Here's a summary of my trip to the Oregon coast and the Gorge. Not as detailed as Bobson's, but close. There's also some movie clips too (kinda crappy quality). Also check out my photo gallery and Winddocs too.

Monday July 11, 2005
Didn't want to gamble on the Coho so I caught the 1pm Vancouver ferry. Saw the tall ships Pallada and Cuauhtemoc in Active pass from the ferry. Drove into the night and stopped at the last rest stop before Eugene. It turned out to be loud there so I moved to Wallmart in Eugene for the ultimate in wilderness camping.

Tuesday July 12
Drove the rest of the way to Florence and checked the weather at the library. The forecast was sketchy now for Florence; better for Pistol, but decided I had done enough driving. Picked up some ice and groceries and headed to the South Jetty. It was super warm and un-Florence like. The wind was light and there were surfers in the river mouth in board shorts! I guess it had been blowing Southerly for the last week and the ocean temperature was way up. Thoughts up sharkies entered my mind. The swell in the river was 4-5ft with great longboard rides. Had a walk on the beach and the wind gradually switched to NW and slowly started to build. Perhaps there was still hope. Trevor (aka Dunkinguy) and Naish the dog show up around 1pm. Wind is building now….kiters are rigging up. We finally rig up the big gear (5.8, 90L) and head out around 3pm. It’s really light on the inside and its sketchy punching out through the waves (4-6ft and bigger). The wind builds a bit and I can plane on the outside. It turns into the best light wind wave-sailing day I’ve ever had. The waves were big and super clean and just me and Trevor out. A great start to the trip. Mike C arrives from sailing 4.2 at Cape Sebastian.

Wednesday July 13
Camped on the Jetty. Woke up to a big fog bank and wind already at 15kts. Had a big breakfast of blueberry pancakes and coffee. On the water around 11am on the 4.5 and Evo 70. Sweet waves and windy (NW 20-30 kts). Lots of wave rides and trying to smack the lip for little aerials. Big jumps. Evo is feeling really good. Trev and Mike C going off. Meet Bill Letham and Scott. Trev and I sit in the wind break near the jetty and take some pictures and movies of Mike C having a great evening session:

MikeC – Florence – Big Ride (10.6MB)
MikeC – Florence – Forward (6.5 MB)
MikeC – Florence – Big Back Loop (3.1 MB)

Thursday July 14
Still on the jetty but it’s not quite as fun as before. It was a cold night with blowing sand. Woke up and it’s windy already. The swell looks even bigger today with some logo high sets. Got on the water at around 1pm, again 4.5 and Evo and got some great rides. The water is way colder now and it helps to numb the sore body. Crazy high jumps – as high as you wanted to go and higher sometimes. A few back loop attempts but mostly too scared to try. Mike C sticking some big backloops. About 10 people out. Had a break for dinner then had an amazing evening session with just Trev, me and Mike C. Sweet. Day 3 on the Jetty.

Friday July 15
Slower start this morning, both the wind and my body take a while to wake up. Head into town with Trev and get some supplies (beer and ice) and check the internet at the library. Trev is supposed to leave today to meet Dunkingirl in Hood River but sends her an email saying he’ll be there on Tuesday instead…yeah that should go over well. Head back to the Jetty, it’s 3pm and we’re still waiting for the wind….decide to rig the 5.0 with the 90L RRD. Got out and was the only guy planning – nice! Caught 3 nice waves and rode one a little too far down the beach. On the way out I got cleaned out by a monster wave and it broke the mast about 8” below the boom. I eventually washed in way downwind. It sheared the skinny mast (supposedly an unbreakable Hookipa wave mast). Winddoc shows up around 4pm and I borrowed his bottom mast section and had some more rides. Big waves, light wind…fun but challenging.

Saturday July 16
The wind starts earlier today. Morewind arrives around 11am. It’s setting up to be a great day – yet another 20-30 knot 4.5 day on the Evo. The waves on the first session were a little dumpy with short rides. The second session was windier and way better waves (higher tide). Trevor sacrifices some sailing and takes some shots of me, MikeC, Winddoc and Morewind (see Winddocs gallery). Day 5 camping on the Jetty and feeling sandy.

Sunday July 17
We all pile into Trev’s van and head into town for breaky and to check email. Picked the wrong spot for breakfast and ended up still being hungry – strange for a meal in the US. Head to the coffee shop in Old Town to check emails. Trev checks first and finds out he’s in trouble and has to head back to Hood River. On the way back to the Jetty we hear “That’s just the way it is baby” on the radio and figure that’s what he should tell Nicole (of course I was totally against that idea). Trev packs up and leaves and heads to the Hood. The rest of us are sad he left but then quickly forget when we see the wind start to fill in.

The wind is light today and it’s a slow start. I take out the 5.0 and RRD. It’s light on the inside and dumpy with short rides. Lot’s of people are ending up downwind in the big breaking waves since it’s so light out. While waiting on the beach to go out some emergency vehicles arrive and we assume a kiter has hurt himself downwind. Later we hear a guy (Joe) just died (story here). Very sad. Anyway we all got a little shaken up and I start wearing the helmet now.

Monday July 18
Woke up to light winds. It looks like another slow start. Feeling tired today. Finally at 3pm the wind comes up. By the time I carry the 5.0/RRD to the water (feels like a 1km walk) it’s 4.5. So back to get the small stuff. Another 20-30 evening session. Wave riding getting a little better with some mini aerials.

Tuesday July 19
The forecast looks like this might be our last Florence day. We’re all getting tired of the Jetty anyway. The wind picks up to 20-30 again, but the waves are a little smaller now compared to last week. My hands are really sore. We sail until 6pm then pack up. MikeC heads to the Island, Doc, Morewind and I head to Hood River. 8 days of sailing at Florence – sweet, but it will be nice to get to the warm Columbia River water. Head to the gravel pit and arrive around 11:30pm – quite a crowd in the pit compared to last year.

Wednesday July 20
A slow start for us. We hook back up with Trevor and check the forecast at Winddance. Make breaky at the marina then head to Doug’s. It’s 20-25 and another 4.5/Evo day. The wounds on my hands are really sore now. Good chop for loops but I can’t seem to fire up the stoke. Morewind hucking many forwards. Trevor hucks a HUGE one handed forward right in front of me. Wow. Tried lots of back loops, vulcans and some lame shove its.

Thursday July 21
Light wind today and hot. It looks like a day off finally. So we drink beer at the Marina and head to the Hood River for a swim. Winddoc, Trev and I check out the mountain bike downhill section at Post Canyon – wow, some crazy stuff there. Then dinner and head to a movie – the Wedding Crashers, funny!

Friday July 22
Woke up and its raining and about 30kts at 6am. People are leaving the gravel pit to go sail. It looks crappy and squally. Never seen rain in the Hood in July before. Sleep until 8am then onto the daily grind – library to check emails and weather, Windance to meet up with everyone, then Marina to make breakfast. It looks like a Wall day today since its cloudy out to Doug’s. We all head to the Wall – it’s 10-30kts so we headed to Rattlesnake Cove aka #9. Just me, Trev, Winddoc and Morewind on the water. It was strong at first so I rigged the 3.5. It worked for a while, then I cut my foot on some stupid glass at the launch. Fixed it up then went back out on the 4.0. Great swell in the middle, but the river is really wide here…the Wall is way better. Head to our regular campsite at the gravel pit and find out they’ve closed it down…damn. We regroup and move to an even better secret gravel pit #2.

Saturday July 23
Library, Winddance, Marina then at the Hatchery by 11am. A great day on the water with Winddoc, Morewind, Dunkinguy, Rob Dies (aka Death) and C36. Morewind and Death hucking forwards, so bowing to peer pressure I try some. Good times. Morewind heads home.

Sunday July 24
Head to the Hatchery again. It’s the windiest day yet and really busy too. A bit choppy and too windy for me to try anything other than swell riding and jumping. Head to the Marina so Nicole can get a session in. Winddoc and I rig 5.0’s and work on some flat water freestyle. It’s super gusty 10-25kts. Make dinner at the Marina and we try to think of those annoying songs that stick in your head while sailing (Winddoc = Tina Turners Private Dancer, Me = ABBA’s Dancing Queen). Nic and Karen stop by Walmart and pick up ABBA’s greatest hits…

Monday July 25
Another Hatchery day but this time its lighter and good for more forward attempts. It looks like the Gorge is shutting down for a few days soWinddoc, Trev and I talk about hitting the coast again.

Tuesday July 26
Winddoc and I head to Oceanside in my van. Trevor follows us out to the coast. He and Nic have to head home tonight to get ready for their trip to Europe…rough life. Oceanside looks 5.0 already when we get there. It turns out to be crazy gusty with a big bubble near shore with warm gusty wind, then 25 knots on the outside. It seems like 30 knots down to 10. Frustrating. Good rides when it was on. Death shows up after work from Portland. Meet up with Glen and Betsy, good friends from Ontario. Nic and Karen show up blasting ABBA’s Dancing Queen on their stereo. Then they compose a song “Looping King”. Trev, Nic and Karen head home and Winddoc and I head into town for a romantic dinner. We camp on a bluff overlooking Oceanside – amazing view and quiet, except for the guy with the diesel truck revving his engine. Doc sleeps outside and I give him my Goretex overbag to sleep in, luckily since the fog roles in overnight and it’s really damp.

Wednesday July 27
It’s just Winddoc and me now. We head into Oceanside for coffee and think about heading back to Hood River. Then we check the forecast – 90s in Portland can’t be good, so we decide to stick around. Plus the forecast is for 20-25 again on the coast. It turns out to be a good call. A great 20-30 day with fairly steady wind and a great wave riding day. Here’s some movies of Winddoc in the waves:

Oceanside – Winddoc – long ride (11.5 MB)
Oceanside – Winddoc – ride (9.2 MB)
Oceanside – Winddoc - aerial (5.2 MB)
Oceanside – Winddoc – ride (5.2 MB)
Oceanside – Winddoc – spray (5.7 MB)
Oceanside – Winddoc – forward (3.4 MB)
Oceanside – Winddoc – ride (7.2 MB)

Head back to Hood River at 7pm, stop for a Mexican feast and get to the gravel pit #2 around 11pm.

Thursday July 28
It’s cranking at the Hatchery this morning – big guys on 3.7s. I head to Doug’s and meet up with Winddoc. It’s NW at Doug’s and gusty 4.0 for me. It settles out a bit and turns into a fun day. Tried two more forwards but its gusty and hard to find the right wind/wave combo. Spend the rest of the time working on vulcans. Meet up with Frank (http://www.river-rippers.net and a super nice guy) and he takes us out for beers at 6th Street. He heads back to Germany on Friday.

Friday July 29
It took a while to get on the water today - Winddoc and I watched the 4.0 action for about 3hrs. Get out later for a mellow session on the 4.5 with a few more forward attempts. This might be the last day – Doc and I talk about heading home after a possible morning session on Saturday. The forecast is good until Monday but we’re both feeling worn out. Head to the Event Site and check out the slalom racing. Head to Full Sail for some pints and hit a movie (War of the Worlds – wtf?).

Saturday July 30
Winddoc and I get up extra early (7am) but its glassy calm. Hoping for a last session before heading home. The forecast looks like afternoon winds so we decide to leave. Do some final shopping then head for the 5pm Coho…trip over and back to reality.

One of my best trips ever. Amazing sailing (10 days sailing on the coast and 7 days in the Gorge) and great friends to hang out with. I can’t wait until next year!

Thanks for sharing Dave. I like the 'Gaffaw' on the 'Big back loop'....

awesome and sorry (again) I missed out (again), frickin' Ford van, mind you doubt I wouldda kept up with the marathon guys That's a lotta sailing, doods, my back wouldda kicked out (like now ever since the nice Kook day last week th), after day 2 or 3 I would guess.

Yes, maybe next year, starting to sound like a broken record....

thanks for sharing and letting me kill some worktime, ha

Ditto - thanks for sharing. Great write-up!

Thanks for waving me down that afternoon at the Hatchery, it was great to see some friendly faces out on the water! I took one picture of Dunkinguy the afternoon I ran into the "gravel pit gang" at the Hatchery Dunkinguy - he was the only one that I could spot after I had come in. I paid the GPG a few compliments on my log for the day C36 log for July 23 @ Hatchery - sorry I don't know names for each of sailors (although the reference to the red sail I now take is winddoctor).

I mentioned that I had posted some pictures of my Gorge trip on Elliot's site - if anyone is interested here is the link Gorge 2005 by C36 As you can see from our time on the coast (the first two days), there was no windsurfing but time well spent all the same!

Hope all the links work

nice photos and play by play bwd and winddoc! ... i'm stoked for you guys!

been a while since i felt the 'brainfreeze' of a big oregon-coast set ... someday i will be back

havn't had a chance to check out all the vids yet, but i'm sure they're great as well

Awesome! You guys have got me all stoked up for my gorge/coast trip next week! Exclamation! I'd love to join you next year.

A+ on the trip report
A+ on the photos, both photogs

Jealous, Jealous, Jealous,