The Gorge is my Gym

If your arms aren’t tired yet, they will be after today. West winds keep blowing through the Gorge. The early gradient was .10 and the cloudline was east of Hood River. That means best winds today will be from Mosier to Maryhill early, filling in from Stevenson to Mosier later on. It’ll be 21-24 this morning, building to 25-29 later.

It’s going to be kitabel conditions for the Kiteboarding for Cancer event at the Event Site today. If you’re not a kiteboarder, there are standup paddle races, live music, hot BBQ and cold beverages. Go check it out! If you’re an Event Site windsurfer, head to Luhr Jensen or The Hook today, since KB4C has reserved the event site for the weekend.

This evening is the King of the Hook longboard contest. Get your costume and your longboard gear and head to the hook. Registration opens at 4:30 at the west end of the Hook.

A weak front pushes across the Northwest tonight, sending clouds up the Columbia. The west winds probably shift eastward tomorrow. Even if that happens, upper teens start the day, building to 23-27 later on.

If you have a chance to head to Cascade Locks today, go check out the Moth National Championships. Those hydrofoil boats rip, and with this much wind, there’s bound to be spectacular carnage. While you’re down there, stop at the East Wind for a delish malted milkshake.

Good morning gorge sports fanatics and happy First Friday to Hood River!

If it wasn’t windy enough for you yesterday, today might be. The upper level low ambles through eastern Oregon and an upper trough crosses BC. The combination was enough for early gradients of .16 from Portland to The Dalles and 9 from The Dalles to Pasco. Combine that with a .33 North-south gradient, and you’re looking at a big day out east.

It was blowing in the 30 at Roosevelt at 6am, and the 30-party goes from Mosier to Boardman all day today. Upper 30s at Doug’s, Maryhill and Roosevelt later on wouldn’t surprise me. Once again, I’ll be demoing my sub 3.7 Hot Sails today, probably at Arlington (that is, after I sleep for a couple more hours and then drink a couple cups of coffee and eat pancakes).

If you are desperate for a small sail, do get in touch. I’ll tweet my location … follow me on Twitter @gorgereport.

The windy streak continues tomorrow, with 24-28 to start, most likely in the Corridor as high pressure moves the cloudline westward. 30ish averages continue all day, shifting out to Doug’s and Maryhill in the afternoon.

Sunday looks a bit lighter, with 17-20 the morning call and 23-27 the afternoon call through the Gorge.

Today is setup and BBQ day for Kiteboard for Cancer, and tomorrow’s the endurance race. There are also Standup Paddle events going on… check out the website at kb4c.org, and don’t forget to donate a few dollars… the money raised goes to local cancer charities.

The Event Site is closed to windsurfing this weekend, so take the opportunity to launch at Luhr Jensen/Northwave or the new Waterfront Park.

Also this weekend is the Moth National Championships… that’s one-man hydrofoil sailboats – down in Cascade Locks. The speed record is around 33 miles per hour, and those guys might just break the record. Go check it out!

Whatever you do today, have an awesome day!