Saturday and Sunday Oregon Coast

[MikE mAy]

any last words before i take my landlubber behind out to the waves? forecast 15-20knts and 5 foot swell.

any other SLC kids up here in the gorge? winds look piss poor on the columbia and i'm heading for the coast. Mark leh? 20knts- should be windsurfable...

wish me luck!

[Kenny]

Hey Mike,

Stay away from Manzanita if you are by your lonesome. The wind is super holey in the break and much stronger on the outside than on the beach. Tough place to ride. Have fun.

Kenny

[Carl Christensen]

currents can be stronger than you think depending on where you launch and the swell direction. plus it can be a bit chilly in comparison to HR. beautiful though.

[Jon Manwaring]

Mike,
Lucky Man, If it's blowing at least 15-20 from NW The Fort Stevens State Park is the place to be. If it's on, there will be lots of kiters doing downwinders from the Jetty at the mouth of the Cloumbia to the Shipwreck or farther down towards Seaside. You can drive on the beach up to to the shipwreck but not all the North to the Jetty. Your abilites are more than enough to rock at the coast. Wide sandy beach and side on wind, waves are usually not that big, sometimes just like the river swell but they do break. I'm not a wave monster so I backside them and stay out in the rollers. Marty plays more in them. . HEAVEN for us inland kiters. Call me or Marty for more details. I don't have any experience anywhere else, but this stretch of the coast is A+ and super user friendly. No worries just have fun. Most of the time it's an afternoon thing usually starting around 2. Most kiters meet at the shipwreck parking area and carpool up to the Jetty for the downwinders. If Marty reads this he'll be Jonesn to join you, if even for a day. Remember its downwind with the current so a little bigger kite is OK, The break at the beach can look intimidating but just body drag out thru it or time it right and get out.
Jon Mzee

[Kenny]

Getting through shore break - some locations have a channel, others you just have to "man up" and get through them. I have a few tips for landlubbers:
1. If you are coming up on a wave and it is about to break, don't try to plough through it. The amount of force generate by a breaking wave is immense. It can easily snap your leg. Instead, run away. Just send the kite the other way and wait until it is whitewater and then go out again. Using this method you can work your way out.
2. Waves come in sets, so if the break is extra large, wait a couple minutes for it to calm down.
3. When going over a wave, point your board a little down the line rather than slamming directly into it. Bend your knees at the same time.
4. You may be tempted, but don't wear a board leash, not even a reel leash. A leash can get you into real trouble in the waves.
5. Some days the waves are beyond your ability. If they are absolutely huge, there is no shame in going to another beach. It is always better to live another day.

Wave riding is fun - almost as much fun as snowkiting.

[jason morton]

Mike. Just go for it dude. 15-20 knts is an ok forecast for the coast and the farther north you go the lighter it is depending on the position of the North Pacific High. Fort Stevens might be on the light side. The wind tends to work it's way from south to north and is generally lighter the further north you go. Actually, Manzanita is the windiest place on the northern coast and the swell is mostly generated by the wind (wind swell) so it doesn't really come in sets at all. There is no real defined break or channels. Just beach break with no real definition. The waves just keep coming. Newport South Jetty and Florence Jetty offer better wave riding due to the jetties which clean up the wind swell but the waves will also be smaller. Winds are always lighter and a little holey in onshore conditions but that is not just a Manzanita thing. I remember a couple yaers ago I was riding lit on a 9m at Manzanita in sunshine and heard from Marty that it came up late, was foggy and real light up at Fort Stevens. If you are visiting friends in Lincoln City go to Road's End State Park and park at the north end of the park in the "U" shaped parking turn around. This is where the kiters set up and launch. Staying up wind is no problem if you are powered. Have fun.

[MikE mAy]

well, apparently my skunkyness follows me accross the country... i managed to turn a N 15-20 knots forecast to south and no wind. managed to check out all the places and surfed some down at otter creek though so all wasn't lost. in fact, i saw a bunch of kiters (one of whom kited with us on the snow but i can't rememebr his name) showed up to otter rock with SUPs. i kind of felt under gunned, but was able to pick a few off with my beater board. at least i was surfing better on my rental bic than most of the locals....


well, i'm back now, so plan on a windless forecast!!!!

[Marty Lowe]

I talked to a few guys that got the goods Saturday....
Bummer you missed it.
These guys got it also...
http://www.nwkite.com/forums/t-9204.html

-Marty

[MikE mAy]

yeah, i saw that this morning and it definitely bruised by ego. no wind was happening at all saturday at lincoln. started from the south and eventully stopped and then picked back up again in the early evening. i think they were much further north (up by manzinitas). i looked at the forecast saturday morning and saw nothing, not that dosen't mean i missed something. so, i waited and prayed in lincoln. i talked to the local kite shop at oregon surf shop and he didn't have much to help me out with other than say it probably wasn't going to happen anywhere. i checked the forums, and saw that everybody was coast bound, but no one said where.

i guess i just didn't know enough about the coast to make a good decision.... kind of bummed.

i did get some ok longboard ankle biter surfing in though. the waves were small, but they had some good shape and push to them so you could ride for a while and do some footwork.


i don't feel all that bad, becuase kiteboarders did show up to SUP at the break i was at. they were in rossignol and slingshot vans, so i'd assume they woudl know where the for sure riding spot was goign to be and missed it too....

who did you talk to? what shoudl i have known for the future?

[jason morton]

Go to Manzanita like I told you too in my earlier post!!!!