myiW Current Conditions and Forecasts Community Forums Buy and Sell Services
 
Hi guest · myAccount · Log in
 SearchSearch   ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   RegisterRegister 
gustier winds this summer?
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    iWindsurf Community Forum Index -> Northwest USA & Canada
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
ldhr



Joined: 10 Apr 2000
Posts: 121

PostPosted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 1:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can't resist and I resemble this remark ....
you all sound like a bunch of grumpy old men pining for the the good ole days.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
westender



Joined: 02 Aug 2007
Posts: 1288
Location: Portland / Gorge

PostPosted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 2:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

People have wondered if all the burned up trees are not improving the winds the last couple years?

Please yield to Starboard sailors. Rolling Eyes Kooks
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 3:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

westender wrote:
Please yield to Starboard sailors. Rolling Eyes Kooks

Too many people, including long-time locals, think that simply being on starboard gives them ROW. They use that as an excuse to surf the swell, jump, do stupid pet tricks, or just roam right and left at will, then whine or even get angry when someone on port gets in their way.

It doesn't work that way. The instant the sailor on starboard deviates from his obvious straight line, he gives up any such real or imagined "rights". i.e., no one has to yield to him except to avoid an imminent collision.

Very gusty days can complicate that by robbing control from a sailor who is temporarily way out of his control range due to a huge gust or a deep hole. Even if it's not so much gusty as up and down to the extent that one board and rig just don't cut it for more than 20-30 minutes, the day can be reduced to a PITA of interrupted sessions for equipment changes. You know something's amiss when it's windy but even the best local sailors are standing around in street clothes, as I've seen very often the past 2-3 years.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
westender



Joined: 02 Aug 2007
Posts: 1288
Location: Portland / Gorge

PostPosted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 4:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Only talking about lawn mowing situations where a collision was about to happen. Tis the time of year. Cool
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Tue Aug 20, 2019 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If I'm on starboard in your scenario, I consider such things as speed, how many times he's repeated it, how deliberate it appears to be, whether I've held my line long enough to define it, the durability and replaceability of my board, the chances of injury, and the degree of control we both have. Then, in the NEXT second, I decide how to handle it. Simple reflexive bearing off is not always the safest solution, and gusty wind complicates the picture.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
WMP



Joined: 30 May 2000
Posts: 671

PostPosted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 11:11 am    Post subject: There's no place like Home Reply with quote

Well, you know what they say..... "there's no place to sail like Home". Wink

I must confess, been away from home for awhile. Came back after traveling to Canada for 6 months. My OO board was very broken and since Brian is now retired, I decided to buy something at the swap last year. Bought a Cascade Sailboard for $25. Didn't have much time to try this out. First sesh this year was Friday at Rufus.... wind was cranking. A mouse had eaten the line for my 4.2 sail so I was forced to go with 3.7. Glad that decision was made for me. It was the best opener sesh I've ever had.... EVER! Completely dialed, everything felt so familiar. The board and I were made for each other, it even has my name on it. Magic happens, so do changes.

It's more than a wind change, the changes I have noticed in the Gorge is, except for Rufus, the swell pattern is completey different. Back in the 80's there was much steeper and organized swell especially at Doug's, Event Site, Hatch. It's simply a bowl of psycho chop now. Why the changes? I would imagine it has something to do with the sentiment filling into the river over the years. It just isn't the same.

Wind Mountain Pete
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Thu Aug 22, 2019 4:47 pm    Post subject: Re: There's no place like Home Reply with quote

WMP wrote:
The board and I were made for each other

Boards I've made and heard the same comment about included OOs, Cascades, the earlier (normal, pre-no-nose) Baileys, Watsons, and many Naish wave boards.

I've very often heard just the opposite about many, maybe most, "modern" boards, both custom and off the shelf. "Didn't like it at first -- too many peculiarities -- but after a dozen sessions I adapted and got used to it. Now I sort of like it."

Um, no thanks. I don't need or want a fleet of clones, but I also don't want to have to look down and read the logo on a board every reach to remind myself how much toe pressure is required to turn it NOW, how hard I can push it upwind without spinning out, or how much I can trust it when diving down a steep face with power and speed.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
jingebritsen



Joined: 21 Aug 2002
Posts: 3371

PostPosted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 5:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

every year, whether i am there or reading about the gorge, i hear this rant.

is it really the arrow, the indian, or the weather?

gear changes and fashion sometimes go against what is right for any sailor/venue. how many that are noticing "gustier conditions" have short/wide boards and less battens sails are currently complaining about wanting steadier winds? how many are tuning their sails like crap for any given condition?

so many variables.

for instance, about a decade ago at dougs this complaint was buzzing around the beach. steve g. and looked at each other, with that puzzled look of "WTF?" we were happy on 5.0 and 5.2 sails and 95 liter fairly fast boards. several people with much smaller gusts only kits were mopey. a dealer from chicago was infected by this all too common "gusts only" culture. i handed her my kit and she came back with a big smile after 30 minutes. she is easily 60 or pounds lighter than me. same old song.....

_________________
www.aerotechsails.com
www.exocet-original.com
www.iwindsurf.com
http://www.epicgearusa.com/
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
willysurf



Joined: 08 Sep 2003
Posts: 59

PostPosted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 5:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think people are getting hung up on the word "gustier." For me, it's not the gusts, it's the lulls and general inconsistency. I always rig at least .5-1M bigger sail than most people my size and pretty much only sail flatter freestyle boards in order to be able to plane through the lulls. However, if you live here, you know that the wind quality has been getting worse every year and I am starting to get frustrated even on my floatier freestyle gear. I find myself sailing less now and riding my bike more. YMMV.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ripnride



Joined: 03 Sep 2016
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 3:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This summer there has been little if any smoke from fires near or far. The last two years have had long heat waves both with and without wind. This year, there have been a handful of hot days, no heat waves. This sailing season temperatures have been so ideal as to be unbelievably idyllic! "The Gorge is gusty, remember, the gusty Gorge"-Bruce Peterson" That said, this season has had more consistently windy days that I recall in my 25 summers out here. The Hatch and Dougs cranked! rigged 4.2 four times,rest 3.7,3.4 and lit up, some gusty Rip Schlog in there but sailable! August can go 50/50 windy days, this year August flat out cranked! Day after Day after Day! So let the naysayers complain, and the haters hate, this was the best sailing season ever in my experience. i hear peeps on the beach wishing and hoping for Goldilocks wind, not gonnahappen, just jump in, sail what you got, and be grateful you still can!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    iWindsurf Community Forum Index -> Northwest USA & Canada All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next
Page 2 of 3

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You can attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum

myiW | Weather | Community | Membership | Support | Log in
like us on facebook
© Copyright 1999-2007 WeatherFlow, Inc Contact Us Ad Marketplace

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group