I left very late on Saturday to avoid the traffic due to closure of section of I5 for repair. Unsure of where the likely best sailing spot is the next day I camped near Hood River which is essentially a safe bet. The wind was blowing briskly all night and it was all shaping up to be a breezy day in the river at Hood River. Still weary I woke up rather late of around 8:00am. but by then the wind has diminished significantly. The cloud has moved in and they are not the marine layer that would burn off as the day progresses. I made coffee and ponder on the next step. I decide to drive East to Roosevelt, WA. By the time I headed off it was already near 9:00AM. I was not happy with myself. There is about 1 hour drive from Hood River, OR to Roosevelt.
Nearly as soon as I left Hood River it was clear that it is shaping up to be a very high wind day out East. I can have a good day of boardsailing and also proving out the new Koni shocks that I just bought for Tatyana.
Driving East on I84 pretty well from Mosier onward I enjoy a stiff tail wind. I generally just rely on NOAO's forecast on the web which is what I relied on for years. I have gotten pretty good in taking their general forecast for the nearby city and translating to the always much higher windspeed on the water because of the funneling effect of the gorge canyons.
The wind was blowing from WNW which is the most common prevailing wind this time of the year. The I84 going past The Dalles has the most interesting change of directions which entails heading S then quickly E and then nearly dead N before I84 settles back to more the less Eastwards. There are tall canyons before and after The Dalles as the highway head S and N, hence the vehicle tends to be hit with gusts of wind broadsided. The sign reads "Wind Gusts"on the freeway testify to it. Tatyana went through The Dalles with no drama. In the strong gusts that hits her more the less broadsided he maintained her composure. You still have to steer in respond to the gusts. The strong rebound damping means there is no wallowing or wandering. Each gust is dealt with punch by punch without oscillation. It feel like a different vehicle altogether and now it feels so confident and surefooted.
Just after Celilo Falls I84 again takes a similar turn like before The Dalles. By now the wind is blowing much harder as the day progress and as we are now closer to central Oregon's desert. Still Tatyana handles the gusts beautifully.
I took the bridge at Maryhill to cross into Washington, which is the last river crossing to get to Roosevelt. At the top of hill after the bridge I found out that Highway 14 in Washington was just closed. I am so bummed as it is the only way to get to Roosevelt. I would later found out the reason for the closure. A flash flood related to the weather system that bring us the strong wind on Sunday also caused two major mudslides on the section of Highway 14 between Maryhill and Roosevelt.
Normally at Rufus which is within stoneflow from Maryhill may be a good alternative but due to the very high water current cause by John Day Dam dumping a lot of water as well as the less than ideal wind direction sailing at Rufus would be very miserable. Stopping briefly at Rufus proved it to be the case. I continue driving E on I84 to Arlington.
When I arrived at Arlington's Port Marina the wind was "blowing like sting" as the Gorge boardsailer would say; just short of "blowing nuclear". The swells are huge. I had never care to sail at Arlington because of the very treacherous rocky launch. Not being in shape I had no desire to sail here. I drove on towards Three Miles Canyon.
it was easily 40 knots with higher gusts, the swells are much bigger up wind a bit; photos taken at a distance always fail at capturing the dynamics and intensity
By the time I arrived at Three Mile Canyon it was already 11:00AM. There are 20+ vehicles. I found a nice spot for Tatyana upwind by the water. It is always a good idea to be upwind in very windy condition. I parked right next to the fence of the Indian Treaty Reservation fishing area. It was totally deserted and I reckon it is not likely any Indian would show up on such a windy day.
here is an unedited video (rendered to 720p 30fps) taken free hands at arlington and inside the jetties at three mile canyon
tatyana sitting so regal by the water
The day was sunny with blue sky in the Oregon desert, with day time high of near 80. One nice thing about high wind sailboarding is the camper receives very little solar gain even if parked in direct sunlight. The constant strong air movement across the vehicle surface dissipates any temperature rise from solar gain. For solar gain reason I prefer all white vehicle if given a choice. For the NAFTA James Cook the other color is dark blue and I cannot be happier for the classic German racing color - silver. I cannot imagine wanting a dark color.
The launch is much nicer here. While most of the share is still very rocky with sharp rocks, a small 15" or so at the boat ramp is relatively sharp rock free. I rigged a 3.4 sq. m sail. My smallest sail is 3.0. The 3.0 sq. m sail is reserved for the nuclear days. Also for the nuclear is an ice hockey goalie's helmet with the fully cage-like face guard. Because it was built as a boat marina the there is an expense of water about 800 ft that is protected by jetties. To reach the action out in the river you have to sail out past the jetties.
the waves are small inside the jetties; the jetty opening is on the far right in this picture
tatyana in the distance, my 3.4 sq m and 35-litre board in the foreground
The gorge trip served as a "proving ground" for Tatyana's newly installed Koni shock absorbers. It transforms the handling. No more annoying wandering and dangerous wallowing at high speed. Undulating pavement is tamed at each perturbation. Her vision improvement is complete with the passenger side parabolic mirror and the rear view camera. I can now drive her with confidence with good vision all around. Parking and backing up is now a snap even though this is the largest vehicle I have ever owned. When I return home I removed the bubble mirror on the driver side. I feel totally at ease with both rear view mirrors and they look and work so much better this way.
I hardly feel that the Konis make the ride harsher, especially at speed. They make the vehicle respond to uneven terrain much more controlled. The ride is supple as opposed to the typical wishy-washy under-damped stock suspension remind us so much of the 80s American land yacht. Instead of the cheap and uninspiring springy bounce each bump is damped out mostly on the first rebound. The lack of harsh ride is due to most of the work being done by rebound, which would be the case if the compression is set too firm. On the strong side gusts you still have to steer to respond to the sway. Very noticeably there is no more wandering caused by oscillation due to under-damping of the stock shocks. The sway induce by the gust also has reduced. The vehicle dynamics has significantly improve around town and on freeway alike. I am very happy with these shocks. No doubt the front struts are the biggest improvement on high speed handling with undulating pavement and strong wind gusts.
The shock absorber upgrade, together with the improved side and rear visibility, and the leather wrap steering wheel make Tatyana so much more pleasurable and safer to drive. It feel so nimble and responsible for a 4 ton and 11 feet tall RV.
the strong wind diminished significantly around 4pm when when a long streak of cloud move over the area; have it not because of highway 14 closure i would still be sailing
cooking an early dinner
Is the Westfalia James Cook all good? May be not. While is it like traveling without leaving the comfort of one's home, the Westfalia James Cook cannot hold a candle to the VW Vanagon Camper as a perfect sailboarding camper. The VW is a born-natural for a very comfortable sail mobile because of it very efficient packaging and interior volume and low roof height which affords roof rack system for as many as 3 boards and all the whole sail quiver with masts and booms in one giant Thule 600 roof top carrier. To me the VW Vanagon is the benchmark which the merits of all other campers are judged. It has nearly 2 decades of stepwise refinements based on a very good original design. To this day it is still the best compact camper and I am always so happy to see them on my trips.
vw camper in southern oregon coast en route to pistal river for some ocean sailing
this is my favorite vehicle ever - only wish there is a toilet and a inside shower
a light day in the gorge with shadyboy awning deployed
james cook on the other hand imposes immense challenge for most sailboarders with their equipment quiver - i carry all mine inside
Adding any external sail equipment storage outside of the James Cook would require drilling into the fiberglass high top or appending rather large board storage to the rear that will increase the already long vehicle length. Fortunately for me I only care to sail in the Gorge with my 7'6" board which can fit inside using the extra space afforded by the bathroom to feed it onto the upper berth.
My next car....will be white...
ReplyDeleteGreat scenery! Filet mignon yum...