Surfski Knowledge Base

Larry Goolsby
09/06/09 #6944

Beau….I made 3 trips out in the last two days (only to be beaten by Reivers 4 trips). All weekend we had just about the maximum amount of wind that a surfski could handle and still call it fun. On Saturday morning, Reivers and I took the Elite tandem out and found that it was pretty stable in those big conditions. However, it was gusting close to 40 mph and this kept us from getting past Post Point for a second run. I was back home by 11:30 am and got a call from Reivers an hour later wanting to go again only this time in our singles. We arrived to find the wind reduced to 20 - 25 mph but the waves were still pretty good size. On our first downwind run from the tunnel, we had gone past the dry dock and saw two kayaks in the biggest waves. Just then, one flipped over and the owner was forced to do a wet exit. Reivers and I stood by while Nando (formerly of Johnson's Outdoors and looking for a job(REALLY, he needs a job))assisted him back in. Kinda tough conditions for a wet entry but this guy succeeded and lost his paddle in the process. He pulled out a spare paddle and continued his trip (saw him afterward in Marine Park)so Reivers and I went towards the harbor and circled that illegally parked fuel barge (most likely a terrorist bomb in disguise) before returning home.
Then this morning, the wind was up again but not so big at my house, so I called Reivers and grabbed my Special with the small rudder. Got to Marine Park to find it blowing almost as much as the day before. Heading towards the tunnel (bigger rudder installed), the waves weren't quite as big as Saturday's but the wind was building and gusting more than before. By our second run, we could hardly make it to the second point and now the waves were considerably bigger. This last run was the best and we called it quits after passing Post Point because the wind was peaking at 40 once again and trying to lift us out of our seats. Shaun later called and said that the wind speed on Eliza peaked at 45 mph while we were out. A really fun and exciting way to end the summer. My top speeds for the 3 times out were 11.3 (in the double), 12.8 (in the R), and 12.2 (in the Special).
Larry G.

Bay Downwinder report from Sunday
howratpaddler
09/06/09 #6946

Report from Duncan, Sunday Sept. 6

Kim, Bob and I (the older division, averaging 60+) decided that we needed to answer Beau's question “did anybody get out there today”. Here's our story from today:
I looked at the wind at Locust beach at about 2:30 in the afternoon and seeing that it was ramping up to 25-30+ and the tide was flooding, thought that this would make for a good run from Larabee into the Harbor. We loaded up the flares, the submersible VHS, and the waterproof cellphone pouches and headed for Larabee. The water looked impressive from the beach, particularly for us since we are novice/intermediates, but we thought “what the heck, we paddled the gorge with a 25-30 mph push, we can handle this in our Sports and Bob in his outrigger”.

We paddled out and noted that the wind was coming nicely straight down the bay, but it was blowing the tops off the whitecaps. So we paddled out past Whiskey Rock, then turned and burned. There were some pretty serious wind waves out there, as Kim would completely disappear down the waves in front of me. I remember a strange sensation that the wind was hitting us so hard it was difficult to make a stroke and the wind was rotating the paddle. I remember thinking, “hmmmm, we are going to discover the upper limits of our paddling today”. It was a little disconcerting to constantly be hearing Mayday calls to the Coast Guard on the VHS - one from the southern tip of Lummi Island from a boat that was going to go on the rocks, another as we approached Governor's that somebody was missing in Chuckanut Bay. Then an interesting wave component arose, in that an E-SE wind came out of Chuckanut Bay. With those waves coming out and meeting the other waves, we were definitely tested until we got past Clark's Point.

In any case, we had many long rides, 10.4 - 11.4 mph, and I believe the wind pushed us to Larabee to Marine Park in 35 - 36 minutes. Once past Marine Park, the wind was blowing towards the river delta so we slogged it out to the Harbor.

It was one heck of a run, easily as much as the Gorge, but maybe a little scarier. (the water was colder and the sun wasn't shining) We all stayed in our boats and had a great time. If the wind drops down a bit, we may do it again tomorrow. Thanks for the inspiration, Beau!

- Duncan, Kim and Bob