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Longbeach

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Northwest Kiteboarding -> Gorge / Portland / Oregon Coast
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PostThu Apr 28, 05 7:21 am    Longbeach Reply with quote

My family has vacationed in Longbeach for years. I have never seen any kitesurfers there. Is there a big difference in wind between Longbeach and Ft Stevens?

I know they have a kite fest every year, and being able to drive on that beach it seems like it would be an prime place to launch.

Anyone ever kitesurfed there? How about in Willapa Bay?

trevorsmith

Since 25 Apr 2005
501 Posts
PDX
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PostThu Apr 28, 05 8:14 am    Re: Longbeach Reply with quote

I thought about it, but with all of those "Your going to drown and die from undertow and rip currents" postings all over the beach, I did not get into the water thinking there must be something to have these 20 ft x 20ft signs all over the place.

If the water (current/tow) is no different than other spots on the ocean I do not see why not. It looked real nice. I want to know if someone has rode in the bay
Trevor--

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NateDogg

Since 05 Mar 2005
627 Posts
I caught your mom on
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PostThu Apr 28, 05 8:35 am     Reply with quote

Hah, I was wondering when someone would find my little secret spot. I'm actually from the Long Beach Peninsula and learned how to kite in those 'dangerous riptides'. As long as you have a wetsuit and keep your kite up, you'll be fine. The only reason we have all those signs posted is because an above average number of tards have mistakingly thought you can swim out in the breakers with only a tshirt and shorts on. They get grabbed by a rip, panick, go hypothermic and end up drowning. It's sad when it happens, but people gotta realize this isn't California... I've actually had to ditch my board and body drag out to rescue people who went out too far...not smart.

As for wind it gets good every once in awhile, maybe once or twice a week. Most of the time the winds are right around 8 to 10, perfect for recreational flyers, which is why the kite fest is so succesful. Ft. Stevens is usually almost always stronger, but once the northerlies go above 20 or so Long Beach and Stevens will be the same.

As for the bay, you gotta hit it just right. The bay usually isnt a very windy spot for some reason, and when it is the tide is wrong. Beware of the tide too, because when it goes out it goes waaaaayyyy out and fast. You can actually walk across the bay at lower tides.

So all in all not exactly a kiting destination at all, but if you happen to be there and the wind is up charge it. The locals are used to seeing me out there so surf patrol will likely leave you alone. Cranberry approach to Bolstad is a pretty fun 5 miler...just get someone to follow in a car on the beach and throw buckets for two hours strait...good times

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PostThu Apr 28, 05 8:41 am     Reply with quote

I've surfed for 10 years and have paddled out at Longbeach (crappy mush) when I was bored. They are a great way to get outside. They have one in WestPort that runs along the jetty and also several at Shortsands (Oswald) in Oregon that create an easy way to get outside. I remember the ripetides in Longbeach being pretty tame.

I never paid any attention to sign's when I surfed but that's because your free of all the drag that comes with a downed kite, lines and all. I don't think I would hit Longbeach until I have more experience anyway. I'm still interested if anyone else has gone there. I don't imagine it having any less undertow or riptide than Ft Stevens, I don't know for sure.

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PostThu Apr 28, 05 8:44 am     Reply with quote

Missed Nates post.

Thanks for the info.

mikes

Since 13 Mar 2005
90 Posts
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PostThu Apr 28, 05 9:11 am     Reply with quote

With kite I wouldn't be worried one bit about undertow and but it's good to know what a rip current is. All in all I'd say the legend of undertow has been a good thing and very effective at keeping people from drowing.

I copied this from an email I sent my wife, she was FREAKED about our kids drowning from "undertow", I found this somewhere:
Quote:

Undertow for the most part is a myth, dreamt up to keep idiots out of waves that won't have a clue what a rip current is. Yes there is undertow, when the last bit of a wave washes up the beach then runs back down towards the water, that is the undertow. If you are standing in ankle/knee deep water it could knock you down, but it only lasts until the next wave washes over you. Once there is a wave between you and the shore the "undertow" is gone.

Rip currents are real and REALLY lead to people drowing from "undertow". All the water from the waves rushing up and down the beach has to go somewhere, it makes a slight current that runs parallel to the beach (throw a stick in some waves and odds are it will move down the beach). When two of these "longshore" currents meet they can create a rip that flows out thru the waves, usually the waves are knocked down and break funny, also the water can be a different color from all the sand/crap in the water from the beach. Rips are easy to spot and surfers use em to get out easier.

Undertow can knock people down, but a rip current is what kills someone that panics. Really steep beaches can have some serious undertow. If you're worried about it, get a boogie board and some fins and go experience waves

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NateDogg

Since 05 Mar 2005
627 Posts
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PostThu Apr 28, 05 11:02 am     Reply with quote

That quote is spot on mike. I've gone out in the Long Beach mush with a body board when it isnt windy and after only 30 minutes found myself about a quarter mile away from the spot where i started. People without wetsuites go out there, try to fight the rip and swim directly to shore. By then they're too tired and cold to realize if they just would have swam with the rip they would have been okay.

It happens every summer over there...and the funny thing is that usually the kids survive, its the 20 to 30 year-old studs with the 'f*ck off I know what i'm doing in 50 degree water without a wetsuite' attitude that end up drowning. Thats what the guy said when i warned him about the rip he was swimming in...twenty minutes later he was barely hanging onto the back of my harness getting pulled in. People just dont get it sometimes....

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