A Hot & Windy July In The Gorge – July 13, 2012

July has started off warm and windy.  The temps have been in the upper 80’s with a typical summer pattern of the best wind from Swell City to the Event site with a late afternoon push out to Doug’s Beach.

Windfest 2012

Last weekend the Columbia River Windsurfing Assoc. sponsored the annual Windfest at the Hood River Event site.  Windance provided the boards and we brought Tigers, Lions, Cheetahs and Panthers to the party.  Sailors had a chance to try everything from an 8.5 Lion in the morning to a 4.7 Tiger in the afternoon.  Several sailors who had sailed previous years Infinity, were surprised by the lighter weight, power and speed of the new Lion and Cheetah.  Saturday evening was topped off by live music, with our own Tim Ortlieb on drums.

Caroline from Vancouver BC takes the Tiger for a test ride. (She loved it!)

Monday and Tuesday this week were spectacular days at Swell City and the Hatchery.  There’s a reason that these are two of the premier sites in the Gorge.  There are a few days each summer when the wind and river flow line up perfectly and provide big smooth wells with winds averaging 30+.  Dennis, an Ezzy sailor from San Diego sent me some great shots taken at Swell by his wife Jill.  Swell City (hence the name) and the Hatchery have been going off every day this week.  I was there yesterday for demos and the stoke is flowing big time both on and off the water.  This is prime time in the Gorge!

Dennis will remember this day at Swell! The Gorge at its BEST.

Here’s a fun side story that happened last week.  Doug’s Beach is one of my favorite places for demos and sailing.  Last week I read a post on the iwindsurf forum talking about problems with the wind sensor located on a channel marker near the Doug’s launch.  The following day while doing demos, I walked out to the point and here’s a picture of what I found.

We share the Gorge with some special friends.

A pair of Osprey have built a nest on the river marker (57A), and as you can see, the female is sitting on the nest while the male is using the wind cups for a perch.  So if you look up the wind graph for Doug’s Beach 57A sensor and it shows drops to 0 kts, you can just smile knowing the Ospreys are home.  Iwindsurf has a different designed wind sensor, but can’t install it until the family leaves in the fall.  The good times keep rolling in the Gorge, see ya on the beach, Gary