gybe) to avoid having a wave dump right ON you.
• Plan ahead, at least two waves ahead (as suggested by Fish) – have a strategy for each likely scenario (as suggested by Fish): small white water = pre-jump (as suggested by Russian Dude), steep wave = jump with speed (as demonstrated by Wind Doctor several time), closing out section = head down wind (as learned at SBX and suggested by Nanmoo), etc.
• Everyone gets mowed (although some more than others), if you have a chance to regroup and go again – do it quickly; if not - relax and enjoy the ride (keep the mast tip pointed out if you can and try to avoid tumbling with your gear). I got mowed dozens of times and had no equipment damage – thankfully.

Jumping
• It’s hard to practice forwards and backs when you are so focused on just getting to the outside on larger days – so if you get a smaller jumping day, take advantage of it!

Waves (Coming In)
• Watch for a set of big swell approaching while sailing on the outside and jibe in front of the first swell (and if you end up on the second or third that is OK as you are now on the swell train headed for the break).
• If you are looking for a smooth place to gybe, gybe just after the fist big wave of the set.
• Catching the last big wave in the set on the way in will make getting back out easier (small wave faces on the way out instead of hitting set waves on the way out).
• When gybing on the outside in sideshore or side-off conditions for the first time try releasing the sail earlier than you would in onshore conditions (or sailing in the Gorge).
• Starting on the outside heading in, work the swell to windward until it starts to jack (to gain some ground upwind) and moderate your speed (if you are on a swell you don’t want to outrun it).
• Don’t be afraid to overtake a wave from behind (so long as nobody else is around and in a better position to catch the wave) – this will greatly increase your ‘catch’ rate.
• Once on the wave, watch for opportunities to go down-the-line (look for clean sections over your leeward shoulder).
• Watch for waves that are about to dump and if they begin to through forward and close out - run away!

Have fun and play safe!

p.s. MikeC: I feel for you - but only a little bit as I have seen some pictures of the awesome sessions you have had in the past and hope there are more in your future!