How NOT to Launch

Just in case you were wondering, this is not how a boat should be launched

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Second Hood River Race

I participated in the second race in the Hood River Big Winds series on Thursday, June 25th. I love the idea of a race series on Thursday night. Nothing much else going on, it stays light until ten in Oregon this time of year, and it’s a reasonable after-work drive from Portland. Diane packed a picnic dinner, we tossed the dog in the truck, picked up the grandkids from the OMSI Summer Science camp (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) and headed up the gorge.

We got to the registration in plenty of time, had a quick dinner by the river, watching the kite and wind surfers, and headed for the hook.

“Does this shirt make me look fat?” No, the french fries and beer make you look fat. Grandkids!! What could be cooler. Ian is the munchkin on my right, James is the bigger dude on the left. My two oldest grandsons. And that’s Michi Schweiger and Dave Kalama in the background.

While I was getting the board off the car I noticed two SUP paddlers rounding Wells Island. A few minutes later they showed up on the shore–Michi Schwieger and Dave Kalama. What a surprise. They had been at the first race along with Robby Naish, and I knew they were headed up to Canada to poke around, but I didn’t expect to see them back for the second event.

Lee Murry is the only other representative of the geezer contingent. Apparently Lee and I were separated at birth, though we just met at the last race. He windsurfs, surfs, races cars, and does SUP.


The ladies start. Love the grass skirts.

Since there was no elite paddler class this time Dave and Michi took off at the same time as the women and juniors, and just cruised with them, providing tips and encouragement.

Dave and Michi started with the ladies. Smart guys. A lot easier to look at them than me doing my imitation of a bratwurst

Men’s start. I thought my paddle made a little creaking sound when I started, but it was fine. Probably my shoulder.

The Men’s race started ten minutes later and I pulled into a comfortable early lead, rounding the tip of the hook well ahead.

Too bad the race didn’t end right here. I had ‘em

Ooof. Like someone shut a door in my face

Then we hit the wind. I’d say it was blowing twenty knots. I’m guessing twenty because it felt like thirty. I dug in and paddled hard, but two young whippersnappers got past me and pulled out a little lead. I could see a wind shadow near wells island, but there was also a lot of side swells. After a long grind I finally reached the shadow, wobbled off balance as the wind shut off and promptly got knocked off by a swell. Five paddlers got past me before I regained my feet and started paddling hard for the buoy.

Stroking for the wind shadow and the buoy. I fell about ten seconds after this shot. I’m the moose with the yellow lei

After rounding the buoy I slowed a bit to catch my second wind, then started stroking hard, working to catch the little runners. I did a lot of short stroking into the swells, then quickly turning on the face to extend the run and build speed. It worked pretty well, You can see from the GPS track that I got a lot of runners and maintained a pretty high speed. I passed my way up to fourth from eighth.

The leaders crank through the slot headed for the crosswind buoy

Gee, think I’m a little heavy for this board? There’s a tail back there somewhere

I started catching up with Dave Kalama in the downwind section–he was standing on his board with his paddle up catching wind, talking to the woman in last place and giving her tips on paddling. He was moving almost as fast as I was. What the hell is with that? I didn’t pass him until the last upwind section, where I was two strokes from blowing a gasket and he was still chatting calmly. Clearly he’s made some kind of deal with King Neptune.

Dave was taking in the sights when I paddled past him. Dave: “Oh, oh, here comes trouble. Howzit goin Bill. Hey what size board is that. Nice night, huh.”
My reply “arrrgh, uumph, gaaack, ummph”

Skye Robbins takes the women’s win for the second week in a row. Must be that grass skirt

The leaders were just ahead of me heading for the last stretch. I had some thought of beating them by making an all out effort–as if they wouldn’t be also. I nearly got the guy in third, but he saw me coming and redoubled his efforts. We crossed the line about two board lengths apart.

I actually entertained some notion of catching the leaders–lunacy induced by oxygen deprivation. The camera angle makes it look like I’m leading the guy in third (on the far right) but I never got ahead of him.


Our winner Nick Stuart

Second place Rob Parmenter

Third Owen Macdonald, and fourth, me. Owen had a bit left for the end. I suspect it was a fine motivator that I’m twice his weight and three times his age. No way he was going to let that fat old bugger get by him.

Fun race. The short length and high average speed belied the difficulty. It’s not easy. 1.9 miles in 24 minutes with an average speed of 4.6 knots. But it’s a true sprint–I had nothing left when I crossed the line. I think this is another good format for SUP racing.

This is a really fun series. If you’re anywhere near Hood River you need to get down there for it–there’s five more races to go. I didn’t make the after party this time because of the grandkids, but if it was anything like last time then it’s excellent too. A long honored tradition of Hood River–any event requires a really fun after party. I’m going to miss the next race–I’ll be up near Seattle for the Northwest Historic Races (vintage cars) but I plan to make the rest. For more info go here:

Paddle Oregon Invites SUP

Paddle Oregon, the premier canoe and Kayak adventure on the Willamette River is accepting reservations for their annual 90-mile, five-day trip. And for the first time they are accepting Stand Up Paddle surfers. This is a comprehensive excursion, including delicious northwest cuisine, daily baggage shuttle, safety paddlers, camping accommodations, showers where possible,entertainment, t-shirts, reusable lunch bags, ACA insurance coverage and logistical support.

From the website: http://www.paddleoregon.org/
Now in its 9th year, Willamette Riverkeeper™ is proud to present PADDLE OREGON as the premiere canoe and kayak adventure on the Willamette River.

Participants camp together and eat delicious catered meals, enjoy nightly speakers and entertainment, learn about river issues and ecology, and share this one of a kind experience with fellow paddlers. This year’s trip will begin at Marshall Island Access (north of Eugene), and will end at Willamette Mission State Park (north of Salem) for a total of 96 river miles. Your participation supports Willamette Riverkeeper’s work to protect and restore this amazing Oregon River.

Monday August 17th to Friday August 21st, 2009

REGISTRATION & OPTIONAL FEES
Paddle Oregon Registration: $595 (Adults)
Early registration: $570 (postmarked by May 1st)
Paddle Oregon Registration: $500 (Youth)
Registration includes delicious northwest cuisine, daily baggage shuttle, safety paddlers, camping accommodations, showers where possible,entertainment, t-shirts, reusable lunch bags, ACA insurance coverage and logistical support.

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Paia Inn One Year Party and SUP Race

Paia Inn is where I would stay if I was going to Maui and didn’t have a house within fifteen miles of Paia. Great place, very lively, private beach access to a nice break. Perfect place for a SUP vacation. We reviewed it about a year ago when they first opened, and just love the place. Right next to Lightning Bolt Surf shop and right across the street from Anthony’s, the world’s finest coffee joint. They used to throw really great parties on Friday night, but it got a little too big, so that had to chill. But parties are clearly in their DNA, and they’re having what looks like a great one for their first year anniversary–including a SUP fun race sponsored by Naish.

My prescription for economic doldrums. Go to Maui, stay at the Paia Inn, surf and downwind your guts out every day, and time it so you can do this. May not change your economic situation, but at least you’ll be happy. Here’s the details:

SUP Sprint Racing

I beat Dave Kalama at the inaugural Big Winds SUP race in the Columbia River Gorge at Hood River. Finished about five minutes ahead of him–long enough to get off my board, walk up to the deck above the river and take pictures of Dave, Robby Naish, and Michi Schweiger crossing the finsih line. So I’m going to share my simple recipe for how to beat these guys:

1. Good board
2. Lots of practice
3. Short race
4. and most importantly, a ten minute lead.

Here’s a blow-by blow of this very fun event.

I heard about the Hood Sup Series on the last possible day–a press release posted on the Standup Zone (http://www.standupzone.com) said it was June 18th, and that Dave Kalama, Robby Naish, and Michi Schweiger would be there. The prospect of a race sounded great, and it just happened that I didn’t have anything too pressing to do that thursday night. It’s an eight-race series, which sounded even better. Hood River is 72 miles from my house–about an hour and 20 minute drive if traffic is good, but planning to arrive at 6:00 PM could be problematic, the freeway that heads up the gorge gets jammed with traffic at rush hour. So I left at 2:00 PM for a 6:30 race meeting, and arrived way too early. I got signed up, drove down to the Hook where the race was going to start, and just hung out. I should have brought a sail–any sail, and sailed my 12′2″ starboard, which is great fun.

I had plenty of time to look over all elements of the course, which is pretty short–about 2 miles. The prevailing summer wind in the gorge is against the current–west to east–which punches up nice standing swells for jumping with your windsurfer or kite. And the wind is frequently strong enough to blow a dumpster across the parking lot (which I witnessed years ago at Rooster Rock). The race started with a run along the inside of the hook, carrying a buoy on the port side, sheltered from the gale by the large berm of this artificial peninsula, then turned the corner into the face of what felt like at least a 20 knot wind.

The run to the next buoy was also against the wind though it might be buffered slightly by Wells Island just to the west if you took the proper angle, and from my windsurfing experience I knew there are some funny currents close to Wells that might help or hurt. Once the buoy near Wells was rounded it’s a straight downwind run to the event center slot. This is an odd place. Right off the end of the parking lot called the Event Center is a sandbar that kitesurfers use to launch. The sandbar goes well out into the river. Near shore there is a twenty foot gap in the bar that’s about six feet deep at the center. It’s rocky near the shore and shallow near the bar, so you have to go through this section with some caution and precision. It also angles somewhat to the current.

Once through the gap it’s a short spurt to the next buoy which you take on the starboard side, then a sprint crosswise and slightly against the wind to the bouy at the end of the inlet, around another buoy to starboard and a sprint more against the wind to the finish buoys.

I waited around on the hook for a while, then realized I had more than an hour to the race meeting, got bored and cruised up into Hood River. What a lively place Hood River is during the summer. Stuff going on everywhere. There was a skateboard clinic going on, crowds of great-looking active people wandering around. Like a ski town in winter, only in a lot less clothes. I got an ice cream at Mikes–one of those “gotta do it” places. Like eating breakfast at Bette’s in Hood River.

Didn’t really need an ice cream just before racing, but what the heck.

I wandered back to the hook and people started showing up. Soon there was a surprisingly large crowd. I had jersey number 46, and there were a lot more people that signed up after me.

You can see my Starboard Point to the left hand side of the launch area. Most folks were on standard boards, though the Naish crew had what looked like Glides. Looks like I brought a gun to a knife fight, but really, with my weight on it, the Point is no faster than the 12′2″ Starboard that I also brought. The advantage is that it’s a lot more stable and it has steering which is handy upwind and for rounding buoys, so I decided to use it. I also brought my S.I.C. F18, but elected not to use it, both because it would seem like overkill, and because I suspected it’s thick sides and long length would be hell in the crosswinds.

After a brief meeting the ladies and juniors took to the water and were off quickly in surprisingly good order. The Men’s group was starting five minutes later, so I got onto my board and got a good position in the lineup, on the inside of the group. On the horn I started paddling like heck, but a small group of lightweight younger guys (actually, I think everyone was younger) got a fine start and pulled away smartly. I redoubled my efforts, bounced off another determined paddler rounding the buoy, and headed for the hook in about tenth place. As soon as we rounded the end of the hook the wind blasted right into our faces. I crouched down and stroked hard, and was surprised to see most of the guys drop to their knees and continue paddling. I didn’t do that–two reason: 1. It’s called Stand Up paddling, and 2. I wasn’t sure I could get up again. So I pushed on, managing to pass a few people and using my rudder to get a good line to the buoy. When I finally rounded the buoy the leaders were about 50 yards ahead. They popped to their feet and started really moving. I was paddling hard but the long pull had taken a lot of wind out of me. There were some tiny following swells being created by the wind on the outside line, so I paddled out and tried to catch some even though their angle was wrong–they were angled towards the middle of the river. I recalled what Jeremy Riggs told me once about riding swells at an angle making you faster, so I tried it in these ankle-high swells and it worked! I was able to catch quite a few runners that let me catch my breath and helped me haul in the leaders. I passed four people quickly and had just three in front of me. As it happened, I was on a swell when I passed the guy in third, and he yelled “Holy s&@t, you’re leaving a wake! How are you doing that?”

I figured I’d explain later.

We passed quite a few of the women and juniors, but off in the distance I could see that there were some serious contenders that we were not going to catch in such a short race. When we reached the slot I was ten feet behind second and perhaps thirty feet behind first. We rounded the buoy and I started stroking hard in the crosswind. To my surprise the guys in first and second dropped to their knees again and started stroking hard. I thought they would surely be disqualified, but continued to press hard. I didn’t lose any ground, and when we rounded the buoy onto the final upwind leg I gained a few feet and started thinking I might be able to at least take second. I started to close, but the wind picked up, and my progress slowed a little. By the time we went through the finish line buoys the gap was back to ten and thirty feet respectively. I cooled down, paddling a little in the basin, and then decided I should get some pictures of the other finishers, since I was carrying my iPhone in a waterproof bag.

I got up to the deck above the finish line just as Dave Kalama approached the finish line. “How cool is this”, I thought, “Not only did I beat Dave to the beach, but I can get a photo documenting it.” Believe me, it’s not likely to happen again. At Maliko I’d need about an hour head start.

Dave K catches his breath after the finish line while Robbie Naish strokes to beat Michi Schweiger.

Dave Kalama, Robbie Naish and Michi Schweiger

Some of the ladies make their way to the finish

The after party at the Pourhouse was really fun. Lots of nice folks. I talked for quite a while with Dave and Michi as well as some of the other competitors and a delightful couple from Arizona who have a house in Hood River. They even offered me a bed for the night in case I celebrated a bit too much, but I did more talking and eating than drinking, so I was fine for the ride home.

In all, an excellent first effort for Big Winds. I thought the race was going to be too short to be fun, but actually it was very interesting. The upwind legs made it tough and the short length made all-out effort a practical strategy. I certainly didn’t have anything left in reserve. Their organization was excellent too, and the party was a hoot.

For those of you that might be put off by the knee paddling, it won’t be a problem in the future. I sent Big Winds an email suggesting that they either not permit knee paddling beyond five strokes (as most races do to let racers get back up after a fall) or let everyone know that it’s OK. I got an email back immediately from Steve Gates saying: “This was the first SUP race we’ve put on or been in and we never even thought about knee paddling. But we did have a discussion about it earlier today and agreed it will not be allowed in the men’s divisions in future races.” That’s a good approach. While there were plenty of capable women and junior paddlers that didn’t knee paddle, some of them would have had a very tough time in the strong winds.

I’ll be making as many of the remaining seven races as I can manage. If you’re anywhere in the area you should too.

For more info click HERE

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts