Saturday SE?

[C36]

SE-SSE 30-45 knots dawn to dusk at Whidbey today!!!! Can't wait to hear C36's report and pics at Columbia. I'm off to Pozo Izquierdo, Gran Canaria for seven days in seven days..........should be fun.
Stoked for everyone that got some t.o.w. today

Glad everyone else had a good day. Mine not so much, not sure which was more painful, reading the CB session logs and Dave's OSRs or my crapy session. Was planing most of the time, but barely. Got home just in time to see the wind switch SSE as I was unloading the van.

OK Here goes. Enjoy!

Click here to view gallery (better for mobile devices).
Click here to view slideshow.

Pre-Session OSR
Mid-Session OSR
Post-Session OSR

Chris enjoy your trip. M: I tried to encourage your to come along!

[Chris Klohn]

Unreal Pictures Dave Columbia always looks so small on the webcam. Your shots really show the size of the waves and wind swell. Looks like head high plus faces on the inside and logo to mast high swell on the outside..........unreal I've sailed Ebey a million times and it will never come close to that. Thanks for posting the pictures tonight, you must be beat!

Take it easy,

Chris

[C36]

Unreal Pictures Dave Columbia always looks so small on the webcam. Your shots really show the size of the waves and wind swell. Looks like head high plus faces on the inside and logo to mast high swell on the outside..........unreal I've sailed Ebey a million times and it will never come close to that. Thanks for posting the pictures tonight, you must be beat!

Take it easy,

Chris

Glad you enjoyed the pictures Chris, CB definitely had a intensity to it today that reminded me of the south Oregon coast. I came in a couple to times today to rest and let my heart rate come down.

[Chris Klohn]

The whitewater in the bowl looked 6 feet high and 30 feet deep. Nothing like the neoprene hood Maytag in the winter

[AdrienGrelon]

Sounded like a legendary day at CB, Dave! As soon as I saw you were sending it there I figured it was gonna be a good one! Sorry to hear that it didn't really happen locally... I'm gearing up for a possible session tomorrow (in Hong Kong) with the friend who taught me how to water start way back when! Hope Sunday delivers.

[C36]

Sounded like a legendary day at CB, Dave! As soon as I saw you were sending it there I figured it was gonna be a good one! Sorry to hear that it didn't really happen locally... I'm gearing up for a possible session tomorrow (in Hong Kong) with the friend who taught me how to water start way back when! Hope Sunday delivers.

Enjoy your Hong Kong session!
You going to school your friend in forwards to repay the favour?
(remember to keep your mouth closed)

Your not going to believe this, but up until about 10 minutes before my cut-off time I had thought I was going to be head to CNL, but then I realised I sensed my gut knew it was going to be solid at Columbia, but the fear of the ferry crossing in 35 mph building wind and seas had me spoked (ever see those videos of ferries sinking in Malaysia - big open hulled boats go down quickly) and was holding me back. Then I realised it was fear of the ferry crossing that was holding me back (silly me). I steped over the fear and pulled the trigger. Am I ever glad I did.

When I first arrived I could hardly believe the way the waves were pumping in in organised rows. After the first few rides I had to remind myself I was on the EAST coast of the island.

Here is what some of the others had to say about Columbia Beach on December 20th:

Eastside

Uddereef

Winddoctor

Dunkinguy

Nanmoo

The Law

Dougwick

Aquaman

It was all of those things (exciting, blissful, humbling, frightening, and exhausting) and more!

Safe travels and I'll be watching for updates on your amaZING adventure!

[C36]

A few CBTV webcam shots for perspective.

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[ShonanDB]

Dave, looks and sounds like it was "Big Saturday"! I'm sure that you documented how the frontal systems set up on this so keep us in the loop for any future days that look promising as I would be keen to get over there for a day like last Saturday.

CNL just wasn't quite as epic that day unfortunately - "huge" onshore knee to thigh high unorganized mushy waves with "overpowering" gusts to 20 knots and extreme lulls to keep you on your toes!

Merry Christmas everyone and let's hope Santa sends us some storms over the holidays.

[Mike]

Thanks for the great report out Dave. I saw the webcam images when you were out and after seeing your photos I've decided to move to the island for winters