Sharon
New member
Finally, after being skunked three times, on my very last day, the day I was flying out, it became windy, even after a meager forecast. So I headed to Hood River in hopes of my last chance to windsurf at the windsurf capital of the U.S.
I decided to take a lesson with Brian, who is one of the best instructors in Hood River, and I can attest to that fact as being true. I really liked the way he taught and he really got through to me and explained the body positioning very well.
When I arrived, he was very busy fielding customers, as some of his staff did not make it to work. He was upset about this, but told many of the customers who were waiting that he would refund their money or they would get a big discount if they came back on another day. He said to me "one thing I learned, is to not hire people just because they need a job". Brian clearly has a passion for the sport, and he wishes his employees did too. I told Brian that I could just go out and work on the things I am currently working on and can skip the lesson if he is too busy. He told me that he would have time for me at 1:30.
In the meantime he sent me out with a 4.7 sail on a 125L Bic Techno (not unlike the one sitting next to the club's shed...but in much better condition). At first I wasn't sure if 4.7 was going to be enough, but yikes...I was pulled immediately out of the water and onto the board, fully powered and planing along in zero seconds. I was going so fast that I was getting scared. New gear, new location, crazy wind (25-30mph), lots of other people! I made it out to just before the end of the spit, before going out into the open river (where large cargo barges have their routes...definitely a no-fall zone). Uncertain of my ability to tack and get back underway quickly (and still a bit insecure about my waterstart), turning before this zone seemed like a good idea. I attempted a tack and was quickly in the choppy water. It is tough to stay on those small boards in choppy water, and this one had a slick surface. My feet kept sliding off when in the middle of the board. Getting in the straps was my goal and I could see how this would be so important in such conditions on this particularly slippery board. Once warmed up (or beat up) I came back to shore. Brian asked how it went and what did I want to learn. I told him that getting in the straps was my goal. He proceeded with a dryland lecture and a physical demo of the planing positions. He hooked me into the boom (and he was hooked in on the other harness line to counter my weight and act as the wind) to demonstrate where it should be, where my feet should be and what I need to do to get each foot in. I really got it and was very excited to get on the water and give it a try.
By the time our dry land exercise was over, the wind died off a bit, but not totally (conditions not unlike on Cayuga Lake 12-17mph with lulls). I waited a while and when it picked up again, I went out with a 5.7m sail. I think I would have liked a 6m sail or better for the lower wind conditions. This gave me much practice of low wind waterstarts. Brian also gave me tips on those, and they seemed to work well for me. There was definitely something about the way Brian communicates that really got to me (not to mention that he's a handsome Jamaican guy with dreds....easy on the eyes, really helped keep my attention, not to mention that he was very warm and friendly and very even tempered, despite all the setbacks he was experiencing that day). Brian set me free to sail for the rest of the afternoon while he taught others. I was completely exhausted by 4pm and came in after having a number of successful runs, though still 0 for 10 with tacking and jibing that little slippery board. I got back in the straps for only a brief few moments before I wiped out. I know this is going to take a lot of practice. If only I had access to consistent winds on a regular basis. I used up most of my energy setting up for waterstarting and did not have enough left to take advantage of the persisting wind after 4pm. I had to get back to Portland to eat dinner with the family, pack up and fly out on the red eye, so I did have to wind down my day.
Got home on the red-eye.
Vacation is over.
But it is still very good to be home.
I'm working on my photos. I'll put some ski photos up soon.
-Sharon
I decided to take a lesson with Brian, who is one of the best instructors in Hood River, and I can attest to that fact as being true. I really liked the way he taught and he really got through to me and explained the body positioning very well.
When I arrived, he was very busy fielding customers, as some of his staff did not make it to work. He was upset about this, but told many of the customers who were waiting that he would refund their money or they would get a big discount if they came back on another day. He said to me "one thing I learned, is to not hire people just because they need a job". Brian clearly has a passion for the sport, and he wishes his employees did too. I told Brian that I could just go out and work on the things I am currently working on and can skip the lesson if he is too busy. He told me that he would have time for me at 1:30.
In the meantime he sent me out with a 4.7 sail on a 125L Bic Techno (not unlike the one sitting next to the club's shed...but in much better condition). At first I wasn't sure if 4.7 was going to be enough, but yikes...I was pulled immediately out of the water and onto the board, fully powered and planing along in zero seconds. I was going so fast that I was getting scared. New gear, new location, crazy wind (25-30mph), lots of other people! I made it out to just before the end of the spit, before going out into the open river (where large cargo barges have their routes...definitely a no-fall zone). Uncertain of my ability to tack and get back underway quickly (and still a bit insecure about my waterstart), turning before this zone seemed like a good idea. I attempted a tack and was quickly in the choppy water. It is tough to stay on those small boards in choppy water, and this one had a slick surface. My feet kept sliding off when in the middle of the board. Getting in the straps was my goal and I could see how this would be so important in such conditions on this particularly slippery board. Once warmed up (or beat up) I came back to shore. Brian asked how it went and what did I want to learn. I told him that getting in the straps was my goal. He proceeded with a dryland lecture and a physical demo of the planing positions. He hooked me into the boom (and he was hooked in on the other harness line to counter my weight and act as the wind) to demonstrate where it should be, where my feet should be and what I need to do to get each foot in. I really got it and was very excited to get on the water and give it a try.
By the time our dry land exercise was over, the wind died off a bit, but not totally (conditions not unlike on Cayuga Lake 12-17mph with lulls). I waited a while and when it picked up again, I went out with a 5.7m sail. I think I would have liked a 6m sail or better for the lower wind conditions. This gave me much practice of low wind waterstarts. Brian also gave me tips on those, and they seemed to work well for me. There was definitely something about the way Brian communicates that really got to me (not to mention that he's a handsome Jamaican guy with dreds....easy on the eyes, really helped keep my attention, not to mention that he was very warm and friendly and very even tempered, despite all the setbacks he was experiencing that day). Brian set me free to sail for the rest of the afternoon while he taught others. I was completely exhausted by 4pm and came in after having a number of successful runs, though still 0 for 10 with tacking and jibing that little slippery board. I got back in the straps for only a brief few moments before I wiped out. I know this is going to take a lot of practice. If only I had access to consistent winds on a regular basis. I used up most of my energy setting up for waterstarting and did not have enough left to take advantage of the persisting wind after 4pm. I had to get back to Portland to eat dinner with the family, pack up and fly out on the red eye, so I did have to wind down my day.
Got home on the red-eye.
Vacation is over.
But it is still very good to be home.
I'm working on my photos. I'll put some ski photos up soon.
-Sharon
