Tomales Downwind Camp

Months ago I got an email from Jeff Burton that basically said "we should put on a downwind camp."  Time passed and we brainstormed, put together a basic curriculum and eventually evolved the idea into a 3-day Tomales Bay Downwind Camp with friends who were interested in learning more, getting some focused practice, sharing ideas and having some fun.  It was an unofficial beta test for any potential future courses offered to the public.  What actually happened did not got to plan, but it didn't matter because we ended up having just a fun, refreshing weekend with a handful of dedicated paddlers with positive attitudes and a willingness to go with the wind, and the flow.

On Thursday evening I arrived to the hostel to realize there is no phone service (expected) and no wifi (not expected).  So I backtracked to Point Reyes Station and camped at the library for a few hours to finish some work before focusing my long weekend on paddling.  We approached Friday without an outline but with a general plan of collaboration and peer-coaching among the group.  Since the first run took way longer than anticipated and the wind sort of blew out while we were on the water, our 2-run intentions turned into a 1-run day.  The tail end of the wind passed and the calm before the storm came in.

It rained hard that night and we woke to increasing winds on Saturday morning.  We blasted through run 1 pretty quickly and everyone did really well.  Everyone is at a different level and was working on different things, but we still managed to function as a group.  At the Marconi Cove takeout we had some lunch in the sun, sang Gretchen a song (Happy Birthday Gretchen!) and shuttled back to Nick's Cove for a second run, this one with faster wind and bigger conditions.  Later we found out that others didn't fair so well on the bay that day and the Sonoma County Sheriff's Dept pulled off two separate rescues, helping 5 people in distress that day.  marinij.com/general-news/20150425/five-rescued-in-two-separate-incidents-at-tomales-bay .  Over pizza and drinks we discussed goals, attitudes, paddling theory and how much fun the bumps were.

Sunday was mellow with just four of us left on the water and small, defined bumps to chase.  Since we were all solid, I went all out and paddled hard until Marconi, gliding as much as I could along the way and linking some good ones.

Overall, we learned quite a bit about the venue and the logistics of offering such a course to the public. Tomales Bay has great wind, but little protection.  Not a great place for beginners, but an excellent location for paddlers with solid fundamental skills, proper equipment and the desire to get better and learn to downwind.  Future course or not, this was a fun weekend and a great chance to bond further with some good people and good paddlers.  I was just stoked to spend some time with friends and to see people improving their paddling skills in the wind.  Next April we'll be back.

Thank you Jason, Rosebud and Mister for shuttling our asses.  Photo: Jeff Burton

Marion aka 'SUP Glider'

of course there was some hooping by Gretchen - she rocked it this weekend.  Photo: Jeff Burton

It was a pleasure to paddle with Craig.  Photo: Jeff Burton

Jeff Burton of paddlestandingup.blogspot.com

fun runs on the bay

We got three nice runs in on Saturday on the latest Downwind SUP Safari with the Barbary Ghost.  Good times with Marion, Craig, Jeff and I on boards and Drew at the helm.  First run was a great warmup with decent glides and strong wind at our backs.  Drew dropped us behind Pt. Blunt where it's super easy to enter the wind.  Going from zero to twenty knot wind in 30 seconds is exciting!

The second run produced the most favorable glides.  Wind waves were small, but very catchable and real good for linking up runs.  Third run was smaller, but a nice cool down as we were all spent by then.  Back on board we changed out of our wet clothes, downed a beer and enjoyed the grub Drew BBQ'd up for us while cruising back to San Rafael.  You can't go wrong with boat assisted paddling.   I'm hooked.

barbaryghost.com

Afternoon Downwind Delight

I'm still pumped from yesterday's downwind session on the Barbary Ghost.  Captain Drew took us out for his first Downwind SUP Safari of the season, and true to his reputation, he hunted down and delivered some bumps for us.

photo by Drew Testwuide

Six of us were along for the ride, starting with a warmup run heading northeast to Red Rock Island. Mixed conditions made it difficult to find glides until the end, but it gave everyone a chance to get their legs under them, get wet and warm up their smiling muscles.

Run two was completely different as wind speed doubled, wave size tripled and glide time significantly increased.  We were limited by our own energy, not lack of waves.  He dropped us in the lee of Angel Island for a good run towards Richmond.  Everyone did fantastic, catching bumps, handling the strong wind and looking out for each other.

I'm again impressed with my new ride, the Cali 14 from Focus SUP Hawaii.  For a pointy all conditions race board, it handles damn fine in mid-sized downwind conditions.  It catches them easy, has great planing speed and the nose releases predictably when stuffed underwater.  No surprises from this board and the secondary stability is impressive.  Loving it!

photo by Drew Testwuide

photo by Christine Schneider

If you're in the bay area, check out the Barbary Ghost and get on one of the next downwind safari's.  You definitely need the skills to enjoy the thrills.  It's a challenging environment so proper paddling skills are mandatory and quality equipment is crucial.

Thank you Drew, Nico, Marion, Craig, Christine, Gretchen and Janet for a fun afternoon!

Davenport Downwinder SUP

The Davenport race last saturday, put on by the Ghostryders Watermans Club, was one of my toughest days on water ever..  I've paddled sea kayaks in some very challenging conditions and this was right up there.  20-25 knot sustained winds created some good sized swells a bit mixed up.  The route is a 14-mile downwind shot from Davenport Landing to the wharf in Santa Cruz.  There had to be close to 100 racers on paddleboards, standup paddleboards, surfskis & outrigger canoes.  The mass beach start was exciting to say the least and once we all hit the wind, just a bit offshore, racers scattered like mad.

By the end, the winner finished in under 2 hours.  I was closer to the 2:45 mark which was a few minutes slower than I wanted to paddle the course in.  I'm fine with that though, it just shows me that I have some improvements to make & having something to work on is good for me.

The finish line

San Fran SUP Downwinder & Artemis Racing

Sean Morley & I got out recently for a nice downwind crossing of San Francisco Bay from Horseshoe Cove, beneath the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge, to Berkeley.  We had to get an early start in order to be back in time for other responsibilities, which meant we were a bit too early for the wind.  But, no worries, the wind made an appearance halfway into the trip just as we were getting near Point Blunt.  The tide was flooding and assisted us to that point rather quickly.   

Sean in his P&H Cetus MV, myself on a Naish Glide 17'

Just as we crossed Point Blunt on the southern tip of Angel Island, we halted to allow the Artemis, the Swedish entry into this summers America's Cup, tear past us with amazing speed and sound.  They were out training on the AC72 with four safety boats in chase.  It was a perfect training day with clear skies and wind growing steadily from the WSW to about 20 knots by 12:30pm.  It was incredible to witness one of these cup yachts so close and going so fast.  It creaked like no other sailboat I'd ever heard and sounded quite 'tuned' for speed.  As we were crossing the tidal flow making our way from Angel Island to the Berkeley pier, it crossed about 300' in front of us, so close the chase boats had to split and travel on either side of Sean & I.  

Team Artemis

Team Artemis

Little did we know that not 30 minutes after that, the Artemis capsized, leaving one crew member trapped underneath the wreckage resulting in his loss.  Such a fun day for us and a horrific day for Team Artemis and the sailing community.  Days later, after hearing that the capsize was a result of equipment failure and not over-pushing the boat, I can still hear the creaking and moaning of the boat as it flew past us. 

Team Artemis capsized on SF Bay.  (photo AP/Noah Berger)