Charliss,
I was a certified windsurfing instructor by the time I was in the eighth grade. However, I am still very much a beginner when it comes to the conditions of the Columbia River Gorge. When I was teaching I had a long board and soft breezes. The board would support my standing on it regardless of whether it was moving or not. In the Gorge, the boards are sinkers or transitional boards which means you have to be moving to stand on them. To do that you have to do waterstarts (while in the water, maneuver the sail to pull you out of the water onto the board which is now moving, all in one smooth movement). I have a long way to go on my waterstarts and look like a drowned rat after every session on the river (once or twice a summer, I need more TIME). The worst is being about a half mile out in the river, right in the middle of the shipping lanes, four foot swells, and a barge headed my way. It take about a mile for a barge to stop, so I was very lucky that I somehow managed a really quick waterstart that time. Talk about 'breathless'. One time too I had to paddle 4 1/2 miles home after the wind died after sailing to the other end of Wallowa Lake. Still, when everything comes together and the board is hyrdoplaning and I'm fighting the wind, going maybe 35-40 miles and hour, water rushing below me, I can hardly think of anything more exhilarating. Ok, enough about that.
G'night (or good morning probably when you read this)
Kurt |
