Saturday/Sunday - Wrap Up

I got a text from Kent at 5:45am Saturday saying that he and Rene were leaving by 6:00.  Baine and Brad were leaving at about the same time.

I was just getting up, so a bit behind.  By the time I showered, cleaned up and hauled the last of my stuff to the van, it was 6:45.  I noticed that it was 9c when I pulled out.  A bit cool, but I am sure it will still warm up to the mid 20's in Hood River by the end of the day.

Ross was planning to do some final clean up (thanks Ross) and then leave midday.  He said he had to be in Calgary on Sunday so was not in a rush. 

Mike drove to Roosevelt last night and was going to leave from there in the morning.

I caught up to Kent and Rene in Cranbrook (probably because they had to go through all the water inspection stations), but I didn't see them.  I just got a text message that they were at the Taco Bell, while I was at the Tim's.

Apparently, Kent and Rene also ran into Blaine and Brad at the A&W in Red Deer.

It is funny how we can all travel the same road within a few minutes of each other and never see each other.

Our roads were pretty good, other than some smoke/fog/rain on 22x through to Nanton, and then from Lacombe to Camrose which had thick fog and poor visibility at times.  The temperature hovered around 2c, so while it was snowing at times, none of the snow was sticking to the ground and the roads were not slippery.

I got home around 11:00pm.  I imagine the others did the same.

My bikes were a mess, primarily because there is a two mile stretch of gravel between HWY 56 and our beach road, so there I was at 11:30pm, in shorts and sandals in 2c weather and rain/snow, pulling out our garden hose and washing off our bikes before I could put them in the garage.

I spent Sunday unpacking.  Most of the snow around our house has melted, and my grass is now greener than it has been all summer.  There were still snowman remains on several lawns in Camrose when we drove through on our way to Wetaskiwin to visit a friend Sunday morning, and as soon as we crossed the Gwynn Valley near Wetaskiwin there was snow on the ground everywhere. 

I had another "cool" experience on Sunday taking out our boat to warm it up, then loading it onto the trailer, drain the oil and winterize it.  The water was calm, but my fingers were freezing on the steering wheel while I was driving it on the lake, and I had no inclination at all to go for a ski or surf!  I will leave the dock and hoist until I have some help.

Kent said there was fresh snow on his boards when he unloaded his trailer Sunday.

Fresh Snow on Ken's boards Sunday Morning!

It was a great trip this year.  Some of the lightest wind ever, but with the foils, that doesn't seem to matter.  We sailed every day and had a great time!

I think summer is over in Alberta - I guess we have to start getting ready for winter.  I hope we get a few nice days before the snow comes for good.....

Ted

Friday - Exodous - Event Site and Exocet Board!

I knew something was up when I arrived at Dog River Coffee at 8:00 and I was the only one of our group there, and no one else arrived until almost 9:00.

I heard that Big Fin Jim, Cam, Eddy, and Harold had already left.

Those of us remaining, enjoyed a last breakfast at Bette's,

Apparently, we are getting noticed down here.  One local sailor came up to me at Roosevelt to talk about our foils.  He sails at Roosevelt all the time and was very surprised to see anyone sailing - never mind the whole crew!  Then this morning on the North West Wind Talk site there was the following post.

Kent is the sailor they are talking about!  

After breakfast, I went to Windance.  The board that I ordered in June, and which the shop sold the day before I arrived in September, finally arrived at the shop.  It is an Exocet AST 91.  Most of the gang showed up to watch me pick it up and set up the foot straps and fin holes. 

Windance owner Dave Nunn helping ted set up his new Exocet 91

I stopped at NSI to buy a nose protector for the board, and then at Sailworks, where Kent, Rene, Jim Mudry, and Bruce Peterson helped me install it.

From Sailworks, I stopped at Safeway and then headed to the event site.  Most of the guy's were already there rigging their foil gear.

Mike, was already up at the Hatchery.  He said he sailed on his 5.2 and could have been on his 4.8. Mike said it was some of the steadiest winds he has ever sailed at the Hatchery.

Ross had gone to Vancouver to do some glass work in the morning but then went kiting at the bridge in the afternoon.  He started on his 11m kite, but then had to switch to his 9m kite.  He said he had a great day.

Blaine, Brad, Rene, Kent and I all had a great day foiling.  The wind started light, then built to what I think was 5.6 windsurfing for me, and then later became a bit gusty.  I started out on my 7.0 and big front wing and then switched to my 6.0 and small front wing.  I think everyone had two or more sails rigged.  We all had a great day!

It is going to take me a while to get used to my new board.  It is a lot shorter, and a bit wider than my old board.  It is much easier to climb onto and uphaul, and I seem to be able to point higher into wind with it.  For the first day on it, it was great.  Too bad it took so long to get to me - really missed a full season with it.  Oh well, I may get a few more sessions yet before the water gets hard at home...

De-briefing after the Session!
Mike, Kent, Blaine, and Brad

Bruce, Dale, and Jim Mudry all joined us.  Jim spent a lot of time foiling with each of us, giving us pointers.  Kent chased Bruce and Jim around the river, playing a game of "Follow Me".  The idea is to get behind a person and stay there for a set time.  The person in the lead turns, jibes, and wave rides, trying to throw off the follower.  Kent said it is like an aircraft dogfight.  Lots of fun and develops turning and foiling skills  It sounds like fun.  I will have to get a lot better before I am able to play!

We finished sailing around 6:00pm and took our time de-rigging - having a few beers with Dale, Jim, and Bruce.

We went to Solstice for supper and had a great meal.  There were photos taken with talk of how we had to get the blog out early because of all the great sailing today, but no one sent me their photos.  I will post them in a future blog if I get them.  You really don't need a photo when you have good pizza, good friends, and great conversation!

We all said our good bye's and then headed for our respective condo's.  We are all planning on leaving early tomorrow morning, and we have lots of packing to do.

What a great trip!  Sorry to see the end of it, but I have to admit that l looking forward to getting home, even if there is snow on the ground.

Thursday Alberta Foilers invade and take over Roosevelt State Park! AGAIN!

Louise sent me this photo of our front lawn this morning....
Wow - not an incentive to drive home!
Maybe she doesn't want me back...

While the folks at home are dealing with snow and freezing rain, we have been complaining because occasionally we have had to put on a sweater, or long pants.  I have worn long pants and shoes and socks once in the last week and a half...  I guess we shouldn't complain...

Our day today started out with another very iffy forecast.  There was lots of discussion over coffee (at Dog River), and then Breakfast (at Bette's), about where to go sailing.  It was a given that it wouldn't be great anywhere, but some sites looked better than ever.  Would we really drive 80 miles (130km) each way to Roosevelt for a very marginal sailing day?  It turns out, yes we would.

Mike was already there.  He had been camping in the parking lot at Roosevelt for the last few nights.  It saved him a lot of driving as today would be three times in a row that we had all been there at 260km each day.    After a lot of humming and hawing, and a meeting at the Event Site, it was decided that the group would stop at Mosier, and if it wasn't good, we would head to Roosevelt.

Mike - Set up on the only flat spot in the parking lot!

Big Jim decided that he had had enough driving, and so he stayed at the Event Site for the day.  He foiled when the wind was up, and sat in the sun when it wasn't.  He said it was a very good day!

The rest of us arrived at Roosevelt later than we usually would - between 2:00 and 3:00 in the afternoon.  We were virtually the only ones there.  We met one other guy from BC who was trying to kite, but wasn't having a great day.

The Parking Lot at Roosevelt.
All of the vehicles are our except for the small car at the end of the line.

Speaking of Kiters, Ross went out on Eddy's 12m Kite and made it work, although he complained that he didn't have enough strength to power it up enough to do decent jumps.  Eddy went out, but didn't have enough wind and ended the day downwind.

Al and Harold went windsurfing.  Harold on his 6.1, and Al on his 6.5.  Both of them got planing, but also did a lot of slogging.  Still, any day you can get out on the water, is a good day!  Harold said he thought they planed about 25% of the time.

Harold heading out on his 6.1.  No whitecaps in site...

The rest of the gang went foiling.  Big Fin Jim was trying out his new board.  Cam, Kent, Blaine, Brad, Rene and I were also out there foiling back and forth.

Big Fin Jim after a day of Foiling

I had two sessions with a total of about 20km.  Not much compared to Kent with over 50km, but still a good sail.

We all seem to be progressing well with our foiling, with everyone able to foil most of the way across the river and standing up through our turns.  I suspect that the next step of foiling through our jibes will involve a lot of crashing!

We didn't get off the water until after 6:00pm, and the sun was starting to set as we pulled out of the parking lot, which was nice because it makes tough driving when it is right at the horizon in front of you as it had been the last couple of days.

Big Fin Jim - Re-Rigging to his 7.0

We got back to Hood River after 8:00, and quickly headed over to pFriem's Family Brewhouse for supper in order to get there before they closed.  (Last call is at 9:00).   For the first time, we had everyone together in one place for supper!  Well, almost.  Mike was still Roosevelt Camping, but he was replaced by another Mike.  Our friend Mike Pocock also joined us, which was a special treat!  Mike is a fellow Canadian, who we have known for years. 

Clockwise from 6:00:
A sliver of Al's face, Brad, Blaine, Rene, Ted, Big Fin Jim and Eddy
Mike Pocock at the head of the table.
Ross, Kent, Julie, Gerry, and Harold.
Big Jim was taking the picture (Thanks Jim),
and Cam was there, but just out of the frame.

Mike Pocock
Telling us about how they had to stick a big needle into his eye during the surgery
(and he was awake the whole time.....yikes!

He runs a specialty book publishing company, Books for You.  You submit your name and your wife or girlfriends name, and the books are all about you!  He seems to be doing well with it.  Check it out here.  He lives in Hood River during the summer and Belize during the winter.  Quite a life!  He had just had cataract surgery so was in recovery mode, but he said that one beer wouldn't hurt it.
It is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of our trip.  Al has to leave tomorrow, and a few others are thinking of leaving, depending on the wind.  I don't think we have ever had so much fun on the water during a trip with such little wind.  The foiling has really changed the dynamic of the trip!

Early to bed.  Looking forward to more sailing or foiling tomorrow!

Where would you like to be?  Here or at home in the snow?

Wednesday - Foiling at Roosevelt!

Foilers at the end of the day!

I rode my bike down to Dog River Coffee as usual, but it started to rain as I got there, and unlike yesterday when it rained a bit and stopped, it continued to rain all morning.

I worked on my blog and chatted with the guy's, until everyone started to move across the street to Bette's.  I took a break from Bette's to do some errands.  I rode back up the hill in the rain and was quite damp by the time I got to the Condo!

The forecast was for lighter winds than yesterday, and out East, so we all headed to Roosevelt, except for Ross, who decided that it would be a Glass Blowing Day.  (Yes Louise and Sue, he did remember to pick up our glass work!)

I got to Roosevelt around 2:00.  We had the park virtually to ourselves.  Most of the guys were either already out, or ready to go.  With the lighter winds, it was declared a foiling day!  Big Fin Jim, Big Jim, Rene, Kent, Blaine, Brad, Cam, and I all went out on our foils.

Gerry had a good day on his 6.6 Hucker

Harold was making his 6.1 work and Al tried his 5.5 and then went to his 6.5.  Gerry was going to take a rest day, but seeing us all on the water, decided he needed to take out his 6.6 Hucker with his Roberts board.  He made it work, although he said it was light at times.

Harold, Eddy, and Rene - recharging!

Kent was on his 4.8 Revo and his foil board and had a great time, foiling all the time.  Big Jim, Rene and I were on our 6.0 Flyers (oops - Sorry Louise, I forgot to tell you I picked one up this morning).   I had two great sessions.  While I am getting up and foiling without any trouble, from my track it is obvious that I am still thinking like a windsurfer.  I need to think more about going up and down the river!

Ted's Foiling track looks like he was windsurfing!

I'm not sure of the sail sizes, but Blaine, Brad and Big Air Jim were all out.  Big Air Jim was enjoying his new board.

Mike sailed early and then kited later in the day.  Eddy went out kiting as well.

Big Fin Jim, Cam, and Kent were the last off the water.  It was getting dark by the time we de-rigged and left the site.

Big Fin Jim, Cam and Kent - last off the water!

I know that those of you who are at home in the snow won't appreciate this, but I actually had to first turn off the air conditioning, and then turn on a bit of heat.  Then when I got home I had to put on long pants, socks, and shoes before walking up for supper.  I had forgotten how uncomfortable all that stuff is.

We went to the Kickstand Cafe for supper.  The burgers were excellent!  I suspect that it will become a regular stop for us.  They have a good breakfast as well!

The gang at Kickstand Coffee

Another fantastic day!  Fun had by all!

Big Fin Jim - making his new foil board work!

Brad was one of the last on the water!

Kent had another excellent day!

Blaine and Brad still seem to be suffering from Foiling Rash

Tuesday - Everybody on the water!

Cam - Enjoying his Latte at Dog River Coffee!

We really changed up our schedule today.  We still had Coffee, or in my case tea at Dog River Coffee, then a walked across the street to Bette's for breakfast.  But this time, Al's Van was blocking Blaine's van in the driveway, so Blaine and Brad had to ride their bikes downtown instead of driving.  It almost threw our hole schedule off.....  Of course, we still had the ritual gathering at Sailworks to discuss the weather and possibly purchase some new gear.   Finally the obligatory stop at Safeway for a sandwich and salad, and then off to the sailing site!

This is what $12,000 worth of Bikes looks like
All held to the post by a $20 lock...
Oh... and my bike was there too, I guess it was more than $12k

Today, the sailing site was Roosevelt.  We arrived at around 1:00.  The conditions weren't epic, but they were certainly sailable.

Mike and Harold were first out.  Mike on a 5.6 and Harold on his 4.7.  Al went out on his 5.5, Blaine on his 5.7 and Brad on his 5.2.  The wind was up and down a bit, but everyone had a great sail.  Brad, Blaine, and Gerry all sailed over 50km.  Wow.

The day was a bit up and down, but we all agreed that it was much better than what had been forecast.

It is interesting what foiling is doing to our group.  Kent, Big Air Jim, and Rene, all said NO to good 5.6 windsurfing, and decided to foil instead.

Big Air Jim (we might start calling him "Big Fin Jim") was out on a rented JP 135 board, Rene was on his 155 JP with a 4.2 sail, and Kent was on a 4.2m sail and his North Pacific Board.  Jim enjoyed the board so much that he and Cam plan to purchase one in the morning.  It is not for him, it is so he can get his grandkids excited about the sport. I guess you have to justify it somehow....

To say that Kent enjoyed his day would be like saying that the sun is slightly warm!  He was so excited that he couldn't contain himself.  He spent the day over on the Arlington side riding waves on his foil.  His track is amazing and so different from a windsurfing track.  He described riding waves on the foil, letting the sail flag out if he was overpowered, and still having to put front pressure on the board to keep the foil in the water.  He said that he fell 30% of the time when doing his bottom turns, but he is still getting the feel of it - and loving it!  He was like a little kid with a new toy!  (Actually he is an old man with a very expensive new toy...but still having fun!  The rest of us are going to have to work on getting our jibes down so we can do the same next year!

Kent's Foiling track - you can see his wave rides down by Arlington

I decided NOT to say no to 5.6.  My 5.6 Hucker is my favorite sail!  Even though we come to the Gorge for high winds and very small sails, I am still most comfortable on my 5.6.  I had a great day, making most of my jibes and feeling at home and in control.  I am not ready to give that up for foiling anytime soon - I don't think.....

Ted's Track.  It looks a lot different than a foiling track....

It seems that whenever there are kites around, there is always some drama.  One of the valves on Eddie's kite released when he was sailing causing his kite to deflate in the middle of the river.  Obviously, that is not good!  He had to swim to shore.  Ross sailed around him to keep him company, but couldn't get too close to shore or his kite would have dropped and there would have been two kiters swimming.  Kent took a rope down to them, but Eddy was already close to shore so they couldn't use it.  I drove down to the bridge and picked Eddy and his gear up and took him back to the sailing site.  This is not the first time that this has happened to this kite.  He thought he had the problem solved with zip ties holding the tubes together, but, apparently not.  Undaunted, Eddy re-rigged and went out again on a different kite!

Eddy - washed up on shore down river!

Eddy says he won't be using that kite again!

Most of us were off the water by 5:00.  The wind seemed to be lightening up.  Our kiter group, however, decided to go out for another session and made it work.  Cam was doing power turns like we have never seen him do before, and he was even trying some jumps!  Fun to watch!  He is looking like he knows what he is doing out there!

Brad was the last windsurfer off the water!

Mike decided to stay at Rowena for the night, but the rest of us, who don't have a mobile home with us, haded to head back.  We packed up and left the site around 6:00.  The original plan was for Mexcian, but the restaurant was closed, so we ended up at the pHriem's Family Brewhouse.

Great Day!

The End of the day!

Mosier Monday

Checking out the wind - a bit lite

Just like the movie Groundhog Day -  We started at Dog River Coffee, then walked across the street to Bette's for breakfast, and then the ritual gathering at Sailworks to discuss the weather and possibly purchase some new gear.   Finally the obligatory stop at Safeway for a sandwich and salad, and then off to the sailing site!

A great day!

The forecast was for wind with a Northern cant so Doug's wouldn't work.  The call was Mosier.

We arrived around 12:30.  I was the first on the water, which is very unusual.  I was on my 5.6 Hucker and Shark (big board).  Harold followed me out on a 6.1m sail, WTF, but he made it work.  I had a great sail - the edges of the river were a bit light, but the wind was solid and at times overpowering!  I sailed over 10km without falling in.  My left hand started to cramp, so I decided to go in for a break (and adjust my harness lines like I should have done on the first reach...).  As I came in, the rest of the gang headed out - mostly on 5.6 or 5.2 Sails.  I think everyone had fun!

Ted

I took a break and spent some time taking photos and videos of the guy's.  I ran into my friends Joe and Jane, who live in Mosier during the summer and New Mexico in the winter.  I met them in Costa Rica in 2017.  Joe is an excellent sailor.  It was great to catch up!

Kent  was ready to "Say No to 5.6 Sailing", when the wind picked up and he was able to go out on his 4.8.  I believe that he would have decided to go foiling instead of 5.6 winsurfing... interesting.

I went out again on my 5.6, and had one of my best sessions of the year!  I was racing back and forth with Kent and actually able to keep up!  I even jibed around him once when he was slogging, pumped back up to a plane and pulled ahead!  Not often that happens!  Of course he was on a much smaller board and sail - but still.....  I checked our Strava feeds, the max speed for both of us that session was 25.7kts (47.6kph).  Not bad for a big board!  Gery of course maxed out at 54kph, but hardly anyone can catch Gerry!

Winsurfer Brad, chasing Foiler Kent

Blaine, Brad, Mike and Gerry were ripping back and forth upwind.  Al had a great day and "stayed standing after a few jibes".  Rene was out for the second session and had a good sail.

Blaine, Blasting a Jibe!

Al - mid-Jibe

We had a bit of excitement when Eddy was kiting past Harold, and Harold did one of his mid-river Jibes with no warning and without looking.  Eddy yelled out and then bailed!  I was watching through the video camera, and I thought that Eddy's lines had caught Harold's sail - but they didn't actually touch.  It then looked like Harold couldn't get going after the collision.  We were about to mount a rescue operation when Harold got up and continued sailing.  (We found out later, that he was just holding Eddy's board for him while Eddy worked his way back upwind.).  Both Eddy and Harold claimed to be at fault - Eddy for getting too close and Harold for not looking before he jibed (AGAIN!).

Eddy - Coming in for a landing!

Ross was out boosting some big air and doing practicing back rolls.  He said he was kiting like a windsurfer - going back and forth instead of traveling up and down the river.

Ross, Showing Off!

Ross - Back Roll

Cam had a good day until, at the end of the day in lite wind, he was launching his kite when his safety released and his kite fell out of the sky.  He ended up going for a swim, then relaunched but didn't have enough wind to stay upwind so went for a long walk.  Long enough that Eddy took his kite bag down to him and walked back with him.

Kiter Cam - ready to go!

Big Air Jim has been having a run of bad luck.  First, his van and rig wouldn't fit under the bridge, so we had to ferry his equipment from the bridge to the sailing site.  Then he couldn't find his life jacket and assumed he had left it on the beach at the event site yesterday.  He headed back to Hood River to buy a new one, but it turned out that Brad and Blaine had picked it up, thinking it was Jim Cornish's.  They thought they would play a trick on Big Jim.  Well - it didn't turn out that way.  We were desperately trying to text or phone Jim to tell him that his life jacket was here on the beach. 

Fortunately, after he had gone to one shop, he got the text and came back.  Of course, he had wasted most of the afternoon, and by the time he got to the beach, the wind had lightened up and most of us were off the water. 

Ross, Rene, Gerry, Harold and Blaine

Being Jim and determined as hell, he first got his pumpkin (big board), and then when that didn't work, the took out his Titan (an even bigger board).  Unfortunately, it wasn't his day and he only got planing for a short time and then had an encounter with a fishing net.  Actually, both Big Air Jim and his Son-in-law Cam ended the day by walking back from the bay.  Cam said he wanted to make Jim feel good, so on his last kite session, way underpowered, he purposely ended up down at the river (about a 1/2 km downwind) and had a long walk back.

Big Air Jim, practicing his self rescue technique..

In spite of Jim's troubles, it was a great day, and the first time we were almost all able to sail together.  Ross, Cam and Eddy were out on their kites, |Kent went windsurfing, and then when the wind dropped, took out the same sail with his foil.  The rest of us spent the day windsurfing.  Jim Corning was the only one missing.  He had decided to go back tot he Event Site to try more foiling.  He said that he had a few good runs.

Jib'in Gerry!

We sailed until about 5:00, and then watched Dale Cook, and Phil Soiltysak, who arrived late, to put on a show for us!  Wow, what Phil can do in no wind is incredible.  There was no way any of us could get planing, and yet he was doing flips and other fancy tricks whenever he found a little gust.  Similarly, Dale cruised on his foil, almost never touching down, and even doing 360-degree turns.  Amazing!

Dale Cook - Smooth..

We de-rigged, and sat around de-briefing and talking about the day until almost dark - then headed to Sixth Street Bistro for supper!

At Sixth Street, we ran into Mike Pocock!  We had a good chat and talked about the possibility of foiling in Belize where he spends his winters!  Great to see him, we are going to try to arrange to have supper with him one night before we leave!

Another excellent Day!

Mike and Cam

Kent had a great day!

Ross had fun kiting like a windsurfer!

Blaine - growing a beard.

Ross - Blasting!

Mike, Joe, Jane, Brad, and Gerry!

Al had a good day!

Al - Blasting