VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

S1 - Swell City - windsurfing (2023 June 23)

Freebie. Hit the water after doing a quick tour of the shops in Hood River – Big Winds is no longer renting windsurfing gear ~ sad. Nobody was collecting user fees today. Way more wings and foils than fin windsurfers! Super light at first then filled in to make it fun! Puffy wind and rolling water made for an interesting combination. Almost too hot in the 3/2 full suit. Forgot my camera at home (silly me) so the gallery is limited to iPhone shots.

Chilled dinner at the campground – the new cooler works so well my OJ isn’t thawing and I had to defrost both my lunch and dinner! Not much ice water for rinsing either ~

After staying at the Chateau WalMart Chehalis (the gate at the State Park was closed by the time I rolled up) I am looking forward to a better sleep tonight at Tucker Park - beautiful white noise and humidity from the river!

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S2 - Swell City - windsurfing (2023 June 24)



Early. On the water about 8:30 am. More wind. More swell. More smiles. Then off to the coast!

Wind/surf check in Newport – looked good but wasn’t keen on sailing solo.

Convoy. The convoy grew to seven in Florence last night. Some had winged Neptune. Others had been out at Flo. We all played disk golf in Reedsport and stayed in Coos Bay that night. The locals treated us to donuts in the parking lot at 3 am with the Baja lights and tunes blaring – sweet!

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S3 - Pistol River - windsurfing (2023 June 25)



Brisk. Five devils rode Whisky Run. Another devil went for a trail run. Then wind/surf checks at Whisky Run, Face Rock, and south jetty, and the rock. Two devils went out at south jetty and the other five went out at the rock. Water was brisk! Great warm-up no consequence session at the rock to get my gear tuned (flat 4.5/92). Steep sand dune to climb, cut by the winter storms, on the way back to the parking lot. Sunset dinner and beach campfire at Secret Beach south pull-out! Full day!

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S4 - Pistol River - windsurfing (2023 June 26)











Demo. I was more than curious to compare the new Goya Quad Custom 4 93 to my old Quad 92. Dan and Roz kindly lent me theirs. Comparison was in fully powered 4.5. Board seems to do everything better – quicker to plane, more compact feel, litter underfoot, well-mannered when overpowered, balanced in the air. I love the feel! Jens arrived and I saw him take his first ride at the rock! He was super stoked and all smiles! Wind kept ramping up and up. Some rerigged. I called it late afternoon to save some energy for the disk golf. Super burrito for dinner with the three amigos.

A BIG thank you to Jens for bringing my camera down!

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S5 - Cape Sebastian - wavesailing (2023 June 27)



Slog and ride. The south swell was rolling in earnest. Nanmoo started the session off tummy surfing. Portland Dave on SUP. Winddoctor was ripping SUP-foil early. Tweezer was making the wind look steady on wing. Redbaron, myself, Vickey and Jens joined in on windsurfing gear. Then Nanmoo on kite. Dan and Winddoctor closed it off on wings. I think we had all the options covered.

Pretty sure Tweezer’s wave count was well into the double digits. Redbaron caught some solid waves! For the rest there were waves caught and waves lost. A good day could have been next level for windsurfing with a bit more wind!

Dinner at the Thai food truck.

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S6 - Cape Sebastian - wavesailing (2023 June 28)













Hate. Morning glass was overtaken by wind quickly ramping up about noon. Clean wavesailing was quickly overtaken by full ‘hate’. Some were making it look easy including the locals like Dana, Luke, and Clay. Russ joined in later. Dana mentioned he was glad to see the BWD crew back again. Most of the BWD crew also represented well. I was struggling to connect the dots today and my wave count was in the low single digits – I was on the water mid-session and was served a strange batch of ‘hate’ that made positioning really difficult for me. Dinner riverside at the Indian Creek RV Park. Looking forward to a new day and new energy tomorrow.

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Such great times. Thanks everyone for being so special.

S7 - Cape Sebastian - wavesailing (2023 June 29)











Day and night. New day and new energy. The Cape was in a much kinder mood and the wind ramped up gradually today making for PSC-like slog and ride for the first part of the session. Super fun and my wave count was much higher today. Wings and windsurfers were the crafts of choice today. Sometimes all wings, sometimes all windsurfers, and sometimes a mixed group. Super burritos followed. Surf check at the south jetty to start and finish the day.

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S8 - Pistol River - windsurfing (2023 June 30)













F-bomb. The cape was flatish so we opted for the rock. Bubble was threatening and flirting with shutting the wind down, but in the end it cleared. Gear repairs on the beach while waiting for the late start. The offshore wind all the way up the Oregon coast had generated wind swell with some girth at Pistol River. We were treated to a more challenging launch and some big rolling A-frames on the outside. One memorable wall stood tall on the way out that I thought was going to stop me for sure. But somehow it stayed open long enough to climb up (way up) and over and I thought to myself “you are the luckiest man in the world!” Conditions made for some wide eyed moments and made me drop the f-bomb out load more than a few times while thinking, “What am I going to do with that thing!” Jens was giving it and his determination was yielding results. Russ was putting on a clinic and saw him nail one back loop with a dramatic vertical landing. Dinner from the Thai food truck and evening surf check at the south jetty. Full day!

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S9 - Pistol River - windsurfing (2023 July 1)

















The Michaels. Tsawwassen (Michael) arrived late last night. Morning surf/wind check at the south jetty found decent clean waves, but really strong gusty wind. The cape was looking flatish and already cranking. I was thinking it was going to crank today at Pistol and the swell was likely going to be bigger than yesterday! Earlier start and no threat of a bubble. On the water before noon to take advantage of the high tide. Three sailors out with matching blue Goya sails made finding and sailing with Michael tricky! Punchy shore break caught a few off guard including myself (two face washes for me right out of the gate). Swell was smaller on the outside today, but did start to build late in session and continued to build when Russ had the place to himself. Jens was riding frontside today! Michael and I both rode waves down into Bossland (on purpose) and were rewarded for our efforts! Beautiful warm summer day and more typical of Pistol River than expected! Dinner prepared at the campo by the chef and sous chef! Happy Canada Day all!

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S10 - Pistol River - windsurfing (2023 July 2)











Friend or foe? Morning surf/wind checks at the south jetty (strong, fairly steady wind, but was pretty flat) and the cape (super windy and no meaningful ground swell). Next stop the rock. Chatter on the beach was there was more wind than this time yesterday so the locals were opting for one size down (about 4.2 the average today). Our crew opted for 4.0 down to 3.7. By the time we took to the water we were all lit! More wind and less wave (felt almost flat at first), but the high tide launch kept you on your toes.

I tried a new-to-me small board – a 2017 Goya One 74 and have mixed impressions – it does everything well except turning off the wind to go down the line. I hammered on the thing and all it wanted to do was straighten out and accelerate – I thought I was going to kill someone or myself. Not at all what I was expecting (too much free and not enough wave). Unfortunately, after several tries I felt I couldn’t trust the behaviour of the board off the wind and just stopped trying to frontside ride. Only after a break did I try and again and got one in the backing wind. Yeah it was fully loaded and choppy, but I couldn’t make it work for what I was here for – frontside wave riding. Still nice to get out, but pretty disappointing and left wondering if this new board if friend or foe.

On a more positive note Jens had a great day – took a big step forward in confidence both the way out and riding frontside on the way in! Well done!

Tsawwassen was also looking comfortable and sailing well!

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S11 - Pistol River - windsurfing (2023 July 3)













Cadillac. Surf/wind checks at south jetty and the cape, then off to the rock. Biggest wind swell of our trip today (so far). There were some big close-out sets rolling through both above and below the rock. The locals were on it early on small-four-somethings. Many experienced and skilled sailors got washed today. Leo got a big cheer from the beach when he squeaked over a clearing set of mackers. Later John said it was like watching a Cadillac roll over some speed humps. Then the wind backed and one clearing set took out most on the water. Our crew took the advice of those coming off the water and rigged slightly bigger (4.5/92 for me). My first two tries out were meet with rejections (bad timing) but I came out positive on the day at three for five. Jens was charging again today – carrying speed and challenging outbound runs below the rock. Leo summed up the session, “We all survived the day! Surprisingly there was no gear carnage! There was a lot of lunar energy at the rock today!” Yes there was! Thai food truck for dinner after the south jetty surf check. Four vehicles at the new campsite at the campo.

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S12 – Forlas Lake - windsurfing (2023 July 4)

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Fresh water. NW flow battled the fog at the cape and the fog won. Drove north to Bandon and checked out Face Rock. Strange dumpy wave just south of the launch and light inside wind were a “no” for three and a “maybe” for one. Opted for the novelty session at Floras Lake. Halibut dinner at the campo.

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S13 – Forlas Lake - windsurfing (2023 July 5)



Seconds. Decided that staying in Gold Beach for one day out of sequence was high risk given the lack of ground swell and the lack of NW wind the last two days south of Bandon. So we decided to start heading north. Michael and I sailed a Floras Lake again with similar, but only slightly better wind. Jens kept driving and two of us made it to Tucker Park by 10 pm.

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S14 – Viento - windsurfing (2023 July 6)



No solution. Got on the morning wind at Viento. First time sailing there for all three of us. Early wind called for big gear and was fairly steady. As the wind ramped up it became more variable with some crazy gusts rolling through! Michael looked a little warm in his 5.5 mm hooded winter wetsuit in the 30 degree sunshine. Finally all three of us called it and went into town for lunch at Boda’s Kitchen then some errands in town.

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S15 – Doug’s Beach - windsurfing (2023 July 6)



Giant orange gummy. First day with two sessions. After most converged on Waterfront Park, the decision was to head out to Doug’s Beach. It was light by Doug’s Beach standards, but still was fun (more fun than Floras Lake) and gave Jens a taste of what it can be like. When I was out on the water I had an odd encounter with a giant orange gummy (it might have been Michael on his wing, but pretty sure it was a giant orange gummy). I gave the giant orange gummy a high five as I sailed by and it disappeared! Odd that. Wind filled in a bit and we called Jens out on the water. Fun sailing with Johnny too! Had my first huckleberry – thanks to Jens as he was tall enough to reach them. With Jens’ departure, then there were two. Glad he had such a great trip. Super to see someone enjoy the process of discovery so much! Sorry to see him go. Mexican for dinner at the Taqueria – really glad they served us at quarter to nine pm!

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S16 - Waterfront Park – windsurfing (2023 July 7)





Windy. Leisurely breakfast at Tucker Park and then off for a look-see at Viento. Chatter on the beach was it was gusty and shifty like yesterday. Off to Waterfront Park. It was cranking on arrival. Easy decision to rig the smallest gear we had (3.4/74 for me). Once on the water my new-to-me high wind board was still giving me some control issues so I stayed below the White Salmon bridge with the others sailed up toward the Hatchery. I still got to sample some of the swell in the main channel, but it was a lot of work keeping everything together – there was a lot going on (wings, kites, sit skis, and more). After I gave up on the 3.4/74 combo, I took the opportunity to compare the Elite 3.4 to the Taka 3.8 and confirmed what I suspected the 3.8 offers more control even though it is slightly larger. Beware of the text option to pay for parking (it doesn’t work and some were issued a $65 parking ticket). Michael, Johnny and Heather all headed north today. Dinner at the Thai food truck ate outside the library overlooking the river. Another full day!

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S17 - Viento - windsurfing (2023 July



Over and under. A very unpleasant all (way too much) and nothing (no sail big enough) session. Took a few rides and it was worse than the other day so decided to look for something better.

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S18 - Rowena - windsurfing (2023 July



On and off. Found it – a nice cool-down 4.5 session. There were lulls, but the on was just right! Nice to leave the Gorge with a smile!

18 sessions in 16 days! Gorge and south Oregon coast! Windsurfing and wavesailing! New and old friends! Another great trip!

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Thanks for posting your log, C36! Stoked everyone scored. I had a great time with the crew down south. Missed the second shift sailors though!

10 days was just right for me....Florence was so awesome and the Gorge was the real Gorge....chose not to sail the last day even tho it was epic winds and swell, I was done

Too bad we didn't share a wave C36, seems we kept missing each other in the Gorge. Another time perhaps.

Planning to head to Coast / Gorge July 31 evening till Aug 6. Anyone going to be down there?

Hey Mike,
My girlfriend and I heading down on the 6th for a week. Would have liked to share some waves with you. Hope you score.

Ahh bummer, will just miss you