Waddell Creek, CA trip recap
Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 10:05 pm
Thought I'd share a bit about the trip down and how I found this spot.
First of all I'd like to share an email then text exchange with BWD just prior to leaving and while in Florence respectively. The day before I leave Dave digs up an article and emails it to me about a great white spotted by the lifeguards attacking a sea lion at Waddell a mere 3 weeks ago, the beach subsequently being shut down. Then in Florence (never actually sailed here) as I was trying to figure out where you guys stay on the Jetty:
Me - Can you camp at the end of the road past the state park anywhere on the jetty?
BWD - I think you have to be on the rough part, but this time of year they aren't likely to bother you, you just have to worry about the crazy locals.
Me - Thanks for that last part.
BWD - sleep well.
OK so back to Waddell. I sailed at Cape Sebastion on the same gear as at Waddell on the way down, so I had a pretty good back to back comparison to something more familiar and let me say Waddell is super user friendly compared to just about anywhere else but specifically Pistol River and the Cape. 3 masts out of 12 that went out over the two cape days snapped, 2 out of 6 on the second day. Only one mast was snapped at Waddell and that was on a 35 foot high double loop so fair enough, it should break. If Columbia Beach could have sex with Gordons and then move to the West Coast with some proper waves and 50 more years of climate warming you'd have an idea of this sport. The parking lot is on a 20 foot cliff perched above the launching which is basically a point stuck out and fairly exposed. At high tides the seas break right up at the cliff and launching would get tricky, luckily this only happened at night. Downwind the beach ducks into a creek then pulls out into a bay. This keeps the current way down, there is almost no longshore current when launching, and if you get douched or break down in the impact zone you don't get conveyor belt flushed down the beach like at pistol. Typically there was almost no beach break, so getting going was easy that way. From the top of the cliff you can spot the wind building outside, and then all of a sudden it will just turn on at the beach. Throughout the day the wind shifts from being full inside and not outside or vice-versa, but almost never both. Because there is somewhat of a point, the wave rides can be longer than at Pistol, but the downside is that on your way out you might find yourself closed out 50 feet in either direction and even if you are planing you can't run downwind and often have no choice but to gybe or get douched. This same phenomenon has a positive effect for jumping if you are a few seconds earlier, it's easier to find better, quality ramps than at Pistol. That said, there are serious lulls here where you just can't find decent waves, so it was either feast or famine, but mostly feast. I did see Levi Siver sail almost his entire 15 minute heat and get so unlucky that he didn't find a single wave on the way in or out, he finally made it happen with 2 minutes to spare. I found that although Pistol is a way gnarlier place, when planing it is easier to get out there then at a Head high day at Waddell. When the wind is blowing at Waddell it was not gusty, almost nitinat steady but with some holes - I'd compare this to Pistol by saying there the wind is steadier in terms of less holes, but far gustier/rangy. Many of the California sailors from the Bay area said they would prefer not to sail Oregon because conditions were always too windy and too big. Almost every local and Oregon sailor mentioned sharks without my prompt. Initially this freaked me out, but after 4 days I found myself fixing my SUP leash on the outside without caring much.
The wind at Waddell is colder than Pistol, but it shifts back and forth during the day from side to side-on and with those shifts the temperature in the rigging and parking area changes too. Unlike the dunes and rigging area at pistol there is almost no where to get out of the wind here, unless you walk several hundred feet away from the beach, down the highway and under the bridge. The water here is pretty much the same temp as Pistol.
The rigging area sucks, there really isn't any outside of the parking lot, or a very small dune area on top of the cliff that has some plants to rig on. Most people rigged in the parking lot.
The kiters here are probably some of the most respectful ones I've sailed beside, and some were rippers too. The day before the contest started there was probably 50 kites out, but the next day they ALL either launched and stayed well downwind from the contest area, or sailed elsewhere.
Overall I think the Pro's put on a way better show at Waddell than at Pistol last year. I sum it up to friendlier but just-big-enough conditions where they could go balls out. I found the event was more social because the parking lot packed everyone into a smaller viewing area space and everyone huddled behind the big RV's and vans. Davenport, which is about 5 miles away, was really nice with some cool shops and places to eat. Two events in the evening were here and they were both great, we also stayed at the Inn one night and that was awesome too.
It was really fun, but the drive sucks, basically twice as long as Pistol, and for that reason I am not sure if I'll go back next year, but it was definitely worth checking out.
First of all I'd like to share an email then text exchange with BWD just prior to leaving and while in Florence respectively. The day before I leave Dave digs up an article and emails it to me about a great white spotted by the lifeguards attacking a sea lion at Waddell a mere 3 weeks ago, the beach subsequently being shut down. Then in Florence (never actually sailed here) as I was trying to figure out where you guys stay on the Jetty:
Me - Can you camp at the end of the road past the state park anywhere on the jetty?
BWD - I think you have to be on the rough part, but this time of year they aren't likely to bother you, you just have to worry about the crazy locals.
Me - Thanks for that last part.
BWD - sleep well.
OK so back to Waddell. I sailed at Cape Sebastion on the same gear as at Waddell on the way down, so I had a pretty good back to back comparison to something more familiar and let me say Waddell is super user friendly compared to just about anywhere else but specifically Pistol River and the Cape. 3 masts out of 12 that went out over the two cape days snapped, 2 out of 6 on the second day. Only one mast was snapped at Waddell and that was on a 35 foot high double loop so fair enough, it should break. If Columbia Beach could have sex with Gordons and then move to the West Coast with some proper waves and 50 more years of climate warming you'd have an idea of this sport. The parking lot is on a 20 foot cliff perched above the launching which is basically a point stuck out and fairly exposed. At high tides the seas break right up at the cliff and launching would get tricky, luckily this only happened at night. Downwind the beach ducks into a creek then pulls out into a bay. This keeps the current way down, there is almost no longshore current when launching, and if you get douched or break down in the impact zone you don't get conveyor belt flushed down the beach like at pistol. Typically there was almost no beach break, so getting going was easy that way. From the top of the cliff you can spot the wind building outside, and then all of a sudden it will just turn on at the beach. Throughout the day the wind shifts from being full inside and not outside or vice-versa, but almost never both. Because there is somewhat of a point, the wave rides can be longer than at Pistol, but the downside is that on your way out you might find yourself closed out 50 feet in either direction and even if you are planing you can't run downwind and often have no choice but to gybe or get douched. This same phenomenon has a positive effect for jumping if you are a few seconds earlier, it's easier to find better, quality ramps than at Pistol. That said, there are serious lulls here where you just can't find decent waves, so it was either feast or famine, but mostly feast. I did see Levi Siver sail almost his entire 15 minute heat and get so unlucky that he didn't find a single wave on the way in or out, he finally made it happen with 2 minutes to spare. I found that although Pistol is a way gnarlier place, when planing it is easier to get out there then at a Head high day at Waddell. When the wind is blowing at Waddell it was not gusty, almost nitinat steady but with some holes - I'd compare this to Pistol by saying there the wind is steadier in terms of less holes, but far gustier/rangy. Many of the California sailors from the Bay area said they would prefer not to sail Oregon because conditions were always too windy and too big. Almost every local and Oregon sailor mentioned sharks without my prompt. Initially this freaked me out, but after 4 days I found myself fixing my SUP leash on the outside without caring much.
The wind at Waddell is colder than Pistol, but it shifts back and forth during the day from side to side-on and with those shifts the temperature in the rigging and parking area changes too. Unlike the dunes and rigging area at pistol there is almost no where to get out of the wind here, unless you walk several hundred feet away from the beach, down the highway and under the bridge. The water here is pretty much the same temp as Pistol.
The rigging area sucks, there really isn't any outside of the parking lot, or a very small dune area on top of the cliff that has some plants to rig on. Most people rigged in the parking lot.
The kiters here are probably some of the most respectful ones I've sailed beside, and some were rippers too. The day before the contest started there was probably 50 kites out, but the next day they ALL either launched and stayed well downwind from the contest area, or sailed elsewhere.
Overall I think the Pro's put on a way better show at Waddell than at Pistol last year. I sum it up to friendlier but just-big-enough conditions where they could go balls out. I found the event was more social because the parking lot packed everyone into a smaller viewing area space and everyone huddled behind the big RV's and vans. Davenport, which is about 5 miles away, was really nice with some cool shops and places to eat. Two events in the evening were here and they were both great, we also stayed at the Inn one night and that was awesome too.
It was really fun, but the drive sucks, basically twice as long as Pistol, and for that reason I am not sure if I'll go back next year, but it was definitely worth checking out.
