Drop In Blow Out TODAY!!!!

carolb · Sat Jul 30, 11 5:46 pm **Drop In Blow Out TODAY!!!!**

The traditional Blow Out is set for today.

10:30 am - Dropping cars in HR.
11:30 - Pump up kites in Stevenson
12:00 - 1:00 Hit the water (it takes a lot of time to get kites launched at Stevenson.)
1:00ish start

We are going to do a rabbit start. Tony and Corey will launch their kites last so we know everyone is on the water. Then we will line up next to or behind them and follow them across the line. We'll have some flags on the rocks so you know when they are coming out and when they pass.

Wind was excellent in Stevenson today and the forecast looks good for tomorrow. We were on 8m kites today.

If you can be a support person, that would be great. Officially, this is a "you're on your own" event. There is no entry fee and no insurance. We will have a sign up poster board and hopefully we can get someone to take it to the finish line and mark down places when riders come in.

Can anyone get some beers or BBQ for the finish line?

Thanks for keeping the tradition going
See you tomorrow!
Carol

buttersmoothcarver · Since 08 Oct 2008 246 Posts Stoked

[Love the peeps that endure the 17 miles of " Why the fu$k do i do this every year"] BBQ

Where:

HR Marina Slip C-61

When :

Sunday , 6:30pm

What to expect:

Hot Grill and tons of blow-out stories. BYOB

carolb · Sun Jul 31, 11 8:08 am

Wind looks good for today!

We'll be making a run this morning to drop a car at the event site. Does anyone need a ride back to Stevenson at 10:45?

Carol

buttersmoothcarver · Since 08 Oct 2008 246 Posts Stoked

Carol,

I'll take a ride, give me a shout. I'm over in the marina.

tonyb · Sun Jul 31, 11 9:23 am

Latest on vehicles:

Dropping our pickup truck in HR in about 30 minutes. Grom has his green van and has room to shuttle three or four people back to Stevenson. Should be leaving HR by 11:00 a.m. or so.

Eric Reinstra has a big van as well. Meet at the event site this morning to work out the details.

Tony

Kraemer · Since 24 Apr 2006 1736 Posts Sky Pilot Unicorn Captain

Thanks for the great day guys! Glad we had good wind the whole way thru!

jdk · Since 21 Dec 2005 333 Posts Obsessed

Thanks for organizing!

tonyb · Sun Jul 31, 11 9:56 pm

Well the race was a blast! 12 started, 9 finished, right at the usual 25% DNF rate.

Race recap from the front of the pack:

Started launching in Stevenson around 1:30 on 7, 8, 9, & 10m kites. Except for Marybeth who went out on a 5 and Eric Reinstra took a 13m. Took about 20 minutes to get everyone on the water then Corey did us the honor of being the "rabbit start guy" to kick everything off around 2:00 pm in Stevenson.

Eric, Grom and myself got a jump off the start right behind Corey at the upwind corner of his line as he raced downwind towards Stevenson. We were pretty much in the middle of the channel while Brad stayed closer to the shore near Stevie for the start.

For the first two or three hundred yards it was me, Grom and Eric out front then Brad came zooming along the WA side of the river with a line that cut the angle towards the point across from Home Valley. By the time we were half way to Home Valley Brad was in the lead by at least a 1/4 mile. I hung with the center line of the river and slowly pulled away from Grom and Eric as they angled more towards Oregon.

Somewhere after Home Valley Eric got in to second place, then Grom moved in to third and I slipped back to fourth. But I was watching Brad and hanging more to the WA side of the river and Grom and Eric were battling it out on the Oregon side. Coming in to the narrows the wind backed off a bit and I retook second place and moved out a couple of hundred yards in front. Brad continued closer to the WA side keeping his 1/4 mile lead fairly constant.

The narrows to Viento was actually pretty easy this year with only a couple of weird swirly gusts to knock the kite around. Somewhere in here Grom moved in to second place when he switched over to the WA side of the river and I worked to stay in front of Eric but he soon overtook me as he worked his kite and hopped over the waves on his twin tip.

During this first 1/3 of the race Corey was running in 5th place a fair ways back as he was on a race board that kept trying to buck him off and slam him in to the water. But he stayed patient and kept reeling us in. By about 1/2 way down he was within a few hundred yards of the 4th place rider and holding steady.

After Viento we hit a light patch again that caused us to all start chasing gusts and soon had us spread out left and right hunting for wind. I was able to snag a nice gust that put me back in to second place and got me a couple of hundred yards ahead of Grom and Eric again. Probably helped a little by a faceplant that Grom took somewhere in there.

Once Swell City and the Hatch came in to view the wind freshened up just a bit and Grom moved well off to the left, I was in the middle and Eric was on the right as we looped our way down the river going toe side, then heel side trying to time it with the gusts and the rollers.

Brad kept holding steady in front of us with us maybe having made up a 100 yards or so by the time we hit swell city. I was in second, neck and neck with Grom and Eric with second place swapping between all three of us every few minutes as we worked the wind. Corey was just a couple of hundred yards back at this point and slowly gaining. Then I found a log in the water. The hard way. Came over a nice rolling swell at the Hatchery and had no time to turn or do anything before I hit it and got pitched head first off my board.

By the time I got my head above water I saw Grom zoom by me on one side and Eric on the other. By the time I got to my board and started moving Corey went on by. So now I'm hanging in 5th place watching the show play out. Corey was on the right side of the river hunting for smooth water and putting the hammer down when ever he gets a clear shot. Grom is looping on the left, Eric is looping down the middle and Brad is just about to the White Salmon bridge starting to angle towards the spit.

And Corey just keeps on going! The smoother the water gets as he nears Wells Island the faster he is moving. He passes Eric and move to 3rd place. Grom makes a high speed jibe and switches to left foot forward angling for the bridge to get out in to better wind. The Corey accelerates again and moves up to second place slowly gaining on Brad.

The last 1/2 mile to the spit has Brad in front by 200 yards (maybe more!), then Corey, then Grom and Eric battling it out and me back about another 1/4 mile at this point but slowly gaining on Eric and Grom.

And at the finish line (hosted by the lovely Sarah Wilson) it was:

1. Brad Gordon - who lead nearly the whole way!
2. Corey Roesler - The patient master who came from waaay back in the pack to nearly take the whole thing.
3. Grom - Looped his way to the end
4. Eric Reinstra - Big kite, twin tip with boots, hopped and skipped his way down the river. Pretty amazing against the surf boards.
5. Tony Bolstad - damn log! Smile

6. Carol Bolstad - couldn't find the finish line - but came flying in on a speed reach to win
7. Rachel Calahan - battled. and battled. and battled some more. Nearly won her first ever Stevie to HR downwinder.
8. Kraemer - Strapless. 'nuff said.
8.5. John Kjosling - hanging out with Kraemer
9. Pat - OG extrordinaire made it down.
10. DNF - Kirsten
11. DNF - Paul
12. DNF - Marybeth

Once we got to the beer cooler we heard that Carol and Rachel had battled it out most of the way as well. At the end their finish was about 5 seconds apart.

The first batch of guys made it down in just under an hour. The girls came in about 20 to 25 minutes later.

I really like this race as it requires equal amounts of strategy, skill, endurance and luck. In fact we all had so much fun we're thinking of doing it again the day after BOTG. Anyone interested?

Tony

Gman · Since 11 Feb 2006 4911 Posts Portland Unstrapped

pauls · Since 20 Jun 2005 564 Posts Northern Portugal Addicted

Thanks for the effort Bolstads and Corey put into this - it was a blast!

Onad · Mon Aug 01, 11 9:10 am

Awesome write up Tony! Bummed I missed it, was riding waves at Manzo!

I'm totally up for a blowout at BOTG! Love that race!

wylieflyote · Mon Aug 01, 11 9:15 am

I'll be there too for the BOTGBO! Missed this one dammit stupid wedding (not mine).

Jonpnw · Mon Aug 01, 11 9:35 am

Tony,

Great play by play description. Someday I hope to join you on this. I need a few more years experience first.

Way to keep the stoke alive!

specialk · Guest

Yeah! Thanks Tony, Carol, Corey, & Sarah for all your organization efforts! I had a blast even though I DNF :-(

Carol thanks for loaning me the carabiner - life saver!!! No jammed toes for this girl ;-)
I'll be in the neighborhood to return it to you Wed-Fri!

Bummed that I was forced to fly my 6m as my 9 would have been the money kite! Hitched back to Stevie's, called Sarah to let her know I wouldn't be at the finish, and found Dangler taunting me, flying through the air w/my 9m (now repaired kite)!

I'm absolutely game for another attempt - riding strapless when a kite drops out of the sky does not make for easy re-launch; though, with all that practice, think I've got that method licked now :-)

Speaking of next time - anybody game for a midweek downwinder?

wylieflyote · Mon Aug 01, 11 12:30 pm

K... I'm here in Lyle for the week. Definitely looking for a Viento/Sandbar. But waiting on wind. PM me if you see it.
Kip

tonyb · Mon Aug 01, 11 12:51 pm

Yeah, 9m would have been the kite to make it. didn't realize you only had a 6 to go on. Felt bad about my "30% of the time I have to swim" answer I gave you before the race. Seems like I jinxed you! Sorry bout that K!

Tony

tonyb · Mon Aug 01, 11 1:09 pm

I forgot to include one really awesome part about the start in my recap above:

While we were setting up for the race and getting everyone on the water there were three different classes of sailboats from Cascade Locks that were racing on the river. Little Lasers up by CL, something around a 12 - 14' class right out in front of the launch area and a group of about 15 or so 20' to 22' boats that were upriver east of the red buoy above Stevie.

So, somehow our start matched up pretty close with the big boats' start and their first tack was directly upwind straight at us to a the mark right off kite beach. The wind was cranking pretty good for them with spray flying off the bow and the boats heeled way over while we were hauling ass straight down wind skipping off the top of the waves. It looked like two mismatched armies rushing towards battle! Shocked

The boats were spread out left to right a bit and all the kites were spread out left to right bearing down on them. We stopped looping and kept our kites high and flashed through their front lines in seconds. High fives were exchanged on both sides! They probably wondered what in the heck we were doing.

Overall pretty cool sight. Guess you had to be there.

Tony