Pistol River 2019

[C36]

Great pics Dave. I see that you got one of the rarely seen "Florence Bigfoot" walking through the long grass in the last group of pics.

Looked a little frightening, but seemed friendly enough.

S5 – windsurf – Cape Sebastian (2019 June 16)


Hit and miss. Strong wind at the Cape from early on, then it backed to allow for a 4.0/74 session before the hate returned. Tony joined in. Wave selection was hit and miss (later dictated by hunting for holes to gybe in on the outside – yielding limited choice). Lent Alex a mast extension (for the second year in a row).


Locals seemed to hit waves with size at high tide. Some hints on background south swell, but a lot of west.


Then went down to The Rock to watch the 10th Anniversary IWT Pistol River Wave Bash (youth, women, amateur men, masters, grand masters). Saw a few familiar faces run their heats (Jesse, Dana, Leo, Peter, Rhonda, Pepe) and Jesse said he had advanced to the semi-final round – well done!


Tsawwassen mentioned that Trudy had posted the outside sand bar was taking most of wave energy and that`s what it looked like (mostly gentler reform on the inside). Saw Luke out driving the jetski positioning the photographer for water shots.


Pro`s were killing it practicing down in what Peter called the `soup bowl`. Overheard Phil telling Jesse that an accidental second rotation on a push loop was just about the end of him.

Practice waves were fun, but hoping for a little more swell tomorrow. Fun to play (Cape) and fun to watch (Rock). Checking out the Indian River RV Park tonight (as there are some that want washrooms) - $20-25 per night (two cars on a site), solid WiFi, but mosquitoes. Happy to chat with my Dad on Father`s Day.

Gallery (if you want to view as a slideshow, hit the "slide show" icon top right - it looks like a screen)

[C36]

S6 – windsurf – Cape Sebastian (2019 June 17)



Stoke. South swell rolled through in intervals.


Pepe was so excited to land a starboard back loop we could hear him from atop the bluff. Tony said best day of windsurfing ever – four waves in a row. Michael caught a bomb and hit an aerial/ejection off the lip. Cali Chris was feeling the flow.


Johnny was hitting the lip with authority. Rhonda was happy to have survived a session at the Cape. Much stoke was shared.



Gallery (if you want to view as a slideshow, hit the "slide show" icon top right - it looks like a screen)

[C36]

S7 – windsurf – Cape Sebastian (2019 June 18)


Wake-Up. Jesse took to the water for a morning low-tide wake-up session at the Cape and I joined in. Wind was steady, waves were clean and smaller, but more consistent than yesterday. Caught a few nice south swells on the way in (instead of what seemed like taking them all in the face on the way out yesterday). Lingered on the water as the rest of the crew joined in. Finally left when my gear (4.5é92) was too big. Fun session! Saw Tsawwassen do a solid bottom turn, solid top turn and then get sent straight to the bottom of the sea. Nice to see Heather take to the water today. Saw Tony spool up for his last ride out only to be rejected by the third sail-vent-making wave. The couple from the Bay area were ripping the `hate` (again) after everyone else left the water.

Gallery (if you want to view as a slideshow, hit the "slide show" icon top right - it looks like a screen)

S8 – windsurf – Cape Sebastian (2019 June 18)


Silly. Evening glass off enjoyed by Yohann, Rhonda, Michael, Johnny, Jesse, Peter K, Like, and myself. Yohann was killing it. Saw Tsawwasen’s gear cartwheel on the beach before he launched. As I carried my gear to the water it was getting pressed down to the sand (not good). Peter mentioned it was `silly’. My first wave was fun then things got hectic. One forced jump that I managed to hold together and a wave for each ride in (some larger than expected). The beach was alive with blowing sand, water vaporizing off footsteps, and rainbows from vapour. Spooled up on small gear (3.4/74). It was an experience!

Gallery (if you want to view as a slideshow, hit the "slide show" icon top right - it looks like a screen)

[Ryan]

Thanks for the updates Dave, looks great. Can't wait to get there.

[C36]

S9 – windsurf – Cape Sebastian (2019 June 19)




Early. Got on it early at the Cape with Jesse and Peter, but not early enough (loaded from the start). Flattened the sail and sailed as long as I can. Caught a couple of memorable rides. Sailed for a while and then came in to rerig to 4.0 but by the time I got to the van it was full hate and continuing to ramp up so decided to head down to watch the finals instead of taking round two as a beat down (Tsawwassen opted for the beat down). I was `the person` today.

Gallery (if you want to view as a slideshow, hit the "slide show" icon top right - it looks like a screen)

[Michael]

Thanks for the pictures Dave! It's been epic, some crazy windy days even for the Cape it's been intense. Sailed the Rock today for the first time this trip as the contest is over. As I was heading to the water Antoine Martin said to me "good luck it's super windy" then packing up my gear Duncan Coombs came off the water and said to me "Christ that was windy", coming from the guy who judges the Red Bull storm chase. It was full on.

[C36]

S10 – windsurf – Cape Sebastian (2019 June 20)


Gusty, Early morning session in small swell and gusty wind. Challenging to make work. Heather was working on catching waves and nailing it! Tsawwasswen did a crazy areal 360 off the lip. Off to “The Rock” for a look-see.

Gallery (if you want to view as a slideshow, hit the "slide show" icon top right - it looks like a screen)

S11 – windsurf – Pistol River (2019 June 20)





The Rock. The Rock was open for business again following the event finals being run. Casual evening 3.4/74 cool down at `The Rock`. As I was walking to the water I asked Jesse how his session was: “One minute you love it, then you hate it, and then you love it again – standard Pistol River”. Haunted house was in effect (especially at the outer sand bar), but the swell looked to be about half the size of what the event was run in over the last few days. Wind ampted up just as we took to the water and in the end it was Duncan Coombs, the Boss, Johnny, Tsawwassen and I on the water. Duncan Coombs said it was “windy” as he left the water (and he has seen some wind). Crazy windy in town. Dinner at the Thai food truck!

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[ShonanDB]

Looks like a great trip down as you've had wind and waves everyday. Enjoying the write ups and pics!

[C36]

S12 – windsurf – Cape Sebastian (2019 June 21)


Similar. Similar to yesterday morning. Decided to mix it up and wore my winter suit to take advantage of the `therapeutic` benefits of the Excel lining. East Coast Peter and I got on it early (again), this time while it was still light. There was some slog n` ride and in the really light stuff it made for some wet pivot gybes and a few missed target waves. The good news was there was still some background south swell rolling through to provide some nice surprises and a few smiles. Two shared party waves with East Coast Peter (one intentional – on the south section of the wave and the second he rolled off his wave in a lull and I bottom turned around him). We chatted and he was all smiles and good with both. The rest of the crew joined in and Heather’s/Tony’s heat today was hotly contested (both stepping it up again). When I went up the hill to film it started to crank! It was an adventure carrying my gear off the beach. Fun to share the morning session stoke!

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S13 – windsurf – Pistol River (2019 June 21)


Easy-Pesy. Evening cool down at the rock while Tsawwassen and Luke were taking another high-wind session at the Cape. Wind at The Rock looked more than 4.0 but not 3.4, so I went to just-enough power (3.4). Was able to get off the beach, keep moving around, and stay above The Rock, but not enough power get to get to where you wanted to be all of the time (which put me in a couple of rather uncomfortable spots, but all ended well). Good exercise in sailing efficiently. No haunted house today. Much nicer side-on wind/wave angle today. Cut the session short as wind felt a little spooky. $10 bar-b-que ribs (full side) and a pound of potatoe salad from McKay`s annual customer appreciation day for dinner. Nice of Peter and Rhonda to host us to a social at their beachside holiday house. Happy to get a bonus free night camping at the Indian River RV Park.

Gallery (if you want to view as a slideshow, hit the "slide show" icon top right - it looks like a screen)

[C36]

S14 – windsurf – Cape Sebastian (2019 June 22)


Swivel Seats. Santa Cruz Rob was on it early and putting on a wave 360 clinic. East Coast Peter and I were the next two out. Waves were just above Dana’s wave minimum (but well above mine as I don’t have one). Wind ramped up quickly and I opted for smaller gear (4.0/74). Sounds like the main reason Nanmoo came south was to warrantee his swivel seats and a session at the Cape was just a bonus. Johnny had so much fun at The Rock yesterday he was saving himself for a repeat afternoon session there, until he wasn`t. After he took to the water at the Cape he seemed to be enjoying practicing his tacks in front of Little Shark Island. Rhonda took to the water when the nuclear mid-day hate showed up. Saw a skink amongst the rocks. Jesse cooked his lunch inside the vanbergeni. Tsawwassen just couldn’t drive away today so he extended his stay by one day.

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S15 – windsurf – Pistol River (2019 June 22)


Bombs. After a quick look-see at the south jetty (too light and side-off), Peter G and I went down to The Rock and debated sail sizes – he choose 4.5 and choose 4.0 – with him being MUCH larger than I we figure one of us was wrong. But it turns out there was a third option – we were both right! Just as we were taking to the water Jesse was coming off with a bruised nose and nose imprint in his sail (loop gone wrong) – glad he is OK. We were both happy with our choices and the funhouse conditions lasted until about 5 pm when someone flipped the Haunted House switch and the bombs started to roll through. I was forced for punch out over the outside bar through one logo high wave with a roof (I thought I was done, but made it and was very relieved to see no reinforcements following it up). Ran away from another sluffing monster on the next ride in and rode a couple of cleaner bombs. Burritos and seasoned pork street tacos for dinner. Fun session!

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