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2019 Gorge Report
Reivers Dustin
07/20/19 #25225
I had a blast, along with several hundred others. This whole thing is like a dang Mardi Gras event. There are dozens of moveable feasts going off all up and down the river. Put another notch for Carter and team picking the right day to pull the trigger. And all week folks were running every nook and cranny of the river. I'm seeing paddlers everytime I close my eyes. One day I saw a surfski upside down with a helper standing by. As I got closer it was a lady who looked like she was just jumping on and off the boat for the heck of it. As I went by she yelled out, “What a blast this is!!!” Obviously not in distress, doing what we should all be doing more of: defy propriety and do everything wrong just to see what happens. Here's another one: some rascally folks were tearing up the river in a three person surfski. Tons of OC boats out. Many probably had done the OC event a few days before and stuck around. At Bob's Beach we met OC folks out here from Havasu area. At race start I heard a young lady speaking a strange beautiful language and found out she was Brazilian. Cool.
Someone mentioned to me that local business folks had told them that there are many events there, and our group was best for polite, friendly category. Good thing because we make a huge crowd. I know I contributed to the mayhem by loosing several personal items at different places. Thanks Josh for finding my pants and not telling the world that I lost them. Oops, did I just tell the world? Thanks Jamie. Uh, that was a nice place to hang.
I had forgotten about pFriem brewery. Thank goodness I remembered after doing the race. If you are strong of heart, check out “Sherry Cask Aged Blond Barleywine”. You won't be slamming down a six-pack. If you drink three you better have a solid low brace and a bombproof roll. Thanks David.
I learned a ton. Foremost was that everyone out there is working against their limitations. Not against each other. Before I could fully explain all the details about my sore elbow, someone in the group would quietly mention something that made me shut the heck up. Patrick with his blown up shoulder trying to get out of the shark's cafeteria. An more stories, which probably don't belong in public. But I know Patrick won't mind because nobody thinks he's a shy guy. Anyway, for some reason this sport seems to accommodate a super wide range of abilities. Thank you goes to top paddlers for holding up a culture of patience and un-stoppable joy in the sport. A great example is the youngsters. So approachable, look you in the eye, full of spirit.
My race was lucky. I only hit one dead spot which had me badly demoralized at the time. But I got into several wave-trains and was able to finish with no puke left anywhere on the river. I suppose that would have been unkind to anyone behind me. I was stunned by how fast those SUP paddlers were. Hard to pass. Next year I'm hoping that two barges slow everyone else and by magic I'm the only guy riding the sternwheeler wake. OK. I'll save you the reply LB: I'd probably be riding it the wrong direction.
lori & beau whitehead
07/21/19 #25226
I'm sure there are hundreds of cool stories from the Gorge Week, but since I was only there for a a couple days, I'll tell just one that kind of exemplifies the sport: At the race start, after the mens surf ski wave went by, the organizers let the OC1 men head down to the staging area, as we got a half mile down river I saw a surfski paddler in the water trying to remount. He'd obviously went in at the start and had been trying to remount this entire time. His group was LONG gone. Now keep in mind we are all chomping at the bit to get the perfect spot in the start line-up, but I told myself that when I got to him, I'd stop and see if he needed help. But as I got there, another OC1 had sided up to him and was helping to get him remounted. The OC1 guy was Danny Ching, one of the top paddlers in the world. So yeah, one of the best paddlers in the world, helping one of the not-best paddlers in the world, 5 minutes before race start. That was cool.
Mind-blowing international field, over 70 from Hawaii alone. Canada, NZ, France, Brazil, Tahiti, Spain, Hong Kong and everywhere else in between.
Between Canadian Champs, Gorge 6-man & Gorge Champs, Bellingham paddlers brought home a truck-load of medals and podium spots.
For those of you on Facebook, a guy named Tom Gomes posted a ton of great race day shots, including great shots from his drone. Search his name and you'll find him.
paul clement
07/21/19 #25227
I hadn’t been in the water all that long… 😮
