chill is in the air

The summer has just flew by. This year is my return to to boardsailing after a 7-year hiatus. When I went sailing the first day, I could hardly sail a couple of tacks because I was so out of shape and the disuse of the muscles groups. I was quite worry that I would be unable to resume the sport with my very sinky 35-liter board. 

I was thinking I may have to ease back in with more forgiving equipment but that would impose a challenge in how to carry them in/on Tatyana.

a longer board is out of the question for carrying inside tatyana as there is constraints on maneuvering a long object onto the upper berth; 7' 6" is about the limit with a couple of inches to spare from scratching the bath wall

one method of carrying longer boards - which i would not do (given my current priorities)

In my first day out in June I went to a sailing spot near Maryhill State Park in which the Columbia River is very narrow. Between the marginal wind, very swift current and my poor physical shape I was carried away by the current with my gear. I managed to swam to the shore exhausted fighting the backwash eddy near the shore and I was exhausted. I felt so humiliated thinking I used to be able to sail back in anything. I was also able to sail from sun rise to sun down. Ough!

It was my first time experience of having have to work up my lost endurance. Taking advantage of days of mellower wind speeds I gradually work up my endurance.
mellower days in the gorge

steve (a very good wave sailer) carving a jibe in the mellower day - i believe he was on a 4.3 sq m

I took rest in shallow water at the launch sites and bit by bit I could stay out in the water there longer and longer. After about 8 days I felt so much better and by 15 days or so I am back in the game as if I had never stopped. I had read somewhere once that windsurfing is an anaerobic sport. Well the generalization cannot be more wrong. High wind sailing and sailing in difficult and challenging surfs is hardly anaerobic. Find me a sport that you can lose 10 lbs in 10 days and yet keeping a various appetite. Two that comes to mind are downhill skying and mountain biking. Both of them happen to be the sports of choice of many high wind board sailors too.

In the past weekend which is the one after the labor day long weekend I went to Roosevelt (Roosevelt Park in Roosevelt, Washington) again. The forecast projected very breezy wind for the Sunday and Monday. Breezy in general forecast translates into very strong wind typically 30 knots upwards on the water.
parking lot of roosevelt park - camping and picnic are allowed in this park

I arrived at the park circa 10am. It is very early for this sailing spot due to relatively long distance and the typical late start of the best wind. Being the weekend after the labor day the parking lot was only 1/4 full. It was already blowing a stiff 3.5 - 3.7 sq m sail size for most men. We all expected the wind to get stronger as the day wears on.

Not wasting time I made my breakfast to prepare for a good session.
ham, cheese, mushroom, and bell pepper omelette - easy, delicious, and fills the spot

Out in the water I went with my 3.4 sq m and my 7'6" board. At the time the wind was at a lull. Anticipating the wind to build I stuck with the smaller sail. The wind built slower than I expected but nonetheless I was able to make the smaller sail work.

this is a photo from july in the same park - the size 10 flip flops placed as a scale reference

this photo may give a better scale reference for the board with an iPad on it

Eventually the wind got stronger and the swells also got quite big closer to the Oregon side. The relatively southerly direction created excellent port jumping opportunities. I had some of my highest jumps of the year and landed every one. In one tack I had 3 jumps in a row, with Randy chasing me from behind. With the very strong wind and direction one gets very long float time and able to land softly in a very controlled manner is such a pleasure.

I must have sailed a total of 6 hours that day from late morning to about 5:30pm, taking breaks between sessions. Towards late afternoon the wind was strongest with an increase of about 8 knots and the 3.4 sq m sail was in the sweet spot. In one hour long session I missed only 1 jibe. In all Sunday was the best day I have at Roosevelt this season. The swells were big, long, and the crests were steep and many.

Between sessions I return to Tatyana for a break and a small meal. There were 2 men admiring Tatyana and obviously were impressed by her unusual height accentuated by her short wheel base. The younger one saw me getting to the sliding door and just about to open his mouth, I recognized him immediately from over a decade ago in Ontario, Canada. He was one I bought one sailboard from. I said you are Frank and he have this bewildered look on his face. He obviously could not place me until I reminded him our encounters including sailing together in the Gorge. He was a very good sailor even then, but now he has taken up kite sailing.

He is one of few that recognized immediately the significantly of the Westfalia logo. He was very enthusiastic about wanting to know everything about Tatyana I gave him and his friend a tour of the inside and complimented every aspect of the design and execution. He asked me countless questions and I gave him the whole spills of everything about how the NAFTA James Cook came accidentally to the US all thanks to the misplaced euphoria during the "go go years" before the housing bubble burst. In that weekend there were many other admirers of Tatyana, including the owners of a Pleasure Way class B RV built on the longer Sprinter.

another breakfast with omellette - i took a short cut with the filling and they are a bit burnt

While the forecast for Monday in the area include dust storm, which generally translates into extremely strong wind (most men would use their smallest sail typically 3.0 - 3.2 sq m), it did not materialize. I started with my 3.4 sq m sail rigged from the day before but switched up to my 3.9 at noon. It turned out to be a modestly strong day but was relatively mellow after a very good Sunday. The swells were great for wave riding but not so good for jumping.

As with most silent sports that challenges oneself against the nature boardsailing is a great sport when the condition is good. As the Japanese would say the rider and the horse feels like one. When your are in shape and in tune with your equipment, your skills hold up to the challenges nature dishes at you. You can be so absorbed, concentrate, and pick your path amongst the seemingly chaos of the wind-wiped chops going as fast you skills and equipment allow. Before long you forget the potential mishaps because you are so concentrate and yet so at ease. You body with it's muscles is this dynamic machine under the commends of your brain and sensory system reacting to each and every advancing wake of infinite shapes, sizes, and orientations. You are so close to losing control and yet with your skills and resilience you always managed to recover at the nick of time. The stiff wind in your hairs and the sprays blurring your vision at times but that sweet clean air wiped up into your powerful engine of locomotion and nothing but you and the great outdoors, you lost all your earthly worries.

I had two great days of sailing in this late of the season at Roosevelt. Typically in September the wind in the Gorge begins to switch from Westerly to Easterly. By late September and early October the prevailing wind becomes Easterly and it lasts into late spring. Easterly wind can be extremely windy especially in the Western end of the river. The down side of sailing in Easterly wind is the river current is with the same direction as the wind, which means you are pointing very high into the wind all day. Fortunately during this time the river current is generally slower. The windchill results from low ambient and extreme high wind eventually stop even the bravest and strongest of souls. Many switches to skiing or snowboarding instead.

On Monday night I decided to camp out at Roosevelt even though knowing Tuesday would be no sailing. I enjoy the tranquility at this time of the year and the frigid night time temperature in the 40s.
sichuan chicken for dinner

king mushroom and bell pepper with sichuan chicken - i marinated the chicken with copious amount of sichuan pepper and chili pepper to give them nice heat and mouth numbing sensation; spicy and delicious

Sleeping by the Columbia River out in central Oregon with only occasional sound from the passing train at a distance, or barge in the river is a great pleasure. To prepare for the cold night I closed the bath room so there is no cross ventilation between the small skylight and the main cabin's side wing window. I left one of the two side wing window open to allow crisp cold air in. A down comforter and a fleece blanket kept me warm and I had no desire to fire up the diesel furnace. Only in at dawn I turned on the furnace briefly to warm up the cabin to prepare a fresh cup of coffee. The rising sun at the ESE quickly took over. All the new-born swifts are now grown and hunting at the distance.

Autumn chill is in the air. Not a note of man made noise is as good a time to listen to Strauss' Last Four Songs or Mahler's 9th. Autumn is my favorite season which I welcome with melancholy, and with the sweet memories of the spring and summer gone by.

a more secluded spot in the park which offer incredible 360 view of the area

preparing breakfast in the morning - ham, cheese, and mushroon omelette

cooking outdoors in the sunrise

sun rises and the path is much more to the south now

with the meat of a young coconut the omelette made a very satisfying breakfast

On the way back home from Roosevelt is this once an Alcoa aluminum plant. Long ago when the plate was in full use, one could always smell the foul odor from the metal plant driving pass this section of the highway. It has long since changed hand due to the global aluminum supply and demand dynamics of the new era. The sign now reads Columbia Aluminum Company. The plant has been shut down long ago, and it is evidently in the process of salvage and site cleanup. I have meant to take some pictures and finally I have a chance - snapped a few shots driving by. No doubt the original factory was erected here because of the cheap hydroelectricity made possible from damming of the mighty Columbia River that upended the livelihood of the native Americans. It contributed to America's war effort in the second world war as well the growth of the American post war economy. Now just an barren relic few passerbys now take note.

the front entrance of the defunct alumium plant

most of the factory buildings have been torn down

only few still standing

 looks like piles of contaminated soil being collected

 

While hydroelectric was the engine that drove America's post war industry in the Northwest, the new energy in the Columbia River Gorge is wind energy.

Immediately passing the defunct aluminum plate there is a long steep climb as the highway winds along the hillsides of the Gorge. In breeze days this is the most treacherous stretch of highway for vehicle susceptible to freaky wind guts. On my East bound trip out to Roosevelt on Sunday morning, it was very windy as Tatyana decent the steep climb. I was very alert in preparation of any sudden gust with both hands wrap tightly around the steering wheel. From gravity alone the vehicle maintained highway speed and I disengaged the cruise control and with my foot ready to brake split second response. I took notice of a black sedan behind me following quite close, and unnecessarily close for such light traffic and my slightly above the posted speed.

Shortly passing the windy sections at the top the road marking changed from no passing to passing allow for the descending side. All of a sudden a huge wind gust and with it it wipe up a big ball of tumble grass 15 to 20 feet high moving across the roadway in front of me. It happen so quickly my instinct is to carefully steer clear of it but before doing so scan with my peripheral vision to my left there is no unexpected traffic in the immediate zones. I always keep tab of the vehicles around me and I knew the sedan is the only vehicle nearby. As I steered slightly into the opposite lane just enough to avoid being hit by the ball of tumble weed smack onto the windshield guest what I saw. The black sedan, impatient with the first opportunity to pass, just initiated the passing maneuver and obviously paddle to the metal. I could see the driver was startled with the whole event. It was not a close call as I had Tatyana fully under control and I only wanted to steer just enough to clear the flying weed.

Descent the hill I resume the cruse control driving about 64 mph. Even 15 miles later the same sedan is no more than 3/4 mile ahead. Why the impatience to pass when our trip speed difference is so negligible?

this scene always gives me the eerie image of one movie based on a stephen king's novel with recuring images of massive power transmission line towers in the desert; instead of the transmission line tower, there are countless giant windmills dotting the landscape

along highway 14 in washington - mt. hood at a distance

overlooking johnday dam - very still now

Returning home on leisurely on Tuesday I stopped by Hood River to pick up few sailboarding supplies to replace the ones badly in need of replacement. In the last sailing session one of my harness line broke as it was very worn.
all the boardsailing goodies i bought for badly needed maintenance

corrosion and stress induced fracture - the stress from the weld likely contributes most to the latent failure

When I was preparing to leave Hood River I proceeded to close the driver side window. All I noticed was the window glass rose a bit and stop. Before I had time to comprehend what has happened it dropped out of sight and out of reach to the bottom of the door. Within a short moment I realize it has fallen to a very common failure I had read on the Sprinter-Source Forum. The slider of the arm actuated by the power window motor has slipped off the sliding track at the bottom of the window glass.

Being only 70 miles from home I did not want to tear apart the door to implement a temporary fix. I drove home with the driver side window open with an improvised ear plug fashioned out of tissue paper. The unexpected complication cut short my planned leisurely drive home to stop by a few places on the return trip. Fortunately the air ambient is at a very comfortable 70s.

the plastic slider has broken into two pieces allowing the shaft of the actuating arm to slip out of the slider channel

the split pieces of the plastic slider

To repair it one cannot purchase the broken slider alone. Instead one have to purchase the entire window regulator assembly at a whopping $250. Many Sprinter owner solve the problem by fabricating a home made slider out of closet wheel. I am taking a different approach. - Stay tuned.