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Oregon Coast in the Summer
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lakesailor17



Joined: 21 Jan 2008
Posts: 17

PostPosted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 10:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mike, thanks for the detailed information. I appreciate everyone else’s comments as well. Thanks also for the tip on the PDXWindurfers.

It sounds like it’s worth having the rv. Hopefully, I’ll spend more time on the coast than on the columbia. The gorge is nice, primarily because there’s almost always wind somewhere 4-5 days a week. Even so, I would choose a day of slogging out onto small waves over the typical gorge day anyhow.

I imagine that all of you have spent some time in san carlos. Apart from the temperature and current, could you give me your impressions of the oregon coast wavesailing compared to those great waves and side off conditions down south.

Mike, did you car camp, use a truck/camper combo or the integrated camper/van platform? Are there any specific places that you remembered where the camping was especially good. Also, this will be my first time windsurfing with a rv. Is there a good way of transporting the gear. I’m hesitant to load the boards on top because of the risk of climbing up and down in strong winds.

Thanks again,
Jon
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 11:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

anacreon wrote:
Have you tried a Pro Motion "Surf Cap" type hood? The visor on mine shields my eyes very well. Actually, I had to trim it a bit so it didn't obstruct my vision. This has been my solution to solar glare when sunglasses get all fogged and I can't use them.


I've always had visors on my helmets, either hand-crafted ones within the face cage or a batter's helmet. They help a great deal elsewhere with direct sun, water glare, and rail/hail, but at least from Florence north, where I've done most of my coast sailing, the ramps on the OR coast lead directly into the sun, parking right on the lip I'd like to fly over or turn off of. If I block the sun, I block the lip.

My solution so far has been to pray for midday wind, which isn't common in the summertime north of Florence.

I guess my bottom line is that while I'm pretty hard core in terms of high wind and endurance, I've become a steaming pile of wimp when it comes to driving 5-8 hours each way, based on a forecast, knowing that at BEST any sailing will require overcoming all those hassles.

But I VERY highly recommend that every good Gorge sailor try it several times; the OR coast, wind or no wind, is a major addition to any Gorge trip in so many ways ... incredible scenery, food, cooler wx when HR is baking, often the only wind in the PacNW, and good to excellent sailing when very fit and very competent sailors get lucky. Just don't expect it to be as user-friendly as Kanaha, Corpus, Hatteras, or the Gorge. Hit it right, and you'll have an absolute blast; hit it wrong, and you'll still have a blast ... once you drag your sandy gear and ragged ass ashore and get on with the turrist stuff. An intense week of exploration, even with no wind, wouldn't begin to do the OR coast justice. If I still lived in van in the Gorge and had nothing to do but chase wind, I'd still be driving around the magic triangle quite often, doubling my shred time compared to sitting in the corridor.

Tip: when you come ashore on the typical coast day, hook your short garden hose to a faucet somewhere, shove that and some soap down your dry suit, inflate your suit with soapy water, and dance a jig for a few minutes. Solves several problems.

Mike \m/
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jimoakes



Joined: 21 Apr 2006
Posts: 172

PostPosted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 3:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

isobars wrote:


Tip: when you come ashore on the typical coast day, hook your short garden hose to a faucet somewhere, shove that and some soap down your dry suit, inflate your suit with soapy water, and dance a jig for a few minutes. Solves several problems.

Mike \m/



One problem it solves is depression. You can't help but laugh when you see a windsurfer doing this dance.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 9:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

lakesailor17 wrote:
It sounds like it’s worth having the rv. Hopefully, I’ll spend more time on the coast than on the columbia. The gorge is nice, primarily because there’s almost always wind somewhere 4-5 days a week. Even so, I would choose a day of slogging out onto small waves over the typical gorge day anyhow.

I imagine that all of you have spent some time in san carlos. Apart from the temperature and current, could you give me your impressions of the oregon coast wavesailing compared to those great waves and side off conditions down south.

Mike, did you car camp, use a truck/camper combo or the integrated camper/van platform? Are there any specific places that you remembered where the camping was especially good. Also, this will be my first time windsurfing with a rv. Is there a good way of transporting the gear. I’m hesitant to load the boards on top because of the risk of climbing up and down in strong winds.


Given your preferences, I would almost not bother with the Gorge. That 4-5 days a week is highly optimistic unless you’re counting 7.0 sailing, you can probably do that or better on the coast, and you can have nice waves on a 7.0 on the coast. BTW, I’ve never seen side-off WSing on the OR coast, but I’ve only tried sailing there maybe 20 days.

I can’t imagine portaging a 6.0 or 7.0 across the dunes in stiff and gusty winds at some coast launches, or living in their wet, cold, sandy, salty environment for months on end. Of course, the Gorge at 110 calm degrees also sucks.

But even if one confined his sailing to either the coast or the Gorge, mobility is critical, IMO, to maximize one’s TOW or variety, let alone both. Each venue is roughly 250 miles long, the wind and characteristics of each varies significantly over its length, and very often -- probably most of the time -- if one is windy the other is not. Thus mobility can probably double one’s TOW within either venue -- river or ocean -- and may triple his TOW if his mobility covers both. (By mobility I mean having bed, kitchen, and gear on wheels.) I spent a dozen years chasing wind full time all over the Gorge (including the OR coast) from two to six months each year, and IMO nothing compares to mobility and flexibility. I can’t imagine, even though I see it every day, having 2-3-4 sails rigged up, having a fantastic day on the water, knowing it will keep blowing for days and nights to come … and having to quit hours before dark to pack it up, go find a meal, drive 100 miles to my lodging, then start all over the next day. What a colossal waste of shred time, gasoline, money, and sheer hassle compared to sailing ‘til dark, eating, crawling into bed under the stars, getting up at dawn to 25 kts and nice swell, cramming down some calories and fluids, grabbing one of my 2-3-4 rigged sails, sailing for a few hours ’til a lull occurs, then cooking and eating a real meal while all the late arrivers who slept in a building 10 or 100 miles away go berserk trying to rig up and get launched. That’s one advantage some Gorge spots offer compared to the coast. It’s obviously not available at many Gorge spots at that level, but having to drive 5 miles to sleep beats the heck out of having to drive 50 or 100 miles to sleep even if one has to re-rig.

My mobility was provided by a new stretched Ford Econoline Maxivan purchased and very extensively modified explicitly for full-time Gorge (including the coast) windsurfing. I designed and modified it myself because the custom van shops’ ideas were ludicrous and their work shoddy … but will never do THAT again at that level (i.e., most of the features of a motor home built from the ground up including overhead board storage inside an attic). Buy a dang MH and modify it to carry your WSing gear or throw a bed, stove, and cooler in an Outback or Sprinter van.

When my wife also retired, I bought a MH and modified it to carry my gear ... NOT on top after WSing forums and common sense shouted, “DON’T DO IT!” Upright on a rear bumper platform is common; I replaced the cabinet over my dinette with a rack that holds 4 boards and looks like Winnebago made it. The 4 boards and 7 complete rigs permanently loaded into the RV are concealed even from the inside except for two boom tails. For one person, I highly recommend a Sprinter-based MH or van conversion. My 24-foot Winnebago has plenty of room for us two, two big dogs, and many boards and rigs for extended trips, but Sprinters get 2-3 times better fuel mileage if you and your gear can fit in one.

Oh, yeah, camping spots. My three favorite corridor wild spots not at launches have been shut down, but many people find and use other wild spots I’ve not tried yet. Go back a few months to find threads here on Gorge camping, both wild and at campgrounds. One can sail from his tent/van/MH at Viento, Maryhill, Rufus, 3-Mile, Port Kelley, etc. I’ve never found a coast launch at which one can camp. I’ve slept in my van and/or MH in the Gorge for way over a thousand nights without ever using campgrounds; besides the $20k cost savings, I just don’t care for campgrounds or the advance reservations many require.

Mike \m/
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wsmike



Joined: 07 Jun 2003
Posts: 412

PostPosted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 2:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't have any experience with RV'ing but according to reports from friends, expect slow summer traffic on 101 due to other RV'ers. Also traffic volume is MUCH higher on weekends, and when gas is cheap. Travelling during coastal traffic is not much fun at 25mph on windy roads, shoot for off-peak times would be my recommendation.

You can camp right on the south jetty at Florence, being in an RV you'd be in good shape in that regard (as long as its not one of those 40ft behemoths which would be a big problem turning around as its a 1-lane ordeal). Not sure about Pistol or Waddel or Davenport but there are lots of nice campgrounds in central and northern coasts and they sit right on the beach.
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LeeD



Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Posts: 1175

PostPosted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 2:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I guess the rule is, if you find a quiet spot, you can stay until the StatePolice kick you out.
Thought Floras is up to $10 a day, a good deal still.
Cold? Maybe if you're from Florida. At Wads-Davs-Palo, springtime water is normally right at 50, airs +5, and wind blowing all the time. Not much colder, but some colder, at S Oregon spots.
Want side off winds? Just walk up the beach from Pistol to the Cape, and all those sandbars are side offshore, a little gustier (nearer upwind Cape hillside), and down the line is right there. Try floaty wave board.
Staying at Flo's? Sure, if it's blowin, you won't be going out much as you're totally exposed to the NW winds.
Some guys still do the side of cross roads parking/carcamping, but why not give the Brady's some of your hard earned $$$ for clean bathrooms and nice easy warmup sailing spot before your coast adventure?
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lakesailor17



Joined: 21 Jan 2008
Posts: 17

PostPosted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 7:02 pm    Post subject: Ford Econoline Maxivan Reply with quote

Mike,

Do you have any pictures of your Ford Econoline Maxivan? I've seen a number of windsurfing vans but nothing that seems as tricked out as your ride.

Jon
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 12:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can do better than that. See

http://webpages.charter.net/mikeswindsurfingvan/Van%20Home%20Page/VanFinal.html

or in short form
http://tinyurl.com/36lcxh

Mike \m/
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 1:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

LeeD wrote:
I guess the rule is, if you find a quiet spot, you can stay until the StatePolice kick you out.

Some guys still do the side of cross roads parking/carcamping, but why not give the Brady's some of your hard earned $$$ for clean bathrooms and nice easy warmup sailing spot before your coast adventure?


And kick you out they will, at any coastal roadside park, and in many towns in the northern half of the coast. By the time I got packed up and ate some supper at the Newport, OR/Agate Beach roadside park, the fog was so thick I couldn't see 50 feet, so I just went to sleep. Well before midnight two cops banged on my door, stood 20 feet apart with their hands on their holstered sidearms, and ordered me to leave, fog or no fog. I had to drive a few miles, much of it with my head out the window watching the centerline below me to make sure I stayed on my side of Highway 101. When I figured I was out of town, I managed to find a side road, pulled onto the shoulder, went to sleep, and figured out where I was at daybreak.

They were THAT serious about enforcing their stupid laws -- safety be damned -- and that was > 10 years ago; it's tighter now. Yes, campgrounds have nice facilities, but are usually packed by noon, which means you must know by then where you want to stay that night. I seldom know what county I'll sleep in before dark, so I resent the hell out of that mentality.

Mike \m/
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LeeD



Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Posts: 1175

PostPosted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 12:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yup, twas my experience almost exactly, dat's why I say stay at an expensive campground on weekends, then look around at cheaper places weekdays.
As for campgrounds around Wad/Davs, good luck. Most guys head inland and behind trees in secluded spots after midnight. If no landowner calls the cops, you're set. Most of the time, the cops come by and roust you.
As for the cold once again....
The coast air temps usually stay around 45 at night, most windy times. The daytime airs around 55 at 1PM. The waters usually 47-52 when the coast winds blow. Those are the facts, deal with whatever way you want.
Goes for OregonS coast and for NorCal SanMateo and N.
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