The word was out; Doug’s was the place to be on Saturday. It was a Canadian long weekend and our friends to the north were here in force. The parking lot was full by 11 am and just finding a place to rig a sail was a challenge. Checking the wind speeds at 1:30 showed that the Hatchery was in the mid 20’s, but Doug’s was averaging 36 and gusting to 42. This is why the Gorge is the place to be in the summer. David and Graham were at the Hatchery for the morning session, but were headed east after a quick phone call. This was the day Graham had been waiting for on his first trip to the Gorge.
Jamie spotting his landing.
Guys had started the day on 4.7 to 5.0, but by the afternoon they were on 3.5 to 4.0, and lighter sailors were looking for 3.0 and smaller. Jamie from BC (July 3 blog) was back for the weekend and took out a 3.5 SE. He did an outstanding job of ripping the big swells and going for bigger air. He was impressed with how the 3.5 had the same solid power and feel of the bigger SE’s, while still controlling the 40+ mph gusts…”pretty amazing for a small sail”.
Graham on the 2009 Panther.
When the Ezzy family arrived, Graham quickly rigged a 3.7 Panther and headed out to find some famous Dougs’ swells. David went right to “work” answering questions and helping people rig their sails. David loves to sail, but I think he enjoys helping people get it right with their Ezzy sails. Besides, who better to help you rig your Ezzy sail, he definitely has the touch and eye for making it right.
Out on the water Graham was doing what he came for…applying some Maui magic to the mighty Columbia. Entertaining to say the least, was the feeling we all had watching from the rocks by the marker. He joined the other sailors who were going big and carving hard. Here are some pictures.
They don’t have these in Maui.
The day was topped off by a parking lot party at Windance back in Hood River. Dave Nunn and his staff hosted an evening of food, refreshments, and windsurfing fellowship after a classic day on the water. It was like the “old days” at Windance with the classic movie, “Hard Winds a Blow’in” showing on the side of the building and David Ezzy rigging the new 2009 Panther…it couldn’t have been any better! See you on the beach, Gary & Nancy
