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