Friday-Sunday - The Trip Home

I woke up to a smokey morning.  No surprise.  I left around 7:30am, leaving Al drinking his coffee and Ross, still in bed.  Al told me that Harold had left earlier with Jim and Cam.  Kent and Rene had also left at around 6:30.

Smoky morning on Wasco Street!

It didn't take long for Al to overtake me, and Brad and Blaine passed me a few minutes later.  I was letting the Seatrend board on the roof tell me what speed I should go - whenever I got going too fast, the board bag would start to make too much noise.

I got out of the smoke at about Spokane and had blue skies the rest of the way.  It was interesting watching the water bombers at Moyie Lake.  The whole community had been evacuated, so there was no activity on the lake at all except for the water bombers.  I watched four Air Tractors, and two CANADAIR CL215Ts landing on the lake to take on water for the fire.

If you are ever in Fort Macleod, this is an excellent place to eat!

I stopped at Fort Macleod for the night and then went to Keho in the morning for their kite festival. Unfortunately, there wasn't much wind, so there weren't a lot of people there.  I watched James barely make his 11 go, then Ryan took out his 12, then 14, then 17, and finally Jeff made it work with his 9m kite and foil kiteboard.  I obviously wasn't going to be able to do anything with my 12m.

The Keho Lake - Kite Ranch Camping Site.

Their Pulled  Pork BBQ had been postponed from Saturday to Sunday.  It would have been fun to attend, but I needed to get home, so after visiting with friends Kirk and Barb in Nobleford, I headed for home and arrived around 9:00.  You can check out the Keho activities on the Alberta Kite Crew Facebook page here.

There was a beautiful sunset just North of Stettler... I had to stop and take a photo.

Al texted me that he had made it home.  He was also impressed with the water bombers, and he had been treated to a great show by the Northern Lights just north of Calgary.

James at the Kite Ranch - also saw the Northern Lights.
I stole this photo from his facebook post.

Blaine and Brad also emailed some photos to me.  As usual, they stopped in Cour d'Alene for lunch at the Texas Road House - I think the photos tell the story.

Blaine had too much to eat!

Brad - Enjoying his steak!

Mike also emailed me.  He said that the fire has gotten closer to Hood River by Sunday, and that you can now see the fire line from the Hatchery. He got out on his 5.2 for a bit on the weekend.

Mikes photo of the fire line as seen from the Hatchery.

I woke up Sunday morning to a relatively warm day (15c in the afternoon) and some wind.  I couldn't resist and had to show Louise my new foil.  I had a good session on my 6.6 and Seatrend board with the Slingshot foil.  There were very few whitecaps - no way I would have been sailing without the foil.  It definately takes windsurfing to a new level.... sorry for the pun.....

Ted - foiling at home.

Getting a little close to shore....

That is a big fin...

Just a photo I found on my phone from the Mexican Night.
Alex with her $15 Bulldog Margarita...
(The next time we went it was $7, but had a smaller Corona bottle...)

Thursday, Foils, Kites and Big Board Sailing

Clockwise from the front left ....
Ted, Cam, Eddy, Kent, Rene, Al,
Gerry, Harold, Blaine, Ross, Handre, Brad, Mike and Jim! 

We seem to have run out of wind for the trip.  The forecast for today was light westerlies, with no more wind until Sunday.  Everyone is talking about packing up and leaving tomorrow, except for Mike, who is meeting his wife on Sunday to do some site seeing, and Ross, who has a flight home booked on Sunday.

Eddy rigged his chair and a book!

No one was in a particular rush.  We met at Dog River Coffee and then went to Bette's for breakfast.  As is was the last morning for most of us, even Ross decided to join us.

Foiling Gear all over the beach!

We met down at the Event Site to either watch or do some foiling.  It looked like it might be windy up at Swell City, so Gerry, Blaine, Brad, Al, Jim and Harold headed over to check it out.  Al went out on his 6.5m Sail and had a good session, but the others came back to the event site.

Jim from Sailworks, has been so helpful with getting into Foiling!

Cam, Ross and Eddy went over to the White Salmon Bridge to do some kiting, but it was very light, and only Ross actually made it onto the water.  He said he had  a fair kite for about an hour on his 11m kite but ended up spending most of it rescuing a board for another kiter.

Kent had an amazing day of Foiling with 4 hours or so on the water!

Kent was already foiling when I arrived a the Event Site.  The wind was light so I sat and watched for a bit before rigging.  I timed it - it takes about 45 minutes to rig my big board with the foil and get the sail ready - then haul the whole mess down to the water.  That is a lot longer than it takes to rig a windsurf rig.  Rene rigged at the same time as I did, and we both got out at about the same time.  We had a good session.  Both of us got our boards up onto the foils.  It is a strange sensation being above the water with no noise.  I was definitely more controlled than the day before. 

Blaine, getting some help caring the gear down to the beach!

Blaine - heading out!

After about an hour, the wind dropped off, so we returned to the beach.

We all sat around for a while, ate lunch, and waited for the wind to come back up.  I went back to the condo to pack up for the trip home and re-organize my van so I could load my bike for the trip home.

Handre and Jim headed off to have a grudge Tennis Match.  Apparently fitness and quick reflexes dominated in the end over strategy and raw skill.  South Africa  took the championship with a resounding win over Canada.  Ross and Cam went to watch and said it was fun to watch, although some of the language became a little colourful.....

Canada - looking mean!  Look at the concentration!
Apparently, he didn't move from that spot.

South African power and speed, won the day!

The Gallery - watching Blaine sail!

When I got back to the Sailing site, the wind had picked up a bit.  Jim, Blaine, and Cam all had their turns on a foil (courtesy of Sailworks), and all had some success getting the board out of the water.  Kent was out again and had a long session.  He was joined by Jim from Sailworks.  It was fun watching them race back and forth with no noise and no wake - just floating above the surface.

Ted's new Wake Foil Board - for Foiling behind a boat!
It will also work as a directional Kitesurf Board!
(it was a really good deal......Sorry Lou - forgot to tell you...)

Mike - keeping busy while waiting for wind!

Mike went out on his 12m kite and big board at the end of the day and had a good session for about an hour.

Mike on his 12m Kite

It was getting dark by the time we were all off the water and de-rigged.

Jim, Cam, Ross and Handre, went to Three Rivers Grill for supper.  They said it was excellent!  The rest of us went to Pelinti Pizza.  The salads were great and you got to watch the pizza dough being stretched and the pizza's being made.  It was reasonably priced too....

Everyone headed back to their condo's to pack.  Early to bed, as most are leaving around 6am so they can do the trip in a single day.

Safe Travels to everyone!

Kent's Truck. 
That bikini thing hanging on the aerial belongs to Rene
- a little disturbing....

Cam and Gerry both had good sessions on the foils.
Jim sent Cam out on the Foil, so that Cam could de-rig Jim's gear!

Kent definitely had the most time on the water!

Jim had fun Foiling!

Brad - feeling good after taking some medicine for his knee!

Sunset through the smoke and trees!

Fire, Smoke, and Sunset!

Wednesday, Hatchery Mayhem and Foiling Frenzy

Dog River for Coffee and then Bette's for breakfast - but in a hurry - it was blowing.

Most of us headed to the Hatchery.  It was a little hard to judge the wind strength because of the smoke, but it was definitely windy.  Mike was one of the first out on his 5.2, but came in right away to rig down.

Mayhem n the water!

I took out my 4.8 and Code (smallest board) and had a great hour.  I had some of the best, and also some of my worst jibes of the trip, but averaged on the good side.  I then took a break and shot some video - although, with the smoke, I am not sure how well they will turn out.

Mike - always seems to be able to sail, independent of what the wind does.

The wind picked up, and everyone started rigging down.  By the end of the day, Gerry had three sails rigged - he switched sail five times.  Handre only had two sails rigged, but also had two boards and was switching back and forth as the wind came up and down.

Rene had a great day on his 4.8 Hucker.

I went out again later on the same rig.  The wind had dropped a bit, so I was perfectly balanced and had a short sail until two barges came by - one from each direction.  I pulled in to the beach to wait for the barges, but the wind quickly dropped off.

My 4.8 and Code

Kent spent most of the day on his 3.8 sail and had a great day.  

There was so much gear on the beach at the end of the session that it was Mayhem!  Almost everyone had a couple several sails and a couple of boards on the beach.

Jim - caught with his mouth full - Lunch Time!

I think everyone was exhausted by the end of the session.  We sat around and had lunch trying to rehydrate and recover.

Gerry's Rigs

At around 4:00, we headed over to the Event Site to see if we could go out foiling.  Dale, Bruce and Jim were there.  Jim went back to the sailworks shop to get a demo board and foil for Jim, and a demo board for Gerry.

Brad - taking a mid-day nap - and resting his knee!

The Kites, Ross, Eddy and Cam joined us.  They had been at White Salmon and had had a great day. They had one session on small kites (Eddy was on his 5.0m), then went to for lunch at Manny's Lonchera (excellent taco's), and then had another session on larger kites (Eddy was on his 10m). We had seen Ross earlier as he had worked his way up to the hatchery late in the day, and given us a show with big jumps and wave riding.  He has sure become a pro - looks like one of the best on the water!

Harold - sad because he was 1/2 hour late getting out!

Harold - happy because he had a great day!

Alex had gone to Luhr Jenson Park to try out a Stubby board which she was demo-ing.

A "Foiling Frenzy" ensued.  We covered the grass with Sails, big boards, and Foils.  Kent, Brad, Jim and I all headed out on foils, while the others watched (I think a bit envious).

Kent is getting very good at his jibes.  I was starting to get the feel for it and was able to get the board off the water a few times.  It is a very eerie feeling as the noise stops, everything gets very smooth, but you feel like you are on the edge of a big explosion if you so much as twitch the wrong way.

Jim, who was on the foil for the first time, also had a lot of success and started to get the feel of it.  

 

Cam got out his kitefoil and thought he would give it a try, but the wind was a little light for the kite that he choose, so he didn't really get going.  He did start to get the feel for it though - it was his first time on a kite foil.

Kiter Cam - with his foil

It was almost dark when we quit.  While it was clear skies and sunny, you could see the smoke from the fire to the North over Hood River.  With the strong winds, the firefighters had lost a lot of ground, and parts of Hood River are now under a Class Two Evacuation Notice - they have to be ready to leave at any time.  Once again, I have to say that one feels a little guilty being on the water having fun, while such an emergency/disaster is happening only a few miles away.

Smoke over Hood River

Our Fan Club all left us to de-rig and headed over to 6th Street Bistro for dinner.  It takes even longer to pack up a foiling rig than a windsurfing rig (more junk on the beach), so we joined the rest about an hour later.

Alex told us she was heading home early the next morning, so said goodbye to everyone.

Some of the group went for Ice Cream.  Another late night - 10:30ish everyone was out for the night.  Great Day!

The sky as we were de-rigging!

The fire looks very close.  Taken from the Event Site!

Tuesday - Double Dip

You don't often you see the Paddle Wheelers at the Marina.
They have been moved from Stevenson because of the Fire Risk

The forecast was for wind in the Corridor in the morning, and then at Doug's in the afternoon.  Most of us met at Dog River for coffee as usual, and then everyone except Ross was at Bette's for Breakfast.  With 14 of us, it makes for a big noisy group.

It was very smoky to start the day, but it seemed to clear during the day.

Smoky

Kent, Rene, Gerry, Jim, Harold and I went to the Event Site so see if there would be light winds good enough for foiling, but the water was very flat and what wind there was, was coming from the east (wrong direction).  

Jim on the end of the point - looking upwind to see if there were sailors on the water...

I spent the time setting up my Seatrend (Foiling) board, installing a safety leash on the fin.

Around 11:00, we could see the wind line coming down the river.  It looked like the wind at the event site wouldn't gradually build, it would just turn on!  There were whitecaps up river, and it looked quite windy at the Hatchery and Swell City.

Hard to see the barges coming out of the smoke!

I packed up my board, and we all left for Swell.  Gerry was the first out - sailing his 4.8.  We all followed, most on sails ranging from 4.2 to 5.2.  Rene and I, being the "bigger guy's", were out on 5.6.  We had a really good hour of solid wind, but it backed off fairly quickly, so at 1:00 we were done.

At breakfast, we had all talked about going to Doug's, so Handre made the mistake of actually going there.....  I have made that mistake in the past as well....  just because everyone is saying they are going to a specific sailing site, it doesn't mean that they will actually get there.  If you are the first to leave, you risk being there by yourself.  After sitting at Doug's with no wind, he finally gave up and headed west to meet us at Swell City.  Unfortunately, he arrived just after the wind had dropped.  He took out his 6.0 sail, but there wasn't enough wind, so he couldn't really get going, although he did make it back to the beach without a long walk.

We sat in the shade to have lunch.  What to do?  Will the wind come back?  Should we go to Doug's where it was forecast to blow later?  Go to the Event Site to foil, or go to White Salmon to Kite (although the wind had probably dropped off by then).

Kent, Rene and I decided to go to the Event site to Foil.  As I drove past White Salmon, I saw that Alex, Cam, Eddy and Ross were still out on their kites.  I thought about stopping but really wanted to try the foil.

We rigged our foils and went out.  I slogged most of the time, but was able to get the board off the water and my foot in the front foot-strap a few times.  After my sail, I had Kent take my board for a run.  It is quite different than his (longer and different foil), but he was able to make it work.  Bruce, Dale and Jim from Sailworks arrived and went out.  Bruce had a new custom built board - very sweet.  They sure make it look easy.  I convinced Jim to take my board/foil for a ride to test out how it is set up. He said it was well balanced, and gave me some tips for how to make it work in different conditions.  Great guy, so stoked on the sport and always willing to help.   For a first day on the foil, I count it as a success!  Kent is getting very good, completing some of his Jibes, and Rene is also making progress, although, like me, he is no Kent....

Me (Ted) with my Old Seatrend and new Foil

Eddy, Alex, Cam and Ross had a great kite session.  Eddy was really happy with his session - he went way upwind and back.  Alex had a good day on her surfboard style kiteboard.

Brad and Blaine - drove East to Stevenson, where it was supposed to be blowing 28, but they didn't get a sail.  Brad said Blaine had a nap, while Brad read Blaine's book.

The rest of the group ended up at Doug's, where by Big Air Jim's account it was the Best Sailing Ever!  They had 2.5 hours of very good sailing on 4-5m sails!

Kent, Blaine and Brad
Watching the action at the Event Site

We all ended up at the Mexican Restaurant for Supper - then Ice Cream at Ross's Condo!  It was a late night - probably 10:30 by the time everyone got to bed.....