Nitinat. July 19th to July 22nd.
Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2005 8:42 am
Trip to Nitinat. July 19th to July 22nd.
My fifth trip to Nitinat this year. Friends and fellow surfers at Nitinat: My friend and good surfing buddy George and his family Jackie, Ben and Zaak. At a nearby site are Azat and Peter back for another go. Also Barb and Gene and Cayoosh the wonder dog, Henk, Walt, Vic, Oerst, Jim and his grandson Max, Mike the guitar player, Windsurfing Girl, the 5 young guys from Ontario who are still here doing tricks, and many others whose faces are familiar but whose names I don’t know. There is an Argentinian couple from SF, Hugo and Sonya, and a couple who just arrived from Ontario. Both have small children. Chris and Janet are camping next to me. Patches and G-man are sleeping on the beach just behind me. There is no sign of Bobson!
Whoever was at the site before me left about a half-dozen little baggies of dog poop for me to deal with. There is a dead fish or something like that some dorks half buried in a fire pit next door that is creating a stench in the area. Luckily it is downwind most of the time.
Tuesday July 19th. Caught the 6:30 am ferry to Departure Bay and made a bee line for the Lake. Arrived at about 10:30 and got rigged and set up the tent. The wind came up at 12:30pm. Went out on my Carve 121 and North 6.2 at about 1pm. It was a little gusty at times but the wind held in through most of the day. At about 3pm I switched over to the Kombat 95 for about an hour and a half then back to the 121. Got off the water at 6:40. TOW ~ 5.5 hrs. Phew! Had some nice campfire conversations with a family from Edmonton, then Azat and Perter. Drank too much wine and staggered to bed.
Wednesday July 20. Got up at 9. The sky is overcast everywhere. At about 10:30 it started to clear in the NE end of the lake. At noon the wind came up and by 12:30 I was on the water on my 121 and 6.2. At about 2 it cranked up a notch and I down hauled the 6.2 and headed out on the Kombat. Was overpowered at times but hung on for a lot of great rides. Am trying to get some jumps in off the swell. Switched back to the 121 at about 5:30 and got off the water at 6:50. What a day! The best I’ve had this year. TOW: 6 hours. WOW! My hands are raw.
Thursday, July 21. At 3am I got up to “answer the call” and was awed by the full moon over Rosander Mtn. The whole S end of the lake was lit up like a football stadium on game night. There was just a little tongue of fog in the gap. Got up at 8 and the sky was already clear and blue everywhere. It’s already getting hot. The inflow started at about 10. Looks like it’s going to build slowly. On the water at 1pm on the Carve 121 and XXX 6.2. George and I headed upwind past the river and did about an hour and a half of reaches. Sweet riding. Headed down to the campground at about 2:30 and hopped on the Kombat until 4:30 when the wind started to wane. By 5 pm the wind had REALLY died and we were off the water. It was sweltering hot. TOW: 4 hrs
Friday, July 22. The wind is up early at about 9 am it is already white capping. Got on the water on the 121/6.2 combo at 11am and am fully powered up. Went upwind with Henk for an hour and a half of riding into the bay and over to Knob Point. Headed down to the campground at about 1, grabbed a granola bar and got back on the water with the Kombat and 6.2. Within an hour I am pretty overpowered so I switched to a 5.0 and the Kombat. The swell is big and the wind is howling and spray is blowing off of the whitecaps. For the next hour I am a little out of my comfort zone and thinking about rigging smaller then the wind backed off and I switched over to the 6.2 combo again. The Kombat and 6.2 are a sweet pair. At about 5pm I exchanged the Kombat for the Carve and spent the next two hours making reaches. Lots of kiters on the water from 5 to 6 but by 6:30 I am the only one left. After the kiters quit, I made quick run up to the river and a fast downwind reach. At about 7 the wind finally eased off and I decided to call it a day. TOW: 8 hours! EIGHT FRICKIN HOURS! I’d like to thank Ibuprofen and TikiMan!
Saturday. It’s overcast but some blue is showing through. I pack up and head for home. This was a great trip. The GO 140 and 7.5 never saw daylight. Can’t wait for the next outing!
My fifth trip to Nitinat this year. Friends and fellow surfers at Nitinat: My friend and good surfing buddy George and his family Jackie, Ben and Zaak. At a nearby site are Azat and Peter back for another go. Also Barb and Gene and Cayoosh the wonder dog, Henk, Walt, Vic, Oerst, Jim and his grandson Max, Mike the guitar player, Windsurfing Girl, the 5 young guys from Ontario who are still here doing tricks, and many others whose faces are familiar but whose names I don’t know. There is an Argentinian couple from SF, Hugo and Sonya, and a couple who just arrived from Ontario. Both have small children. Chris and Janet are camping next to me. Patches and G-man are sleeping on the beach just behind me. There is no sign of Bobson!
Whoever was at the site before me left about a half-dozen little baggies of dog poop for me to deal with. There is a dead fish or something like that some dorks half buried in a fire pit next door that is creating a stench in the area. Luckily it is downwind most of the time.
Tuesday July 19th. Caught the 6:30 am ferry to Departure Bay and made a bee line for the Lake. Arrived at about 10:30 and got rigged and set up the tent. The wind came up at 12:30pm. Went out on my Carve 121 and North 6.2 at about 1pm. It was a little gusty at times but the wind held in through most of the day. At about 3pm I switched over to the Kombat 95 for about an hour and a half then back to the 121. Got off the water at 6:40. TOW ~ 5.5 hrs. Phew! Had some nice campfire conversations with a family from Edmonton, then Azat and Perter. Drank too much wine and staggered to bed.
Wednesday July 20. Got up at 9. The sky is overcast everywhere. At about 10:30 it started to clear in the NE end of the lake. At noon the wind came up and by 12:30 I was on the water on my 121 and 6.2. At about 2 it cranked up a notch and I down hauled the 6.2 and headed out on the Kombat. Was overpowered at times but hung on for a lot of great rides. Am trying to get some jumps in off the swell. Switched back to the 121 at about 5:30 and got off the water at 6:50. What a day! The best I’ve had this year. TOW: 6 hours. WOW! My hands are raw.
Thursday, July 21. At 3am I got up to “answer the call” and was awed by the full moon over Rosander Mtn. The whole S end of the lake was lit up like a football stadium on game night. There was just a little tongue of fog in the gap. Got up at 8 and the sky was already clear and blue everywhere. It’s already getting hot. The inflow started at about 10. Looks like it’s going to build slowly. On the water at 1pm on the Carve 121 and XXX 6.2. George and I headed upwind past the river and did about an hour and a half of reaches. Sweet riding. Headed down to the campground at about 2:30 and hopped on the Kombat until 4:30 when the wind started to wane. By 5 pm the wind had REALLY died and we were off the water. It was sweltering hot. TOW: 4 hrs
Friday, July 22. The wind is up early at about 9 am it is already white capping. Got on the water on the 121/6.2 combo at 11am and am fully powered up. Went upwind with Henk for an hour and a half of riding into the bay and over to Knob Point. Headed down to the campground at about 1, grabbed a granola bar and got back on the water with the Kombat and 6.2. Within an hour I am pretty overpowered so I switched to a 5.0 and the Kombat. The swell is big and the wind is howling and spray is blowing off of the whitecaps. For the next hour I am a little out of my comfort zone and thinking about rigging smaller then the wind backed off and I switched over to the 6.2 combo again. The Kombat and 6.2 are a sweet pair. At about 5pm I exchanged the Kombat for the Carve and spent the next two hours making reaches. Lots of kiters on the water from 5 to 6 but by 6:30 I am the only one left. After the kiters quit, I made quick run up to the river and a fast downwind reach. At about 7 the wind finally eased off and I decided to call it a day. TOW: 8 hours! EIGHT FRICKIN HOURS! I’d like to thank Ibuprofen and TikiMan!
Saturday. It’s overcast but some blue is showing through. I pack up and head for home. This was a great trip. The GO 140 and 7.5 never saw daylight. Can’t wait for the next outing!
