It has been a long summer with no regattas because of Covid-19. So we jumped on the chance to travel north to the Columbia Gorge Racing Association One Design event at the end of July. We were excited to race the “Gorge” but a little nervous about the windy, wavy conditions the venue is famous for..
Like many double handed teams I have had to change plans this summer and shift into single handed boats. Like most other juniors I turned to lasers and have been sailing them for about two months. Thanks to SDYC’s great laser coaches, including head coach Bryan Paine, we have all not only become comfortable in the boat but are also beginning to become a team that continues to push one another. Despite our limited experience in heavy winds, my brother Calvin, our friend Dylan Gardner, and I were set on making the 21 hour drive up to a regatta. So we loaded our boats and hit the road.
We arrived Thursday night and crossed the Bridge of Gods into Washington to get to our campsite. Friday morning we unloaded our boats and did a little last minute boat work and went for a practice sail. There were about 15-18 knots of wind with big waves and chop coming from several different directions. Heading downwind we could barely keep the boats upright but luckily the water was warm and it was easy to get back up. Calvin and I had an especially hard time, being underweight and on the shorter side. Through trial and error we learned a lot and got a lot more comfortable in the wind by the end of the day. Looking at the forecast, Sunday was supposed to be very windy and because we were having a hard time in Friday's medium wind we decided to sail 4.7s, which is a smaller rig than the radial.
To our surprise the first day of the regatta brought conditions that are very similar to what we see in San Diego, with the breeze growing to about 8-12 and flat water. The strong current that flowed up the course caused a few general recalls and short upwinds, which were nice as it got windier. Sunday, however, the Gorge lived up to its reputation --- with a twist. As rare as it was, the wind came from the east at sustained mid-20 knots and gusts over 30. The wind and current were going the same way, resulting in big steep waves, chop, and long upwinds. The course we sailed on Sunday was shaped like a backwards z with a windward mark, 3 reach marks and an upwind finish. The reaches were especially exciting because of how fast you could go and how much you could gain by doing them right. I think our experience sailing 29ers gave us an edge on these reaches. We all capsized several times on Sunday but ended up finishing pretty well. Calvin got first and I got third in 4.7s and Dylan finished mid-fleet in radials.
Although the drive was long, the beautiful views and fantastic sailing made up for it. We made some new friends and they were very helpful, giving us good info about the venue. Camping in the forest was super fun and we made Smores around the campfire at night. It was so fun to go somewhere new and get to sail there. I learned alot about sailing in wind and current . I can’t wait to head up there in the future to continue to race lasers and 29ers. Thanks to the comp fund for the gas money!
