Bluff photos from the Sandbar today 2-13-07 & economic o

shredbarbie · Since 17 Sep 2005 97 Posts Hood River, OR

I ran up to the bluff today in White Salmon to take pics of the changing river conditions at the mouth of the Hood River. You can see the incredible growth that has happened since the flooding last Nov.

The sand has almost completely blocked off Nichols boat basin. I'm thinking it will now be converted into a lucrative natural blue-green algae / Spirulina farm, producing some superpower tablets with a little extra paint-thinner kick.

In addition, I also propose the transformation of the Hood River Sand Bar into the sister island of Palm Jumeirah Island off Dubai, into Kite Jumeirah, Hood River, a solid crescent-shaped island, complete with million dollar homes and wind machines to generate a constant 20kt wind. I am pretty sure that plan is going to be seriously considered.

bamboo · Since 24 Jun 2005 165 Posts da 'chung; taiwan Stoked

so the fact that god gave us the extra large sandbar and...

man gave them jumerirah...did that come into play?

i just don't see the port making the connection. plus we have beckham now so he'll need tio sell his dubai estate and buy locally. it wont be soon before we are pulling f16's of el amir's palm tip.

all that aside. how did the meeting go tonight? did anyone bring up the fact that squamish (through govn't funds) has invested signigicantly in ugrading their facility yet we can't get more than chopped down trees and a parking lot launch. that doesn't really suffice for pushing it forward or responding to market changes. that' alright we'll just evolve around them.

lastly....will it be converted to a lucrative natural blue-green algae / Spirulina farm or into a new100 bed hotel for some out of town naito investors??? only time will tell. clearly kiting is at the bottom of their list. there's just not ROI on that front.

alright diatribe done.

tstansbury · Since 06 Jun 2006 649 Posts Rowena and P.C Addicted

who is going to be the first to try and jump the section out of the hood river?

Hein · Since 08 Mar 2005 1313 Posts Possessed

golf carts?

magicmaker · Since 29 Oct 2006 895 Posts da Hood Opinionated

awesome pictures!

tstansbury · Since 06 Jun 2006 649 Posts Rowena and P.C Addicted

I was talking about kiteing out the hood and jumping the sandbar. But I would love to see Hein jump the hood in a golf cart. In fact I think that stunt junkies show would be interested in that.

Hein · Since 08 Mar 2005 1313 Posts Possessed

J.P. · Since 10 Mar 2005 638 Posts Addicted

Pepi · Wed Feb 14, 07 12:11 pm

Would that Golf kart come with a snorkel attachment?

EdG · Since 19 Dec 2005 424 Posts Just a Kook that's Obsessed

are there going to be 2 carts so we can race with no wind Laughing

Inept_Fun · Since 14 Apr 2005 1417 Posts Hood River XTreme Poster

All I know is the flatwater below the Marina is gonna be unreal,I cant wait.

Pepi · Thu Feb 15, 07 8:44 am

Flat water below the marina might be pretty dang close to the bridge, so don't get too stoked just yet.

Also, this current sandbar is likely to look very different in comparison to whatever sandbar we end up with after the Spring runoff.

Pepi

NateDogg · Thu Feb 15, 07 9:14 am **Lazy individuals**

It's come to my attention recently that some people, not necessarily on this forum, might voice strong complaints about kiters possibly being forced to launch from the west end of the sandbar, making them have to walk farther than the windsurfers. For these poor souls, I have a solution:

I'll work with the Port of Hood River to partition my very own parking spot on the northern edge of the sandbar parking lot, a perfect locations to catch all the action on the water.

When sedentary souls pull up to park in my spot, I'll cheerily greet them, pack up all their brand new, fresh '07 and a half gear for them and promptly rush it down to the farthest point on the sandbar. I will then lay out their kite, unwind their lines, and even pump their kite up for them.

No need to get out of the car because this is a full service operation! I will even go as far as having one of my assistants launch your kite, but not a minute before I fix your narrow stance, chop off your dongle and shorten your front lines. Once your gear is dialed, suicide leash attached and kite launched, I'll grab your board and proceed to session for several hours.

Seriously folks, no tips please, this service is all-inclusive. You can even hit up Micky D's down the street if you feel a bit tuckered out from watching your gear work so hard. Don't worry, your gear won't even notice.

Hein will be offering golf cart shuttles for adventurous kiters wishing to get a closer view. Only Hein drives though, and has first dibs on any alcoholic beverages you may have chosen to bring. Hein is also not responsible for any 'unfortunate' accidents that may occure along the way.

Once your gear is done, I'll land it, deflate it, neatly pack it up and run it back to you and your vehicle quicker than you can finish your big 'n tasty. A handshake, a smile and a benny in my pocket later and you're on your way. You even keep the suicide leash! What a deal...cuz that's just the kind of guy I am.

Twisted Evil

forrest · Thu Feb 15, 07 9:31 am

Hahhah, to funny!

Pepi · Thu Feb 15, 07 10:31 am

Natedogg, you totally crack me up!!!

One thing that I do hear from other kiters around the outer NW region is the question of "are you guys a bunch of weak assed pussies, who can't walk a hundred yards across flat sand??"

For those of you who have never kited outside the Sandbar area, here are what other kiters walk, climb, and hike across in order to get in their kite sessions.

The Bellinghamsters actually repel down a freaking cliff from Chuckanut Drive down to Dogfish Point. That is when they are not walking the half mile from Marine Drive down to the NorthEast end of Bellingham Bay.

The Seattle Kiters are either paddling their cheap rafts a half mile over to Jetty Island, or walking a mile from the parking lot and across a bridge down to Richmond Beach to get in their sessions.

The Oregon and Washington Coast kiters sometimes walk over a mile down to their launches, and this is over deep, soft, dry sand.

Then there all the launches endured by our Canadian friends from the north at Squamish, Nitinat and Harrison.

I know a lot of you haven't seen me kiting much and may think that I am primarily a windsurfer.
But, I have kited at almost every one of those launches, and was one of the first kiters in Seattle to do this, along with Clack, Penxa, Koch, Meyer, Vance, Bam, and Lavell. I was also one of the who was wasting time building boards and bars back then. As well, my windskipping roots were nurtured with the older Bellinghamsters who are all now actually kite customers of mine.

There is an old Sumo saying, that says sometimes you just need to " suck up a nut and deal with your issues.
Just wanted to try to keep our reality in perspective.
My apologies to whomever will be offended by this reality.

Thanks
Pepi

boredbrain · Since 16 Feb 2006 352 Posts Hood River Obsessed

More sand the better, that's why the coast is so much better than the gorge.

shredbarbie · Since 17 Sep 2005 97 Posts Hood River, OR

Hey Pepi,

Way to bring things into perspective!

Not to mention the nasty tides and seaweed we've all picked from our lines at Golden Gardens in Seattle. There will always be some issue to deal with, but if we didn't like challenges, we wouldn't do this sport.

Keep the Seattle kiting mantra alive "walk a little, kite a little, swim a little."

-Kirsten Very Happy