3 Day Whidbey Trip

[Brad R]

sweet, looking forward to hearing your post session wrap up!

[Chris Klohn]

Hey Guys,

Just had 3.5 hours perfectly powered on my 4.2. Rigged up to 4.7. The winds are still low 20's gusting to 30. Beautiful 3-5 foot steep breaking waves and warm 12 degree temps in the sunshine. Would have loved to see 3.2 and logo high waves but I'm not complaining. Going to take a lunch break then go out for session #2. Sitting at 3/3 and 16 hours TOW so far on this 3 day trip..........about equal to driving time for me Six other windsurfers out and four kites.

Cheers,

Chris

[Chris Klohn]

Hey Guys,

Had lunch around 1pm and it looked to be lightening somewhat. I rigged up from my 4.7 to my 5.7 and went out powered on the 111L JP FSW.........that was short lived.

The wind came back hard at about 2pm and I rigged back down to the 4.7 Surflite and the 84L Goya Quad. The gusts have been a handful the past hour and it's really starting to crank again. I'm going to flatten the 4.7 rather than re-rig again down to a 4.2.

The other sailors have been on 4.0's and 4.2's since 8am this morning and have just tweaked their down haul to match the wind changes. The wind seems to be lighter up towards Deception and the Naval AirBase. We've been sailing to the south of the launch all day just before the road heads up the hill away from the beach.

The waves are still nice steep 4-5 footers with deep, smooth head to just overhead swell on the outside. I've been staying about 1/2 km upwind from the shore playing in the green swell. I got rinsed hard this morning on a botched back loop attempt and had my gear wash up on the beach. One mangled fin but everything else came out okay.

I'm going to sail another hour or so and pack it up around 5pm for the long drive home. Might have to pickup some RedBull so I don't pass out. Glad everyone scored on the hills today too!

Cheers,

Chris

[Chris Klohn]

Done, finished, beat, cooked..........

Had to rig down to 4.2 from 415-515pm. The gusts are close to 40 again. 9.5 hours of 4.2-4.7 wind and 3-5 foot breaking waves in the sunshine........perfect. 22 hours of TOW over three consecutive days at Whidbey.

Heading home now,

Chris

[Alton]

Done, finished, beat, cooked..........

Had to rig down to 4.2 from 415-515pm. The gusts are close to 40 again. 9.5 hours of 4.2-4.7 wind and 3-5 foot breaking waves in the sunshine........perfect. 22 hours of TOW over three consecutive days at Whidbey.

Heading home now,

Chris

22 hours/3 days = 7.3 hours/day. That's like a full time job!
Safe travels home.

[Chris Klohn]

Hey Guys,

Just back from 3 days of sailing on Whidbey Island. Incredible wind and wave conditions over the entire trip The two days at Joseph Whidbey reminded me of sailing the Oregon Coast. Nice long, crumbling waves that were spaced far apart and easy to get out. The big southeast day at Ebey Landing was more survival than anything but still fun.

The wind delivered within 5-10 knots of the forecast each day. February 18th had southeast gales, 30-40, forecasted through early afternoon shifting to westerly gales, 25-35, and backing off in the evening. The southeast push was slightly stronger than forecasted with gusts to almost 50 knots

February 19th had 20-30 knots forecast out of the west until early afternoon. This was upgraded to a low end gale warning, 25-35, for the east entrance of Juan de Fuca at 0900 in the morning. The winds hovered in the mid to upper twenties and were slightly less than the forecast wind strength.

February 20th had a gale warning issued for 25-35 knot westerly winds. The warning was supposed to end mid morning but was extended right through until the evening over the next two forecast runs. This was surprising as the pressure gradients weren't that strong to start with. The barometer only rose 2/10's of an inch throughout the day but it was still enough to deliver a full 9 hours of 4.2-4.7 winds.

I was really hoping to see a few B.C. plates in the pullout at both locations but couldn't find anyone. Lots of local Washington sailors and kiters out enjoying the epic conditions each day. The best bet is to wait for a mid to high end gale forecast for westerly winds, 30-40 or 35-45, and head down to JWSP.

With a WSW swell and WNW wind you can get pretty close to DTL wavesailing conditions with the wrap up towards Deception Pass. On the big days, when it blows for 6 plus hours right out to the west entrance of Juan de Fuca, the waves really build up in size and are well overhead. This happens more often than you think over the winter months..........just not when Dave, Michael and Alton drive down

Here's a quick recap over the 3 days...........

February 18th Session #1
Ebey Landing
TOW 4 hours - 3.7 Northwave Surflite / Goya 84L Quad
Waves - (Nil)
Outside Swell - (6-8')
Reported Hourly Winds Fort Casey (1 Mile South Of Ebey Landing)
1000 Southeast 37G45
1100 Southeast 35G47
1200 Southeast 36G49
1300 Southeast 38G46
1400 Southeast 7G13

February 18th Session #2
JWSP
TOW 2.5 hours - 5.2,4.2,3.7 Northwave Surflites / Goya 84L Quad
Waves - (3-4')
Outside Swell - (5-8')
Reported Hourly Winds Naval Air Base (approx. 3-5 knots less than JWSP)
1400 South 5G11
1500 West 20G27
1600 West 27G36
1700 West 31G39
1800 West 33G40

February 19th
JWSP
TOW 5 hours - 5.2 Northwave Surflite / Goya 84L Quad
Waves - (2-4')
Outside Swell - (3-5')
Reported Hourly Winds Naval Air Base (approx. 3-5 knots less than JWSP)
0700 West 21G28
0800 West 23G31
0900 West 24G29
1000 West 26G33
1100 West 23G30
1200 West 24G32
1300 West 16G24

February 20th
JWSP
TOW 1 hour - 4.2 Northwave Surflite / Goya 84L Quad
TOW 7 hours - 4.7 Northwave Surflite / Goya 84L Quad
TOW 30 min - 5.7 Northwave ZX-SE / JP 111L FSW
Waves - (3-5')
Outside Swell - (5-7')
Reported Hourly Winds Naval Air Base (approx. 3-5 knots less than JWSP)
0700 South 6G9
0800 West 24G34
0900 West 22G31
1000 West 26G34
1100 West 24G31
1200 West 18G28
1300 West 28G31
1400 West 17G23
1500 West 28G33
1600 West 30G33
1700 West 32G39

[Brad R]

Thanks for the recap! Sounds like I may need to pick up a 3.5m to make sure I'm covered for the 30+ knot days. Is this place mostly a winter spot or does it blow there in the summer?

[Chris Klohn]

Hi Brad,

Winter is the season you want to go. Summer is okay on westerlies but they don't push out through the central strait into Whidbey Island as often. The SE winds are always stronger and more consistent there compared to locally. Huge Venturi effect between the Cascades and Olympics when a low passes just north.

Cheers,

Chris