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| - | ==== Trip Report: Great Cross Sound and Wild Side Relay...... ==== | + | ===== Trip Report: Great Cross Sound and Wild Side Relay...... ===== |
| **Larry Goolsby** \\ | **Larry Goolsby** \\ | ||
| 08/25/08 #4823 | 08/25/08 #4823 | ||
| - | Having never done the Wild Side Relay, I decided that this year was the time to make my first trip to the Columbia Gorge and see if it was everything that Don Keisling and Jeff Hilburn had boasted about. Mike G. and I were going down as a team and had made the decision to stop and do the Great Cross Sound race on our way to the gorge. A pretty full weekend to cram into two days but (leave Saturday and come back Sunday) but we left extra early on Saturday and had an awesome trip. | + | <WRAP indent> |
| + | |||
| + | ==== Great Cross Sound Race ==== | ||
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| + | <WRAP indent> | ||
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| + | Having never done the Wild Side Relay, I decided that this year was the time to make my first trip to the Columbia Gorge and see if it was everything that Don Kiesling and Jeff Hilburn had boasted about. Mike G. and I were going down as a team and had made the decision to stop and do the Great Cross Sound race on our way to the gorge. A pretty full weekend to cram into two days but (leave Saturday and come back Sunday) but we left extra early on Saturday and had an awesome trip. | ||
| There was a lower number of entrants at the GCR this year and this surprised me. This is a long running race that goes from Alki Beach in Seattle, across to Bainbridge Island and back. The water was very calm for the start of the race (0900) and it began with Joost and Eric Moll juming out in front of the pack of skis and outriggers. Mike and I were in his Fenn XT tandem while Rick and Marc were in the club's XT tandem. They led us by about 1 boatlength across to the first turn at a rock island but we managed to get ahead of them at this point and take the lead. It looked like Joost was the first one to this turn with Eric very close to his stern. The next turn is a buoy and Mike and I could see a large male Sea Lion attempting to jump up on the platform for a nap. Just as he made it onto the deck, Mike and I passed near him and he barked angrily before diving back into the water. After we passed this buoy, the Sea Lion remounted the buoy only to get disturbed by Duncan Howat who seemed to piss the mammal off even more (we could hear loud rapid barks). Next along was a guy named Franklin in a Necky Phantom (with rudder removed) and the Sea Lion dove off over the Phantom's bow, hitting the deck with his tail as he slid into the water. Franklin was shaken but no damage was done. | There was a lower number of entrants at the GCR this year and this surprised me. This is a long running race that goes from Alki Beach in Seattle, across to Bainbridge Island and back. The water was very calm for the start of the race (0900) and it began with Joost and Eric Moll juming out in front of the pack of skis and outriggers. Mike and I were in his Fenn XT tandem while Rick and Marc were in the club's XT tandem. They led us by about 1 boatlength across to the first turn at a rock island but we managed to get ahead of them at this point and take the lead. It looked like Joost was the first one to this turn with Eric very close to his stern. The next turn is a buoy and Mike and I could see a large male Sea Lion attempting to jump up on the platform for a nap. Just as he made it onto the deck, Mike and I passed near him and he barked angrily before diving back into the water. After we passed this buoy, the Sea Lion remounted the buoy only to get disturbed by Duncan Howat who seemed to piss the mammal off even more (we could hear loud rapid barks). Next along was a guy named Franklin in a Necky Phantom (with rudder removed) and the Sea Lion dove off over the Phantom's bow, hitting the deck with his tail as he slid into the water. Franklin was shaken but no damage was done. | ||
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| The crossing back over to Alki became painful with mixed boat wakes and you could not see the finish line. All you could do was follow a boat in front of you and hope that they knew where they were going. The morning glare and position of the sun made Alki beach look like a dark shadow. We heard a tandem rower come up behind us and they almost ran us over 3 times before we realized that Rick and Marc were drafting off their wake (and probably telling them to run us over). We finally let the rower get past us and also let the other XT tandem get past by mistake. As long as they stayed with the tandem rower, we could not take the lead back from them. Our hope was their line over to Alki was going to cause them to turn and lose a little time while we crossed the finish line. Didn't happen this way. Their line was better than ours and they crossed a few seconds ahead of us. We then found out that Eric and Joost had a similar battle and Eric got the better line and beat Joost to the finish. Duncan secured the third place ribbon and Franklin was right behind him for first in the FSK class. | The crossing back over to Alki became painful with mixed boat wakes and you could not see the finish line. All you could do was follow a boat in front of you and hope that they knew where they were going. The morning glare and position of the sun made Alki beach look like a dark shadow. We heard a tandem rower come up behind us and they almost ran us over 3 times before we realized that Rick and Marc were drafting off their wake (and probably telling them to run us over). We finally let the rower get past us and also let the other XT tandem get past by mistake. As long as they stayed with the tandem rower, we could not take the lead back from them. Our hope was their line over to Alki was going to cause them to turn and lose a little time while we crossed the finish line. Didn't happen this way. Their line was better than ours and they crossed a few seconds ahead of us. We then found out that Eric and Joost had a similar battle and Eric got the better line and beat Joost to the finish. Duncan secured the third place ribbon and Franklin was right behind him for first in the FSK class. | ||
| - | We blew off the awards ceremony and immediately continued on our journey to the gorge. The trip there was uneventful (imagine that with Mike as co-pilot) and we arrived at the start line only to find Don Keisling's car but no Don. He was obviously out practicing on the incredibly flat water of the Columbia. The winds were not blowing despite the fact that it was hot and probably in the 80's. In fact, there was actually a light easterly breeze that was blowing down river instead of the westerly that was needed for this race to be a success. Mike and I quickly got our singles (Sport and S1-R) off the roof rack and hit the river in search of Don. It took us only 20-25 minutes to find him. There was a large river boat with a stern wheel (like the old gambling boats) coming our way and I thought I saw a kayak pop out from behind this large boat (ship?). We moved in closer and saw Don and his buddy Cory riding their skis on the stern wave that this boat throws off. The stern wake is a series of about 9-10 wakes that travel perpendicular to the direction that the boat is going so you have an endless wave to ride as long as the stern wheeler doesn't turn or stop. Mike and I jumped on a wake and once you were on a wave, you could quit paddling and just enjoy the ride. You would have to be there to see how it really was with about 25 tourists on the rear of the vessel watching the 4 of us playing on the waves while we traveled at speeds between 10 and 11 mph and Don has a camera in one hand while photografing us and the tourists. As long as you stayed in a sweet spot, you could ride without letting your paddle touch the water. Once we were back at the start line, we parted from the stern wheeler and headed for shore. I knew that if the wind didn't kick up for tomorrow's race, that I could always come out and ride the wake on the stern wheeler. Mike and I had reserved a camping spot up the hill from the river and were glad that we did after noticing that a train came along the river blaring it's horn about every 15 minutes. Living along this part of the river would be awesome if you were deaf. Other racers later told us that they didn't sleep much because of the constant noise made by the trains. | + | </WRAP> |
| + | |||
| + | ==== Wildside Relay Trip ==== | ||
| + | |||
| + | <WRAP indent> | ||
| + | |||
| + | We blew off the awards ceremony and immediately continued on our journey to the gorge. The trip there was uneventful (imagine that with Mike as co-pilot) and we arrived at the start line only to find Don Kiesling's car but no Don. He was obviously out practicing on the incredibly flat water of the Columbia. The winds were not blowing despite the fact that it was hot and probably in the 80's. In fact, there was actually a light easterly breeze that was blowing down river instead of the westerly that was needed for this race to be a success. Mike and I quickly got our singles (Sport and S1-R) off the roof rack and hit the river in search of Don. It took us only 20-25 minutes to find him. There was a large river boat with a stern wheel (like the old gambling boats) coming our way and I thought I saw a kayak pop out from behind this large boat (ship?). We moved in closer and saw Don and his buddy Cory riding their skis on the stern wave that this boat throws off. The stern wake is a series of about 9-10 wakes that travel perpendicular to the direction that the boat is going so you have an endless wave to ride as long as the stern wheeler doesn't turn or stop. Mike and I jumped on a wake and once you were on a wave, you could quit paddling and just enjoy the ride. You would have to be there to see how it really was with about 25 tourists on the rear of the vessel watching the 4 of us playing on the waves while we traveled at speeds between 10 and 11 mph and Don has a camera in one hand while photografing us and the tourists. As long as you stayed in a sweet spot, you could ride without letting your paddle touch the water. Once we were back at the start line, we parted from the stern wheeler and headed for shore. I knew that if the wind didn't kick up for tomorrow's race, that I could always come out and ride the wake on the stern wheeler. Mike and I had reserved a camping spot up the hill from the river and were glad that we did after noticing that a train came along the river blaring it's horn about every 15 minutes. Living along this part of the river would be awesome if you were deaf. Other racers later told us that they didn't sleep much because of the constant noise made by the trains. | ||
| We slept really well (in bed by 8:30 pm after a dinner of beer) and awoke at about 6:30 am to blue sky and no wind. We broke camp and went for a big breakfast at a little cafe before heading to the river to meet at 0900 and wait for the wind. The start of the race was delayed until signs of the winds arrival so one of the outrigger paddlers and I set out looking for a stern wheeler. We paddled all the way down to the Bonneville dam (4.5 miles) before we found it giving a tour of the dam. Just as we got there, it started it's journey back up river and we jumped on it's tail. I rode the number 5 wake all the way back except for when we went under one of the bridges crossing the Columbia and the stren wakes became walls of water because of the shallow depth. I popped out of the wake (not wanting to be crushed) and then jumped back on the same wave once the wave shrunk down to it's usual 3-4 foot height. After the bridge, they must have let the town drunk do the steering because the boat started weaving, and staying on the wake became a little difficult until you figured out that you just need to keep your bow pointed at his stern and you would stay on the wave. So we arrived back at the start line just in time to hear them say that the race would start in 15 minutes (and no sign of wind yet). | We slept really well (in bed by 8:30 pm after a dinner of beer) and awoke at about 6:30 am to blue sky and no wind. We broke camp and went for a big breakfast at a little cafe before heading to the river to meet at 0900 and wait for the wind. The start of the race was delayed until signs of the winds arrival so one of the outrigger paddlers and I set out looking for a stern wheeler. We paddled all the way down to the Bonneville dam (4.5 miles) before we found it giving a tour of the dam. Just as we got there, it started it's journey back up river and we jumped on it's tail. I rode the number 5 wake all the way back except for when we went under one of the bridges crossing the Columbia and the stren wakes became walls of water because of the shallow depth. I popped out of the wake (not wanting to be crushed) and then jumped back on the same wave once the wave shrunk down to it's usual 3-4 foot height. After the bridge, they must have let the town drunk do the steering because the boat started weaving, and staying on the wake became a little difficult until you figured out that you just need to keep your bow pointed at his stern and you would stay on the wave. So we arrived back at the start line just in time to hear them say that the race would start in 15 minutes (and no sign of wind yet). | ||
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| Larry Goolsby | Larry Goolsby | ||
| - | **Re: Trip Report: Great Cross Sound and Wild Side Relay……\\ | + | </WRAP></WRAP> |
| - | lori & beau whitehead** \\ | + | |
| + | ==== Re: Trip Report: Great Cross Sound and Wild Side Relay ==== | ||
| + | |||
| + | <WRAP indent> | ||
| + | |||
| + | **lori & beau whitehead** \\ | ||
| 08/25/08 #4824 | 08/25/08 #4824 | ||
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| Omigod! LG there is a cure! You just come on to NorCal in about 3 weeks. Get ya fixed up, good as new! No worriez! Got them Pt Diablo Blues, baby. Meanest blues you ever had. Salt water in yer veins aaand big ole waves right on your Mmmm, that's right - gonna be just fine.\\ | Omigod! LG there is a cure! You just come on to NorCal in about 3 weeks. Get ya fixed up, good as new! No worriez! Got them Pt Diablo Blues, baby. Meanest blues you ever had. Salt water in yer veins aaand big ole waves right on your Mmmm, that's right - gonna be just fine.\\ | ||
| MG | MG | ||
| + | |||
| + | </WRAP> | ||
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