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Gale Warning and Lk Whatcom Downwinder
duncanhowat
10/14/12 #13451
It's 2:19 and I see the gale warning is still up for the bay.We did the full length of the lake at 11:10, and once we got going it was about the best I've seen the lake. Long runs on steep waves.Pete's 64 th bday today, and he was going like the young kid he is. Allan, Sean,Mike, Pete, Jeff, DJ, Gabe, about 1:15 if you take out the stops 9.86 miles,seemed like the wind was 30-40 most of the way. Gabe and Siamon are headed to Larrabee. RD, Larry and Larry B, you guys missed a nice one. Next time. D
Reivers Dustin
10/14/12 #13453
It seemed to ease a bit, so I jumped in at Marine Park. Erik W had made a run down to the tunnel and we did a small loop. One particular wave came through and it was a rocket. I went a little nuts and heeled the boat over hard to ride left along the face of it. Has it been that long since we've had waves? What a hoot.
Somewhere in there I twisted my paddle and got a swim. Water was warm, wind didn't cause me trouble. Had to fool around getting the leash untangled. Good drill.
Eric quit so I made the Morris run along the tracks to the inside of the next point. It was challenging with the back-wash and heavy air. Lots of logs and weeds in the water. The run up to Post Point was not exceptional. But the shallows at Post Point were nuclear. Seemed like two sets of big monsters spaced about three minutes apart.
I got tired and pulled out. just then Simon and Gabe came around the corner having put in at Larrabee. I think I did all the talking - I was still buzzed from the rush. Rybzchk showed up, then Peter M showed up, then Dean w/o boat showed up, then … well. Today was a good day. I woulda did the lake, but couldn't get away.
rd
Sunday Morning Downwinder
lori & beau whitehead
10/14/12 #13452
Well, Tom & I also decided that a Lake Whatcom downwinder seemed a safer alternative to the bay. Locust and Cold Storage both showed a significant SE direction…. which is what we stand up paddlers prefer on the lake. But man, the way the wind funnels up that valley, there is rarely an easterly component of any kind once you are out there, thus pushing us the entire time back into the north shore. I suppose this is where a rudder would be helpful (duh), as when the wind is above 25 mph, it becomes almost impossible to overcome it by simply paddling on one side… and that one side gets awfully fatigued. We did have some very good rides however, dropping into the wave and driving down the line.
We launched from the end of north shore drive, it was 6 miles even, and I had a max speed of 9.2 mph…
