Temira's Gorge Forecast

Good Morning Sailors (and kiters and bikers and waterskiers and people who read this forecast for its entertainment value only),

You guys are unbelievable. Thank you so much for getting together and tossing in your hard-earned dollars (although you've just defeated the FREE part of the forecast, you know) to send me somewhere fantastic. Those of you who know me know how much your kindness and thoughtfulness means to me, for for the others... well, let's just say that's the nicest thing a group of people has ever done or could ever do for me, and I'm honored and touched and thankful and all those other things that can't be expressed fully in email. I wish I could thank all of you in person (and take you along in my luggage).

I had a great time at the party last night; it was cool to meet those of you who ended up on the list randomly, rather than having been forcefully added by me. Thanks to all of you who came down to Cebu, thanks to Tim and Mike for the awesome music, thanks especially to Tom and Arthur (one more reason to vote for Arthur) for making the party and my winter windsurfing vacation happen, and thanks to all of you who let me think I was in on the secret (the party) while keeping quiet about what was really going on. I'm glad I gleaned some idea once I arrived, or you would have seen tears streaming down my cheeks in front of all of you. =) You sneaky darn windsurfers and kiteboarders and people who just showed up for fun....

And yes, Tom, you can have your knife back, and Arthur, I will get my cherries out of your freezer... someday.

Oh, and thanks to the (unknown) person who paid for my dinner!

I'm soooooo excited to go somewhere warm and windy this winter!

But now, on to more important things. Today's wind. Models and forecasts are all over the place, which leaves me in the unenviable position of having to use gut instinct. Gradients are currently offshore (wrong direction), but as the front approaches, they will switch to westerly (right direction). It looks like the strongest wind, low twenties or so, will sneak into the Gorge late in the afternoon. This seemingly innocuous front is the harbinger of winter.

Tomorrow brings another, stronger front, with more rain, clouds, and all those other entertaining sky features. Winds increase to the mid-twenties by mid-afternoon as a mid-level front passes over the mid-Gorge. Upper level flow looks quite southerly, so head to Doug's, Avery (wait, you guys should know this list by heart by now), Celilo, Rowena, and Arlington for best wind.

Wednesday's front is even stronger, sending best winds to Arlington, Threemile and Boardman (has anyone actually sailed at Boardman? I'm curious.) in the mid afternoon. This is a fast-moving front, and winds will be shortlived (a few hours), so I suggest leaving before winds reach your optimum windspeed. Count on an afternoon pickup to the upper twenties... no guarantee on wind quality or lack of rain, though. Check the radar picture before you head out.

I'm going to go throw my, um, I mean Bob's board on my car (Bob, I've only used it twice - it's been sitting in my closet this whole time) and cross my fingers about today's timing (houses to clean). I wasn't joking the other day about Bob's board, by the way. It's awesome. Anyone who needs a new board and wants to try it is welcome to call me at 541-399-3693. No prank calls, please.

Thanks again to all of you, a million times over, for getting together to get rid of me for a few weeks. And thanks for putting up with my morning entertainment for so long. It's really is fun for me to do these forecasts, and it's awesome having such a great audience.

And one last thing... I can't resist: na-na-na-na-na... I'm still forecasting and iWindsurf isn't!!!

Temira