If you like wind, waves, and stiff competetion – you would love the Gorge Outrigger Races. 100′s of racers from Canada and the US come for the 2-day competition. The Skamania Fairgrounds becomes a ‘tent city’ literered with 6-man outrigger canoes, OC1’2 and 2′s, surfskis and paddle boards. Fit and tan racers wander around socializing while they recover from one of many ‘downwinders’ they plan to do that day… and all the while the wind howls!

The event lasts three days, with a social downwind paddle Friday, the 9-mile OC6 race Saturday, and 6-mile small boat (surfski’s, OC1′s, OC2′s and SUP’s) race Sunday.

Last year Brandon and I came for the Sunday race. But, after checking out the scene and having an awesome time, he invited his Molokai OC6 team to come for the event this year. It was an easy sell… and Team Easy Living flew in from Hawaii and California for the event.

On Saturday morning, OC6′s are rigged at the fairgrounds. The women’s race is first. Then, 1/2 an hour after the last racers finish, the men’s competition begins.

Brandon and his team, who were borrowing a OC6 from Seattle, paddle out from the pond in front of the fairgrounds, under the railroad tracks into the Columbia River and the race start.

This boat launch serves as the ‘boat exchange’ for men’s and women’s team’s who share a boat.

With 25 mph winds and 3 – 4 foot swells, about 2 dozen men’s teams lined up for the start of an exciting OC6 race!

Windsurfers, kiteboarders, sailboats, ferries, and barges share the river with the racers.

Team Sail Sand Point, out of Seattle, took first with the help local Bellingham boy Eric Gerstl and 2-time Olympic kayaker Greg Barton.

Team Easy Living — perhaps the only team there without a “Club” and having not paddled together since the ’07 Molokai World Champs — raced to a third place overall finish!!!

Some racers found themselves literally ‘in over their heads’ in the rowdy conditions. This boat filled with water to the gunnels!While it appears the ama on this boat filled. Their were also quite a few huli’s…

Sunday, while Brandon’s teammate Mike Scales watched Hayden, we set-off on our OC2 to defend our mixed tandem title… and defend it we did, with the next mixed team finishing over 4 minutes behind us.

Thanks for another awesome race JD!!!

We windsurfers were racing the Blowout that Saturday (starting at Stevenson, going downwind/upriver to the Hood River Event Site). Sure was fun to see so many paddlers around; big festival atmosphere. We were off doing our own thing before the paddlers were out in force, but just driving by the fair grounds, it was pretty clear that’s a pretty healthy and thriving community you guys have built there.Monday of that week, I was part of coaching a windsurfing junior race clinic at Stevenson, and there were still a ton of outriggers out. We all got a big kick out of that as well.

-Andreas http://g-42.blogspot.com

~In the Spirit of Compassion and Adventure~

Heather, Brandon and Hayden