VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Your prose is obviously incendiary PDude!

Saw that yesterday when we drove through. Forgot to mention it. Pretty crazy

"Thursday August 1, 2013 Conditions TOW Toys Used:
jordan river to parking lot off race, Kitesurfing W 1 - 20
2 to 3 4.00 hours kayakdoc red rocket 6ft
or prodigy 9.5
a 3 hour tour, not gilligans island but started with Phil at Jordan river , goal island view, great run to just before race rocks off beechy head then the wind shut off , Phil just beat it in on the 15 met, working it like a slave submerged half the time but in40 minutes or so he got near land, but i with my 9.5 lacked the ponies needed to keep it up so i just had a bit of a tea party by myself for an hour or so, fish boat and whale boat ask me if i wanted a lift but i said thanks but no thanks, i will wait for wind, it is a very windy spot and i think it will come back before dark, so i worked on my tan,waxed my board some more, played a new word on my iphone scrabble,wrapped and un wrapped lines 4 times,still no wind,another hour gone by,same whale boat comes back from a humpback sighting just when wind back on, relaunched but lines had some very severe macrame i thought for a bit of running down to race, landing and re running my lines but then as i was kiting beside whale boat i said i will take the ride seeing as he was headed my way anyways, he wanted to look for Phil but i said dont worry this guy is a bit of a shackleton, he will make it through, right now he is probably having a wonderful nature walk munching blackberries and sipping rose hip tea and all i get is kelp, probably the most radical thing was half way between race and and breakwater,the whale boat ,fiberglass race boat style at about 20 knots buried its bow in a wave and we all got a foot of water on board, cameras etc didnt fare well, he told me that has never happened before, i offered to rent my wetsuit to anyone on board ,so thats it on my end, coffee at fishermans wharf,followed by IPA s , counting the sleeps til the next run, see Phil for the land version, over to you Phil" Kenny. Kayakdoc (Phill): " Thursday August 1, 2013 Conditions TOW Toys Used:
Jordan River to Church Point, Kitesurfing W 6 - 23
Little to occ 6' swell 3.00 hours KDOC Jumbo Phillet
Ozone Edge 15M
Jordan River to Island View Beach (intended). Fun and fairly easy from Jordan River to just past Beecher Bay. Interesting wind anomaly reduced wind speed through Race Passage (more on this later). Made my way to Church Point (about a minute to get in with a bit of fancy kite work). Landed my new kite between two narrow canyon walls and nicely onto secluded beach (next time will land on the bluffs). Thirty second hike to the bluffs to watch (out for) Kenny. Messed about on the bluffs for about 40 minutes as Kenny slowly waited out the wind lull. Lots of boat traffic checking him out. Watched him relaunch, and then call it a day when his lines were too twisted. With Kenny heading into Victoria it was decision time. I had been watching the westerly wind build from the east and could have dragged my kite to the bluffs for a launch. Decided to save the new kite the wear and tear of getting it to the bluffs and didn’t want to float launch back out. Packed up and searched for the quickest way to get to the old peninsula road (knew it was there from my fishing days). Started a long walk out with lots of telephone intervals trying to coordinate a pick up from Chris. Chris clearly got the short end of the stick on this trip as the roads in/out are all over the place. Finally met up outside the MND ammunition range gate. Walk was way more of a workout than the kite session.

Notes:

Need to speed up the construction work on the paddle/kite board. Kenny was fine for a swim to shore, but packing up and paddling in will be a nifty option.

Wind at Race Passage; As we got close in to Beechy Head the wind was behaving like a thermal. From the water you can see a valley that cuts deep into Vancouver Island. I am assuming that this is the Sooke River and that a local thermal is created here. The wind begins to pick up speed at the shore and this may be the cause of the (normally) increased wind speed at Race Passage.

From the bluffs you could see the wind coming from the SE and this may be why the wind weakened at the Race and why the wind was not as strong as everyone at Gordons was expecting. As soon as it kicked around to the SW the wind returned to its usual very strong self. This lull struck me as a local anomaly and may be attached to the inshore thermal.

Next time we will land and wait out this anomalous wind shift. There are tons of places to land on the peninsula. You could hit the shallows between Bentinck Island and Vancouver Island and leave the kite in the air if you were patient.

The wind at Race Passage slowly dwindled indicating time to get to shore. As we alway plan to be close to shore at the Race to check out whether it is a go/no go for Victoria this was/is a good place to get to know the local conditions. The Race will always be a critical location for trips down the west coast of Vancouver Island. The wind increases here, but you do need to ensure the strength and the direction is enough to get to Cook and beyond. Once past Bentinck Island it is a bit of a hassle to get in.

For the most part the trip from Jordan River to Beechy Head is very much like Cook Street (except the beaches are a whole lot better).

It is possible to walk out to Church Point and spend some time kiting in Race Passage getting to know the local wind and terrain. I may do this.

New Bar Design. It is time to design a bar that you can untwist the flying lines from the bridle lines when the kite tumbles. I seem to recall a bar like this (a bit of historical research is needed). Maybe a small stainless o-ring and tether on each end of the bar and then attach the tethers to the harness spreader letting you keep control of the bar/kite while you release the chicken loop and roll the kite bar thorough the bridle lines. You could then reattach the chicken loop, release the now twisted tethered o-ring lines, and get on with kiting.

These trips are very fun, challenging and thought provoking. Lots to learn and learning lots. " Interesting logs guys. I saw you cruising past Gordons. I like the paddle, kite concept. The reel/bar might help on those water recovery/relaunches http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2374301 Jim L.

well I won't say anything about the obvious risks you guys were taking, after all we are kitesurfers and we all should really be staying home and getting safe exercise on the treadmill - right.

and I couldn't agree more about the new bar design where you can untangle the lines from the bar. Simple larkshead line attachments at the bar could do this.

way to go guys on the attempt. keep the adventures alive!

yea and don't think going on a nice cruise ship is safe either! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jup-5Xu1OOU

I had a chat with the inventor of the Reel Bar. He could not find a manufacturer for his bar. I would like to somehow find a way to roll kite lines in and out while in a kayak, or while floating in the water for that matter. I like the larks head idea Pasta. I like this thread as well JL. Keep the ideas, trip logs, (positive) suggestions, etc., coming. Maybe we can include some of this in Pasta’s VI movie although I tried to show my film school student film at the grand opening of the PA Canal Beach party back in 2010, but the few who saw the beginning were a little confused by it (imagine that). Although to be fair everyone was a little, to a lot, to super drunk at the time.

http://www.sookenewsmirror.com/news/220389721.html

Well they found the article after the building burnt down! Good. I did submit 10 photos from the trip and everyone's names but it was edited to be shorter and all the non-locals excluded. oh well. and she got my photo from other correspondence. Kudos to Mike at West Coast Captures as well!

Great thread. Editing as req'd.

I'm tired of the foul language, confrontation, baiting, flaming and lack of meaningful contributions of some of the writers. Can we change the tone please?

I'm doing my best to clean up this worthwhile thread Dave doesn't have the time/patience to baby sit the forum.

Thanks JL - I'm used to a more communal tone which is indicative of our special wind community. (Except when someone jumps above me when I'm launching) ;)

I was very hopeful to run another downwinder but we haven't had many consistent days in August.

maybe a storm front will present itself in the fall season and we'll build up the courage to do it!?? or alternatively something a little more tame... say jail break idea and involve some sailing skiffs and those pole dancers?

Sounds great abatanzo. Awesome enthusiasm