Jul 17, 2009
 After a few days of no wind on the coast or the gorge, the forecast started to look promising for another nuker in the Gorge. On Sunday I arrived at Doug’s beach with gusts over 50mph! I rigged my smallest sail which was a 3.7. Guys that were bigger than myself were on 3.2’s trying to survive. I haven’t sailed in that much wind in quite a few years and it was a blast! The one thing that stuck in my mind was launching off a ramp and floating downwind about 30 feet. I was lucky enough to be able to sail almost until sunset and not get injured.
The next day was ramping up for an all day jump fest. I decided to give another go at Arlington with an average of 36mph. Again I rigged my trusty 3.7 Goya Eclipse and hit the water. The wind was super steady with steep and deep troughs that were perfect for sky high jumps. Nathan Mershon, Mitch Gingrich, Whit Poor and Russ Faurot were some of the big names boosting big loops. I think we were all surprised that none of us came back to the beach with broken boards. It was truly a big air show! Here is a little video made by Epic Session’s David Troup:
After calling it a day I went back to David’s house and reviewed the footage that he took. It was great to see the boys going huge like I remember guys used to do back in my earlier years of living in the Gorge.
The next day was a lighter day compared to the past few days. I rigged up my 4.2 Goya Guru sail and launched off the point at the Hatchery. The Hatchery was the spot where the Gorge Freestyle Frenzy and prior Gorge Games were held. It seemed a lot flatter than out east, but was surprisingly fun. There were still some great ramps for looping and the wind was more welcoming and relaxing. We are in for another spell of no wind for a few days, so I’m crossing my fingers that the coast will be calling me back.
    
|
