Whidbey.........Round Two

[Chris Klohn]

Got to Joseph Whidbey this morning at 545am after a short drive from LaConner. It was only blowing about 15-20 knots. I could hear the waves breaking in the bay but the wind was marginal.

Fell asleep in the car for about an hour and woke up to the wind howling at 7am About friggin' time after yesterday's catastrophe.

Just went for a rip on my 4.2 and Freestyle Wave. Fully powered along the beach and slightly Op'd upwind. It's been blowing all night and the swell is head to logo high with similar size waves.

One other guy here just went out on a 3.7 and 72 litre Quad. I don't think it's going to last long so we'll see what happens. Two mitres rigging a 5 and 6 meter.

Fingers crossed this last more than ten minutes

Ciao,

Chris

[Chris Klohn]

Wind is backing off. Going up to 5.7 from 4.2. Two kiters doing the walk of shame right now. Waves still overhead, crazy side shore current.

[Michael]

Hey Chris, Glad you scored. Sorry we missed you yesterday. Hope we get a sail in together before you head back to work.
Let us know when you plan to head out again.

[Chris Klohn]

Hi Michael,

I didn't bring the 7.2 this trip. Only my 5.7 and smaller or else I would have tried to come out yesterday. The wind just tanked here after a brief but sweet dawn patrol session. I sailed powered up on my 4.2 for 1.5 hours and got about five reaches on the 5.7 before it shut down.

Huge swell on the outside, logo high, and breaking waves close to shore. I'm just about to start packing up and making the trek home over the Coquihalla. I checked Smith Island two minutes ago and noticed it blew sub 5.0 for fifteen hours straight!!!!! Now just to get that timing figured out and we'd all be laughing

Take it easy,

Chris

[Chris Klohn]

Old 45 second video clip of a 4.2 day at JW........

http://youtu.be/8so7XPSzAyw

[Michael]

Hey Chris, I found that video last year and it was one of the reasons I went down that first trip. Hopefully I'll experience a day like that down there one day.

[Chris Klohn]

Great video Michael.

I remember you posting it on the windsurfer. It gets way bigger than the waves in the video as well. You can see from the reach angle they guys are on the wind is still SW and hasn't fully clocked around. The size of those waves would build a lot after it switches west and blows for a few hours.

I just want you guys to catch it on a day like yesterday morning and you would instantly be sold on it. Head high crumbling waves and logo high swell outside the break.

Ebey landing on SE winds gets huge swell as well but not the wave sailing opportunities that Joseph Whidbey delivers on the big westerlies.

We've got -20 windchill outside now in Kamloops and crystal clear. Looks like an ice fishing / dirt biking trip this weekend is in store. I just put 1200 new Kold Kutter studs in my son and wife's dirt bikes for this winter season..........should be fun racing around the lake if the fishing is slow.

Take it easy,

Chris

[C36]

Nice video. If it looked like that, or better, on Monday morning, I am sorry I didn't stay overnight. Tide looks lower in the video then when we were there (> 3M).

The second time M and I took to the water it was on that direction (SW) while a rain squal pushed through. It felt a lot like a south wind White Rock on steriods - steep, fast waves, ramps to port, big swell faces to jibe off on the outside (but a little further apart so you could actually drop in a make it cleanly around), and awkward backside wave/wind angle for the riding inbound close to the beach (you had to pinch to catch them).

I told myself if I didn't get wet on Sunday I wouldn't likely be going back - can't remember the last time I was skunked twice anywhere - so I grabbed what there was, but left feeling more than a little hungry still.

Still if you look at the wave height in that video and compare it to this shot from Acadia on Feb 13, 2006 they look about the same to my eye (maybe even smaller).

The words that keep ringing in my ears are the local guy who lives near Burlington says JWSP is good for about 4 sessions a year. Sounds a lots like Acadia no? The difference is Acadia is LOT easier to hit. I sailed for about 4 hours that day at Acadia on 3.6/70 and it was a half hour from my house.


If I go to WI again, I will leave early, I will bring something else to do, and I stay late. Another example of 'trust your intuition'.

[Chris Klohn]

Hi Dave,

I'll go through the numbers tomorrow morning when I get time. Coupeville, Fort Casey, Double Bluff, Oak Harbour, Ault Field and Smith all have .zip historical weather data available back to 1985. There were always over 100 days per year, SE and Westerly combined, with average wind 20 knots or more 4 hours per day to sail on Whidbey Island.

Acadia doesn't come close to JWSP on a normal Westerly. The video shows SW winds, just starting to veer, and small waves because of the direction. However, they still break and roll for several hundred feet with smooth water in between. Acadia looked bigger but confused and choppy in the pictures.

Standby for the breakdown tomorrow..........

Cheers,

Chris

[C36]

Chris: Don't waste time looking up data unless it is super easy. And please don't mistake my words as arguing with you - I'm just rambling trying to sort through this enigma of a place. It sounds strange, but you can feel it when you are there (and see it in the trees) - it is just disappointing not to experience it in its glory. You can see the waves (even in marginal conditions) are fast, steep and rideable!

I had the same experience the first time I drove through Gold Beach, Oregon about 25 years ago to be greated by a flat ocean and told myself I would be back again. Next trip about 22 years later was settler conditions!

Hope it's not 22 years before I get to sail JWSP!