Good morning sailors!
Thank you all for the outpouring of support. I think it took about 60 "thank you" emails to balance out the damage done by a couple of idiots. Here is the forecast for today, Wednesday. I'll do my best to keep this updated, but no guarantees. See you on the water...
<forecast>
Once again, I'm up late. Comes from getting up at 6am to check the radio forecast (yes, I did manage to screw it up today... <g> ) and then going back to bed for some blissful 2nd sleep.
Not surprisingly, I'm late for work. Well, I make my own schedule, but if I were the kind of person who adhered to a schedule, I'd be late. The person who is waiting for me to clean his house is probably less concerned than I am about me being late, so I guess it's ok. Nice thing about this house is that there will be coffee on request.
As you may have guessed, I'm still asleep.
Here's the forecast:
Windsurfers: It’s looking like tomorrow might just be the day the Freestyle Frenzy organizers have been waiting for. If the models hold, it’s going to be a classic gorge setup. Dawn Patrol in the mid twenties climbing into the low thirties by afternoon. Cross your fingers – or do whatever you do for good luck - for all our out-of-town pro windsurfer guests.
(that's what the radio says. Longer version is that a system passes tonight, dragging marine clouds into the Gorge. With the desert still hot and Portland cold tomorrow AND high pressure along the coast, it's going to blast here. Very lucky for the FF people. Great for us, as it won't be crowded on the water will all the spectators spectating on the Hatchery rocks. Don't forget your 3.2 and 3.7.)
Today brings a return to the westerlies. As a system passes to the north this afternoon, gradients increase across the Gorge. This is another one of those tricky calls where models lie and gut instinct comes into play… watch around 3:47pm for wind first at Stevenson and then at Rowena and Doug’s. The Hatch is going to be gusty, but don’t let that keep you from enjoying the swells.
(I'm going to be on the sailboats this evening. For some reason, racing a 41 foot boat through the Gorge is just as exciting as a 4.2 day of sailing. Probably has something to do with the fact that we aren't the most skilled crew. We often get knocked down, make mistakes, or break things. Or maybe it's the fact that every time I go out on the boat I learn something new.)
There’s weird stuff going on with the models for Friday. They’re suggesting easterlies, but I’ll call continued westerlies instead. The weekend looks windy too.
(from this long view, anyway... NOAA is calling for a system to pass late Friday or Saturday. If it's as strong as the models are saying, we'll see a great day Saturday. Long ways out to make that call)
Hey, I rather like interjecting my random thoughts back into the concise radio forecast.
Have a great day!