2018 Spring Gorge Trip: Friday - Windy at the Hatchery

The world seems to be as it should. I got down to Dog River Coffee just after 8 and found most of the guys already there. After our usual morning discussion, and after solving most of the worlds issues, we headed across the street to Bette's for Breakfast.

Breakfast at Bette'sHandre, Cam, Blaine, Al, Rene, Brad and Harold

After breakfast, we toured all the local shops again and then moved over to the Event Site - arriving just before noon. There were already people out on the water. The forecast had been for about the same as yesterday, but it was definitely blowing harder.

I went out on my 5.6m Sail and Nash board. Most of the guys were on 4.8's or smaller. We had a great first session. Later in the afternoon, the wind increased. Most of the guys rigged down. Kent spent the afternoon on a 4.2. The swells were large on the inside, and it was fun drag racing on the far side.

Harold - Riding a Wave!

Al - getting some Air!

Handre - Plowing Through!

Kent - giving us Jibing Lessons!

Handre - might have been the fasted guy on the water!

We all had a great afternoon. Rene said he was very happy once he went down to his smaller board. Al even did a loop, which Kent and I saw, but I didn't manage to get on film. It was a clean 360 - unfortunately, his gear didn't do the loop with him!

As per tradition, we sat around in the sun after sailing to have a beer, tell stories and de-brief.

Brad - Enjoyed the day!

China Gorge was the call for supper. On the way there, I stopped to talk to Cam, who was just coming off the water from his Kite Session at the bridge. He and Ross had spent the entire afternoon on the water. He said he would join us if he could convince Ross to join us as well. Ross, however, would have none of it. China Gorge is not on his list of favourite restaurants, so he bought Cam Pizza at Double Moutain instead.

Handre - disappointed that he couldn't order from the Seniors Menu...

China Gorge actually turned out to be an excellent choice. They have a new menu which includes a "Seniors Menu". Everyone except Handre tried it out - which is fitting because he is the only one of us who doesn't qualify as a senior. The Seniors Menu allows you to choose two items to go with your rice. The servings are a bit smaller, which is a good thing, and the food was really excellent.

We got back to the condos around 8:00. Some went straight to bed (I guess we really are becoming seniors), but Brad, Blaine, Handre, and Al joined Kent, Ross and I on the deck for a few beers, some wine and some great discussion. We stayed up really late, but all headed to bed before 11:00.

Brad

Looking forward to more sailing tomorrow.

Andreas told us he had another great day on the cost and sent some photos.