Fall riding - Damon Point

Damn, it's getting cold quick like in WA.  Did that stop me from getting out on the water. No sir...well, at least with a little push and shove my buddy Jeff Lamb, aka Loki (www.pskite.org webmaster) I agreed to road trip it to Ocean Shores to hit the epic spot known as Damon Point.

Jeff hit me up, as his wife and newborn baby were on their way to see the in-laws.  And Becky is out of town with her mom and sister....so could there be a better reason for two guys to head to the coast when the forecast is upgraded on Friday night?  Hell no, there is no better reason.  The wind is supposed to show up around 12pm and keep going from there.

So, after dropping Becky off at the airport, I get home and get the gear laid out.  Jeff arrives at 7am and we are on the road, a 3 hr trip, to Ocean Shores.  Our buddy John  Hausman gives me a ring at 7:30am to let me know he is also on the road.  We all meet up at a coffee shop in Aberdeen.  Then the caravan makes the last of the drive, arriving at Damon Point at 10:30 am-ish.

Damon Point

When we arrive there are already a few kites on the water.  Excitedly we jump out of the car into extremely chilly wind. 

John and Jeff concur "Sh*t it is cold out!"

Anyways, we suit up.  I even opt to wear a helmet just to keep me a little warmer.  If you know me then you also know I never wear a helmet....but I can honestly say that it has now become a part of my winter apparel because it did keep my head warmer in the cold wind.

I pump my 10m RPM.  It is just enough to be fully powered, not too much, just enough.  I ride for a good 3 hrs session.  At the point my legs are jelly I head in.  Dan aka Tuna invites us over to his place about 2 miles away for a lunch break....and a chance to warm up a bit.  We take up his offer and head over.  I am glad I had stopped in the morning and stocked up on beer and a sandwich, which I take advantage of at Dan's place.  After refueling and warming back up, we head back for another session.

Another 1 -2 hrs of awesome super lit 13m conditions wait us.  When we get off the water, barely able to stand up, the wind is still blowing.  That is how you know when it was an epic, epic day.  You stop riding because of exhaustion, even though the wind is still ripping.   Yeah, 100% epicnesss!!!

Before I leave though, I grab the camera from the car and get a few shots of my pals riding.

After packing up, and getting these epic pics, we head back to Dan's house.  A quick stop at the grocery store first to stock up on sausages and buns, cream cheese and jalapenos, and of course more beer is all we need to end a truly awesome day.

Dan and his roommate are quite the hosts....and after such an amazing day on the water I am not sure that any dawg has ever truly tasted this good.  I am beat.  Refueling was totally necessary in order to make the 3 hr trip back to Seattle.....but it was sooo worth it!!!!

Stay tuned....final Puerto Rico kitesurfing update is coming soon.  I just got the last of the pictures from our trip...which is what I had been waiting on for the last P.R. recap post.

Summmer / Fall recap (part 4) - Double Bluff

Double Bluff

September the 25th ushers in true Fall weather conditions in the Pacific Northwest.  This means that the wind will be blowing from the south, and usually is much stronger than summer winds.  10m is average, but 6m-8m conditions are not uncommon.

 

I pick K.C. up and we meet other kiters in the ferry line to head over to Whidbey Island. The plan is to hit up Double Bluff.

 

And DB doesn't disappoint, as there are 10 or so kites up when we arrive.  It felt pretty light onshore so stupidly I pumped the 13m.  It becomes apparent quickly that it is way too windy for a big kite.  So I pump up my 10m.  Needless to say I am litski!

 

I have two things to tell for you from this epic day.

 

The first is that somehow I must not have connected my leash completely to my safety line.  How do I know this?  Well because the first time I wiped out while unhooked and let go of the bar...I get to watch my leash go tight, snap back at me, and my kite flies off to land in the water 50 or more meters from me. 

 

I am a good 300 meters from shore...maybe a bit more.

 

I luckily get a fellow kiter to tow me for a bit hanging off the back of his harness, and with a ton of additional swimming I get within feet of another kiter who has grabbed my lines.  Right as I get 15 feet away or so the kite powers up and yanks out of his hands.  Off it goes again.

 

Eventually after much more swimming I get to shore.  Some high school kids have grabbed my kite and kept it from continuing on, in what would have surely damaged my kite, if not at least stuck it on the roof of a beach house.

 

It takes me a good 20 minutes to untangle my lines and rig up the kite.  A break which I gladly took as I was still out of breath from the long swim in.

 

Lessons #1)  Recheck the leash connection to the safety lines before launching.

 

Once I make this check and recheck, I self launch and head out.  I am between the main riding area and the slick at the other end of Useless Bay.

 

I start riding towards the slick where I can see a few kites belonging to my friends up in the air.  After riding about 200 meters or so, I see black shapes moving in the water off my left hand side.  At first I think that it may be a group of Sea Lions swimming, however upon closer inspection I can clearly see dorsal fins as the backs of the animals arc out of the water.  It is most definitely a pod of porpoises, and they are swimming in a trajectory that should intersect with my current direction.

It is hard to tell how many of them there are as I am not sure how deep they are diving or if they are just staying right at the surface.  My estimates are between 8 and 16 porpoises.

I adjust my speed slightly trying to time it perfectly and riding through the midst of the breaching mammals.

As I get closer to the moment of intersection, I realize I have timed it perfect.  I lean way back, getting myself as close to the water as possible, hoping that if one breaches I will be close enough to touch it. 

Seconds later I am cutting through the middle of the pod.  Behind me two porpoises breach, and with quick reflexes and almost wiping out, I am able to run my hand down the back of a porpoise from right behind the dorsal fin down to mere inches from its tail.

I instantly look around me hoping that there is someone close enough to have seen my magic moment.

I am not that lucky.  Oh well, it was amazing and maybe a moment I wasn't supposed to share.

When I get to shore I ecstatically tell several of my friends to their amazement.  I am sure none of them would have believed me if it wasn't that a fellow kiter remarked that the porpoises had been sighted in Useless Bay several times over the recent weeks.  He also believe they were Dall'ss porpoises.

I mistakenly say at one point to Darcy (wicked good female kiter) that I saw a dolphin, before I corrected myself, and before she corrected me with a "You sure they weren't porpoises?  I am pretty sure there are not dolphins in the Pugest Sound."

Anyways, later I did some research.

I am positive that the porpoises were in fact Harbour porpoises, and not Dall's porpoises.  I can say this with certainty for three reasons. 

• One, they were the smallest looking porpoises I have ever seen. 
• Two, because the dorsal had an arc shape.  (I know this because I got a very up close look)
• three, because there was not any white on the bodies of any of the porpoises in the group.

One last thing to note, is that when I was researching the type of porpoise my encounter was with, I found this picture.

It is a picture taken in July 2011 in the Olympia WA area of the Puget Sound.  And that my friends is a "common dolphin".  So I guess that while I misspoke when telling my story to Darcie, it is certainly not outside of the realm of possibility...which is just another cool thing about being a kiteboarder in the Pacific Northwest!!!

Summmer / Fall recap (part 3) - Clayton Beach

On the 10th of September, and what was to be the last decent northerly of the season, Becky and I picked up my buddy K.C., and headed up north to the Bellingham area. 
Plans were to hit up Hunter.  Halfway on the 1 1/2 hr drive north we got word that the wind hadn't filled in at Hunter, and that we should drive another 15 minutes north to the state park.  Once there we quickly found the trail-head to walk to Clayton Beach.

The walk is awesome, and is in fact a downward hike via a well worn path through a beautiful state park.  Huge fir and cedar trees line the path.  It is a good 1/2 mile or more to the beach, but well worth the walk.  The smells and sites of the forest are always welcome, especially if it preludes a wicked good session.

K.C. and Becky following me down the path

Not too far from the desired beach we take a wrong turn, but are able to quickly rectify the problem and find the "correct" trail down to the beach.  As I walk over a small ridge I am welcomed by the sight of  a few kites up, one being Andy (owner of www.bellinghamkiteboarding.com ) tearing it up in the sun, cruising on a warm yet windy day.

Andy

So in typical fashion I rush down the hill with reckless abandon and once I hit the beach and I get my gear set up in record time. 

So yeah, like 10 minutes later I am putting on my shorty.....yes, a shorty for kiting in the Puget Sound.  OK, I will admit I wasn't thinking when I made the hike from the car to Clayton Beach with only my shorty on hand.  The full suit is in the car....oops. 

If I may explains myself, Hunter is notoriously warm because it is shallow.  Clayton is not shallow, and as such it has temps similar to Golden Gardens in Seattle....that is to say, it is freaking cold!

That isn't to say it stopped me from riding.  It just means that after the first or second body dragging session to retrieve my board, I started riding a little more carefully.  No unhooking!  The raley I missed was the cause of a 15 minute body drag.  You know the ones where you are dizzy by the time  you get your board back...usually in cold water?  So yeah, time to take it easy. Just cruising around and boosting.

I rode for a good 2 hours, in the sun, kickin it one last time in what could be considered the last day of summer....at least to me.

Summmer / Fall recap (part 2) - Hood River

That's right.  For the Labor Day weekend I packed my car up and headed down to Hood River.  A few of my kiting buddies are doing the same, so it should be a good time by all.

Wind was a little non-typical in the Gorge. In fact the wind was a easterly, meaning it was blowing from inland out to the Ocean, eat to west.  This means all the normal spots, like the world famous sandbar in downtown Hood River would not be our kiting location.

Instead we went to Rooster Rock state park.  There is a 2 mile long sandy beach that runs parallel to the Columbia River.  It makes for a great place to launch and land. 

The only down side is to get to the beach you must choose between walking a bog, getting mud up to your knees, or walking a nude beach where dudes (many who do not man-scape) walk around with their junk hanging out.  So if you are NOT in to shlongs on parade...then you may want to avoid the mud bog.  Personally I choose to walk the bog and rinse...it is more direct and certainly does not pose any potential for scaring my mind with images I would rather avoid.

When I get there on Saturday, it is starting to back off.  Easterlies tend to start in the morning and back off in the afternoon.  I got there around noon.  I rode for a good hour or so on my 13m.  Pretty over powered most of the time and I could certainly have made the 10m work.

That night we headed into Hood River for some fun.  Colleen Carol has offered up her driveway for us guys sleeping in our cars, her backyard for some guys in tents, and her living room for Devon (her brother) and the ladies.  Because of this we are all ready to party, knowing we don't have to drive to some random park to sleep.

Yes, we party until very late night.  Yes, many people were a bit hung the next morning. Three of us head for a big traditional breakfast.  This makes up feel great and ready to do it all again.  So we head to Rooster Rock again where we all score a good 2-3 hr session.  I was on my 8m the entire time.

Totally rad.

Sorry, no picks as I forgot my camera..... but there it is.  stay tuned for part 3... Clayton beach. Yes, I do have a few pics..... 

Summmer / Fall recap (part 1) [cold weather has returned] :(

Yes indeed.  The cold is here, and it is taking all of my will to keep from shedding a tear.  Did we even get a summer here in the Puget Sound area?  That is certainly debatable.

Without dwelling on the depressing weather, I can say that I have been riding quite a bit since our August trip to Puerto Rico.

Where you ask?  Well, let's see.  I did a 5 mile downwinder at Ocean Shores in the Pacific Ocean, I spent several days in Hood River, I hit up a new spot (new for me at least) up north near Bellingham called Clayton beach,  and I even rode with a pod of porpoises at Double Bluff on Whidbey Island.

Wanna hear the details?  Ok, here it goes.

Ocean Shores:

Not long after returning from Puerto Rico some friends were all talking about heading to the coast.  High pressure had settled in over the mainland, so not much air was moving around.  This usually means the only place to get some wind is at the coast.  So Becky and I head out in the morning for a 3 hr drive to Ocean Shores on the Pacific Coast of Washington.

We arrive and join a good group of 15 or so kiters that all made the trip from Seattle.

After loading all of our gear into the back of one truck and consolidating all of us kiters into different cars, at the same time making sure to leave a few cars at the finish line, we drive upwind about 5 miles to pump up and begin the downwind excursion.

Once we are all pumped up and suited up, small groups take off every few minutes and head downwind.  I am one of the last to hit the water, as I am waiting for Becky.  Her and another gal are both giving it their best shot at riding in the open Ocean for the first time.  The other gal ends up crashing and rolling her kite in the surf within just a few minutes.  And while Becky gives it her best shot, she is not able to get out past the surf.

No mind you, the surf is a good 6-8 ft crashing in.  Sets are pretty close together, so you have to literally pick a line and charge out. It is pretty hard to do actually and even I get tossed around a bit.  The key is to just let the wave hit you while concentrating on keeping the kite high at all costs.  As you know, a kite in the surf can easily get a panel blown out.

I might also mention that the wind is uber light.  A 15m would be more appropriate than my 13m, although many of the guys downwind are making it work...but just barely.

I wait around while Becky is packing up by playing in the shallows with my skim board.....and then the wind picks up a few knots.  Even though I am the last guy on shore, and I can not even see any kites downwind, I decide this is my chance.  I run in, grab the twin tip, and charge out by myself.

I might also mention here that kiting the ocean surf by oneself is probably not the smartest thing I could do...but it is nice outside, sun shining, warm wind...I just can't help myself.

I charge downwind as fast as possible.  In fact, I am almost riding straight downwind.  The salmon are running and so I see seals and sea lions everywhere.  It is somewhat unnerving when they splash or jump out of the water right next to me...especially since I am riding by my lonesome.

After about 3 miles of riding, I can finally see some kites in the distance.  I continue my downwind assault.  I arrive at the finish line right as the final kiter in front of me was getting off the water.

Guess what?  I beat Becky back.  She thought for sure she would be waiting for me after driving back...but nope, I was standing around drinking beer with the guys when she arrived.

How fast did I make it?  Around 5 miles in under 15 minutes.  Not bad eh?

Needless to say the rest of the guys jump in cars to head back up and do it again.  I wait around, 1) because a kiter somehow was lost along the way (no I didn't see him walking but I was mobbing) and 2) I was just pretty dang tired from my 15 minute dash downwind.

After about 1 hour the others start to arrive and I took a few more pictures of my buddies finishing their ride in the sunset.  It made quite a picturesque scene.  I wish I had a better camera!!!

Afterwards, we all head into Ocean Shores to have a few beers, margaritas, chips, salsa, and if you haven't guessed by now, some scrumptious Mexican food to end the day.

Hood River:
labor day weekend...... stay tuned... recap coming soon

Puerto Rico trip (day 7)

Time to Ride!!!!

Yes, that is what is on my mind, and about all I have planned for the day.

Also, it is time to get Becky out there practicing with me.

So after a decent breakfast we both pump up and walk upwind a few hundred yards.  I meet a local kiter as I walk, who happens to work at the jetski rental place on the beach.  Very nice guy.  He was interested in where I was from, if I was an instructor (more on this in a minute), and he also had some questions about my LF Comp harness.   His girl friend has the same model and complains that it rides up.   Becky showed him and his girlfriend her Dakine harness board shorts, and recommended she get a pair.

After the meet and greet Becky and I lay out our lines and rig up.  I plan to follow Becky and retrieve her board for her, should she wipe out and get dragged too far away from it.

I launch her, Sean launches me...and we are off.  Becky has a few small problems, but overall we have a good 1/2 mile downwinder together.  However, downwind we have been traveling.  Towards the end of the beach I start to think it is time for Becky to head in, when instead she keeps riding out further towards me...until she wrecks and downs her kite. 

I hoop and holla, and then I get her attention.  I try to make it apparent to her that she needs to get her kite up and make it to shore ASAP, as in there is no more downwind area, just a straight line to the beach if she holds her ground.  Also, we are both getting into the reef which is literally like 12 inches or less under the water.

I ride in and self land my kite.  I end up with a seaweed salad on my lines...dammit that sux!

Anyways, Becky does get her kite up and in one last desperate ride she makes it to shore....with no downwind space to spare, holding her ground the whole way in.  I laugh when she gets in and tells me that she was chanting a mantra to herself the whole time while making that last ride in, "Bitch, you better get your act together Becky.  You better ride for your life bitch".

So, after a little help getting the seaweed off my lines, I launch and head out solo for another hour or two.  Then I come in when the wind starts to back off.

As you can see in the above picture I was wearing my Urban Surf instructor rash guard.  Why?  Well, most of my rash guards are either black or they don't have sleeves.  Black is of course hot in the sun, and I was already chaffed under my armpits from wearing sleeveless rash guards.

Anyways, it turns out to be a great way to get students in Puerto Rico.  It seems like most people there have not been exposed to the sport.  They tend to come hang on the beach, point, watch, and very much get excited about the jumping and hang time.  Adding an instructor shirt meant these gawkers all felt at ease coming up and asking me about the sport.  I could easily have lined up prospective clients from these encounters.  So yeah, I learned wearing an instructor shirt when riding or teaching lessons is a great way to drum up new business.

Ok, so now the wind is down, riding appears to be over....but after a beer or two I just can't help but want to get back into the ocean.  I just love it!  Becky and Sean join me. You will notice Sean has on a fluorescent yellow shirt I loaned him, which we hope will reflect as much sunlight off of him as possible, making his burns bearable.

At first we try launching Becky into the air....

Next we all try our hands at body-surfing.  I seem to have the best form and get the furthest each time, although you can see Sean certainly has the most style.

Sean body-surfing with style...

"look at me Mom, no hands"

Becky's face says it all as she misses the wave, "This Stinks!"

OK, she caught it that time....

Sean's turn....

Ryan cleans house though with massive rides to shore.....

At some point I grab the camera and decide to take picture of waves, hoping to catch a cool pic or two of the lip rolling over me.

And while you can see I got a couple OK shots, most looked like this.....

However, I did get two really cool ones, and with a little color correction they turned out like this....

So yeah, I was pretty stoked at the end result.

After thouroughly wearing ourselves out playing in the surf, we head in and start putting kiting gear up.  While we are sitting drinking beers......

We look down into the bushes below us....

No silly, look closer....

Yep, we find little crabs that live under the bushes in the yard.  They must come out at night and scavenge.  Of course, I jump down and rummage around until I capture one.

And boy oh boy does this little guy put up a fight!

After letting him go, Sean gets a great picture of the "light" beer we have been drinking all week.