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===== To Downwind or Not to Downwind? =====

**Growing pains - Re: Informal downwind race Saturday?**

**Reivers Dustin** \\
11/03/12 #13533

There's enough folks doing this to cause some crowd control problems. I'm pretty easy with everything, but Duncan and LG have laid down some bucks and overhead to pull trailers and stuff. Also, we have all become aware of 'downwinder effect' - I mean if conditions seem perfect for your ability, but then when you get to the put-in and it looks like your death warrant what are your choices? 1) weenie out and ride back with the shuttle? 2) die with honor? 3) hope somebody notices that it's over your head?

Most likely it looks do-able until you get out in the middle - then it slowly dawns on the primative brain: I'm screwed. At this point there is no way to communicate with anyone. You find yourself committed.

If what I am saying has never happenned to you: it's someone next to you. Just trust me on this part: you will not like it if someone in your group goes under. It won't matter how much you never really liked them anyway. Suddenly you are the asshole because in reality, you could have done something. And it won't matter how many other assholes are standing next to you at the take-out.

Downwinders are special. Maybe OC boats are exempt. I know they make totally reliable rescue a possibility. Surfski to Surfski rescue is a sketchy deal. On the other hand, OC boats can't beat upwind as well. So downwinders have huge value for OC boats.

Lets get some game here everyone and look around when you are on the water.

As far as everyone crowding onto Duncan or LG's trailer - I hope it works out. I'm so pumped. the way these conditions are working out, it's almost better than summer!

rd

**Windward shore\\
Reivers Dustin** \\
11/04/12 #13540

Looking better and better. Locust showing 35 - 45 a tad heavy. Padilla bay showing 25. Good air even further South. So this blow is not just a passing thing.

One caution: It has a lot of Easterly in it. This is that part tempts you to go off-shore for the bigger rides, but won't let you come back.

think ahead folks.

rd

**Larry Goolsby** \\
11/04/12 #13541

So Reivers posts this cautionary note about the possibility of conditions exceeding the fun factor, then immediately grabs his paddle and runs out the door. I met him and Pete Wells down at Squalicum Harbor; they had their R's and a shuttle bunny. As we drove down Chuckanut, you could see whitecaps coming off the beach within Chuckanut Bay - a good sign if you have a fat boat. Wind was bigger than I expected. Nice big rollers, not so fast that you couldn't catch them. Instantly saw my GPS spit out 11's and 12's. Cruising speed was in the 10's. Then it got wild. Once we were past Chuckanut bay, the waves got big and steep (steep enough to stand on your footplate). I kept broaching because I had brought along my DK weedless rudder. Weeds were not really an issue in this stuff. Not only had the wave size grown over 4 feet, but they were coming from two different directions. Wind was definitley gusting over 40 at this point. I hit 14.5 on my GPS just off Clarke's Wall. Then as we passed the tunnel, it simmered down a bit. Got hit by some serious crosswind after rounding the drydock - it almost lifted me out of my R. After that, we had nice rides all the way to the Bellweather. This was the best downwinder I've down outside of the gorge in two years.\\
LG

**Reivers Dustin**

11/05/12 #13543

This was super-sized downwinder. That stretch off the wall had those cross-pattern waves. Sometimes there would be just a big pyramid of water as the two wavesets combined. We all got slapped around enough to have fairly high butt-suction going on. Nobody came out of boat. I was looking ahead at Pete and could see him standing on the footplates - hard to not get the ride when you are vertical on the wave-face. I think his R, being lighter, was catching everything. I got swamped a few times and I saw LG get swamped and turned sideways.

Once we got away from the wall area the waves weren't as confused. Post point they started lengthening out. The wind was tricky in the bay and there was a mixed patch of water where the current from the river was. But this stretch was super fast and easy to control. Looked like Pete and LG were paddling 'gangnam style'.

groovy baby.

**babyrebozo** \\
11/05/12 #13544

I was thinking of Reivers message about "staying safe" out there, when five minutes into our paddle I lost control of my rudder. Before I could begin to formulate a gameplan on getting back to Larrabee, Larry and Reivers had pulled up along side and were working to replace the yoke back the rudder shaft key, and I was back in action. You cannot paddle with two safer and more experienced paddlers than these two, and they really eliminated a bad situation for ol' Bubbles.

The conditions were pretty wild out there……cross waves, big gusts a bit from our right, waves so steep your had to have a lot of good timing and body English to keep the nose out. All in all, an educational paddling session. Now whether you should attend "class" a half mile out, with off shore gusts hitting maybe forty or so……..well, the jury may still be out on that one. I'm glad I was with really good paddlers. And we all came to shore with big smiles on our faces.\\
Ellwood Whyyte

**hilburnjjcl** \\
11/06/12 #13547

I was just warming up paddling towards Post Point when Larry, Pete and Reivers passed me heading down to Squalicum Harbor. I did one loop off of Marine Park and then decided to ride some waves past the dry dock. A word of CAUTION.

Once you're 50 yards past the drydock, the SE wind hits you off of your right shoulder from funneling through the area by Fairhaven Boatworks. You are protected off Marine Park from the predominant wind waves. I wanted to head towards Boulevard Park and Woods Coffee, but a new predominant wave direction was pushing me NW now. You get this mixing of the SE wind direction and new waves and it is a mess. I've noticed this before and run into some "puckering" issues. I just tried to relax and stay pointed at Squalicum and then slowly worked myself over to Cornwall Beach. For a while I thought I was going to be heading all the way to Squalicum Harbor before I could work myself back over to the right. I had a couple of near broaches trying to fight waves, which just leads to more puckering. My advice is to be careful if you're thinking about heading around the corner from Marine Park on big days.

Hilburn
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