Received: from hplms26.hpl.hp.com by opus.hpl.hp.com with ESMTP (1.37.109.18/15.5+ECS 3.3+HPL1.1) id AA247007018; Tue, 24 Jun 1997 11:30:19 -0700 Return-Path: <kasplash@crl.com-DeleteThis> Received: from mail.crl.com by hplms26.hpl.hp.com with SMTP (1.37.109.16/15.5+ECS 3.3+HPL1.1S) id AA119237018; Tue, 24 Jun 1997 11:30:18 -0700 Received: from crl7.crl.com by mail.crl.com with SMTP id AA20980 (5.65c/IDA-1.5 for <wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis>); Tue, 24 Jun 1997 10:25:13 -0700 Received: by crl7.crl.com id AA09497 (5.65c/IDA-1.5 for Wind Talkers <wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis>); Tue, 24 Jun 1997 10:19:26 -0700 Date: Tue, 24 Jun 1997 10:19:25 -0700 (PDT) From: Bob Galvan <kasplash@crl.com-DeleteThis> To: Wind Talkers <wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis> Subject: the long weekend Message-Id: <Pine.SUN.3.91.970624090645.8336A-100000@crl7.crl.com-DeleteThis> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
I would drive a thousand miles to sail Tubamancha.
Hit the road northbound at 4pm Friday, just me 'n my van. The first hour
to Santa Rosa took 2 hours, but once past River Road, the freeway was wide
open. We flew through the redwoods and pulled in to Rancho Feeter on the
Rio Pistola about 1am. Camped at the bottom of the hill with a dozen
other surfmobiles.
Saturday morning it rained. I walked up to the house and had coffee with
Clay + Laura + the inner circle of DuBock, West, and Acton. We all went
out to breakfast and Windtracks picked up the check. The Wave Bash had
been blazing the 3 previous days with mast high waves and 4.0 sails. The
hot young pros had been jumping over the helicopter, but Saturday looked
like a day of rest. I walked around a few holes of Cedar Bend golf course
with the boys as the sky cleared, then bailed to do some housekeeping and
resting on my own. The weather radio said "Go to Pt. Arena"
That evening the Volunteer Firemen of Pistol River put on a Taco and Chili
Feed, all you can eat for $5. The place was packed, and I found Sean +
Jenny there, new friends from Camp Surfdawg last month. Next, campfire
on Clay's lawn.
Sunday Morning all the locals are saying it's gonna blow, but the Weather
Radio says "Go to Pt Arena". I hang. It's just such a beautiful, laid
back area, and the whole community is into the Wave Bash, and Everbody is
here, people are already calling it Wavestock. Windtracks puts on a
Brunch for contestants, correspamdents, and crew in a meadow on Rancho
Feeter. There's real live music by the local talent, with a good sound
system, there's piles of really good food starring a smoked salmon, and
plenty of very strong coffee. The kids get balsa wood gliders, a couple
of girls on horses ride in. Ma + Pa Feeter are there. No charge either.
Everbody adjourns to the Rock to await wind and the 2pm skippers meeting.
Locals say it gonna blow. Weather Radio favors Pt. Arena south.
Schmoozing in the grass parking scene at the Rock, we start talking
Tacking. Sean Aiken gives us mortals his tips, and Mary Ann from Santa
Cruz rigs a boom on a half mast to aid the visualization and practice.
Soon we're going through front loops, back loops, and push loops on the
grass. Sean makes it all pretty clear.
Walk, hang, wait. A solo sailor slogs slowly out, gets a few waves, gets
spanked. Nobody else is inspired to rig. The 2 pm meeting says "come
back at 4" Many drive up to The Cape to check it out and hope and hang up
there. A couple more stalwarts rig and slog and swim. They don't stay
out too long. Late in the PM I decide to make a move. I unload the
long surfboard, pack 2 beers, put my wetsuit over my shoulder and walk
way up the beach to The Cove, where the surf spot is right next to the
rocks of Cape Sebastian. I stash my stuff and use one of the multitudinous
diftwood logs as a hook to zip the Oasis. I paddle out. There are a few
others in water, but not right where I go. I get wave after wave after wave.
There's a nice section where I keep getting up on the nose. The other
guys come over to where I am, and 2 more come out, but they just don't
have the Longboard Advantage, nor the decades of Experience that I do.
They flail, I cruise.
Pizza with Sean + Jenny, then it's 9pm Sunday night. Decision time for me.
Stay another day, hope the wind comes back, maybe do the downwinder? I
don't think they will run the Downwinder yet, because there are still
some contest segments to run, Pro Finals and Masters at least. I decide
to go one sure day of wavesailing and point the van south. Shortly
after midnight I'm sleeping at Big Lagoon near Eureka.
Monday moring I'm on the road and on the phone, trying to decide whether
to go to Pt Arena or Tuba. Tony says there wasn't much swell at PA on
sunday, and he might make it to Tuba today. Tuba it is. I make contact
with Brian, he says he'll go too. Laytonville, home to Camp Winnarainbow,
has 5 establishments that feature esspresso. It's a good stop. Another
great one is the Cheescake Lady in Hopland. I get 2 large coffees, and 2
cheescakes.
2 pm finds me at Tuba. No other sailors, great looking waves and wind
filled in to shore, 4.7. Taking my time to shake off the road kinks and
rig, I launch at 3:30. I'm still all alone. I'm just powered enough to
plane, and get to the waves in the standard 30 minutes. Steam Engines is
not working real well, so upwind I go into the nether regions, and find
some stuff to do up there. I want just bit more power, but my Nalu is
already set for max draft. About 5:30 I come back down to Steam Engines
to find The Power. Downhaul Time! For another hour I blaze around,
finding many long speedy waves to jam down. I have no reason to leave,
just keep going until my strength starts to fade. One long powerreach
takes me back to the launch, where I slip onto a wave, ride toward shore
so nicely, drop to the bottom as it dumps, and ram my fin hard into the
sand. My body pitches forward and tucks into a ball as the white water
picks up my board + sail throws it right at me. Hands up over head, ass on
sand, roll around, come up under sail. God, it's all sandy now. I'll
have to do a thorough rinse in the duck pond. It's been a 3.5 hour sesh.
I have cold beer, but no sailing buddies today.
Total trip mileage: 935.
kasplash@crl.com-DeleteThis
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Dec 10 2001 - 02:32:06 PST