A month ago I experienced something unlike anything else I had ever experienced in my life. Something tragic and sad that no sailor should ever have to go through. For the first time since I could hold a tiller… I was boatless. Not only did I no longer own a boat to sail, but the person I had been racing with decided to hang up his boots on 505 ownership as well. To expound upon the sense of loss and confusion I felt would take far too long for the purpose that I am writing now, but suffice it to say that I privately endured a time of grieving.
It was all the sweeter then when I saw a facebook post by Paul Vongrey, asking if someone would like to drive for him at the Gorge Dinghy Invitational. I had never sailed with Paul before, but had known him for years as the proverbial Boy Scout leader of the 505 class and amidst my fog of grief I had a bright moment of clarity with the realization that, plane tickets are much cheaper than boat ownership. Within seconds my fingers hovered over the keyboard and in a compulsive act driven by carnal desire typed, “I’m in!”
Thus began my adventure to Cascade Locks, Oregon, more commonly referred to as “The Gorge”. Renowned for piping thermals and epic racing, Cascade Locks is the Lake Garda of the U.S. with cool water, 85-degree summer air temps, and gorgeous snowcapped mountains. To say I was stoked to finally be sailing in this legendary venue is an understatement.
On Thursday Paul picked me up from the airport and as we drove from Portland up the Columbia River, my Manhattan hardened soul began to regain its softness with every gushing waterfall pouring out of the mountains above us. With enough daylight to sail until 10 PM we leisurely rigged up the boat and headed out for a few hours of practice so we could get acquainted with one another. Paul owns one of a handful of boats made by Fremantle using Carbon Prepreg and Nomex Honeycomb, which made it feel like a lightweight well-armored tank despite some chips in the paint. We were keeping up with Mike Holt who just got 4th at the 505 Worlds in Barbados and started focusing on how to play the current vs the breeze. It was generally windier out towards the middle of river and since the current was pulling you upwind, tactics were fairly simple when going to weather – just stay in the puffs and stay in the current. Figuring out the tactics downwind caused a bit more brain damage though. There were huge puffs funneling through the valley that could dial you down 20-degrees, but you usually didn’t want to venture too far out in the current. On the flip side if you took it in close to shore where there was less current, you ran the risk of getting stuck in a huge hole. Our strategy became to stay about 2/3rds of the way off the south shore, out towards the channel, while going upwind and about 1/3rd of the way off the south shore while going downwind.
When we arrived Friday morning though, our carefully devised strategy got thrown out the window. Rather than the typical westerly thermal, the wind was howling out of the east at well over 20 knots. The wind surfers and kite boarders were out in full force and some 505 sailors who arrived late went sailing that morning to test the waters while the rest of us watched curiously from shore. During the skippers meeting it was quickly apparent we had some quality people running races for us. They said they would start when we wanted to start, finish when we wanted to finish and run as many races as we wanted to sail. I always love it when a PRO’s preeminent concern is to make sure we have a good time and that was definitely the case.
Race one felt like a bit of an experiment. With the easterly wind blowing the same direction as the current, getting toward the south shore away from the channel seemed like the obvious move, but that strategy was complicated by the fact there was generally more breeze out in the middle of the river. We pulled the trigger early at the start and quickly got punched on the fleet. Mike Holt and Dave Shelton were right behind us and knowing they would be our toughest competition, we immediately started tacking on them whenever the opportunity arose. It was enough to barely hold them off at the windward mark, but Paul and I were still getting used to sailing with one another and botched a jibe, giving Mike the chance to jibe on top of us at the layline.
Race two was twice around and the breeze was already starting to die. We shook the reef out of the sail, managed to get another jump on the fleet at the start and were once again tacking on Mike Holt. By the leeward mark our lead had grown to several boat lengths, but on the second beat Holt sent it hard toward the shoreline and came back only inches behind. We came across on port to slam him and since he was close to shore there was nowhere to go but eat our bad air. We stayed on top of him almost tack for tack during the second beat and pushed him toward the shoreline where there was less wind so that our lead extended to almost 100 yards. Going downwind we thought the race was in the bag until we noticed the easterly was dying and the leeward mark was right in the convergence zone where the westerly was attempting to fill in. The further we went the lighter it got and Mike Holt was sailing in stronger breeze behind us. Just keeping the kite full was difficult and we knew that as soon as we rounded the mark and started sailing upwind against the current in light air our lead would rapidly diminish. Mike rounded right behind us and started sailing a tight reach toward the shoreline to get current relief. Paul and I started footing with him to cover until I saw Jeff Miller and Krysia Pohl round the leeward mark in a puff and start quickly closing the gap. In minutes Paul and I went from thinking there was no way anyone could catch us to now being worried boats would pass us on both sides. Covering Mike Holt took priority as we attempted a balancing act of trying to stop him or the other two boats to windward from getting leverage on us. Mike once again hit the shoreline hard and tacked toward the finish only inches behind us. Paul and I roll tacked to lee-bow and Krysia tacked just below us. It soon became apparent though in the light air that none of us would lay the finish line because of the current so Mike tacked back toward shore and we followed him with Krysia right behind us. Jeff Miller hooked into some breeze in the middle of the river and despite the stronger current moved into first. Paul and I couldn’t hold of Krysia who was able to tack for the finish ahead of us but we managed to barely stay ahead of Mike.
The wind completely died and the fleet headed to shore for a very civilized lunch break complete with free beer. Before long though a strong westerly filled in and we were back on the water for three more incredible races. The leeward marks were set way down river and with the current now running against the wind the downwind legs lasted forever. Sailing out of a puff was deadly but if you connected them well a huge lead could be built in a short time. During the evening debrief Pat Diola mentioned he saw me looking backwards almost 80% of the time while sailing downwind, which wasn’t much of an overstatement. Paul and I managed to keep our heads in the game and get three bullets to finish off the day.
On Saturday JB Turney and his crew Justin Schaffer showed up and brought the strong breeze with them. The westerly was already cranking as we got rigged and I was asked to give more than one jibing tutorial in the parking lot. Paul and I connected some big puffs downwind and kept our streak going with another first to start the day. In race two Jeff Miller found a new gear and led for most of the race until he sailed too far into the current on the last downwind. Paul and I took the lead for a while until we sailed out of a puff and it was Mike Holt who grabbed first place by the leeward mark and held on until the finish. In race three and four on the second day, Paul and I kept trading places with Mike and Dave so that each of us got two firsts and two seconds. We made it a lot harder than we needed to though by capsizing at the start of race four and having to grind our way back through the fleet.
That night we all went out to a local restaurant for some pizza and Paul and I started discussing the scores. There would be two throw outs once we sailed 10 races and Mike was chucking a six while we were only throwing out a three, which made our lead shrink by critical points. Once we crunched the numbers though I realized all we needed was one first place finish and we had three races left to do it.
Sunday was unusual for the Gorge once again with the wind cranking out of the east. No one knew if it would hold or keep building as we launched, but as Paul and I tuned up before the first race we had to rake back more and more. It was now JB and Justin’s turn to get punched off the line and showing some great speed upwind managed to round the windward mark just inside Paul and I. They chose to jibe out for a puff even though it meant sailing away from the current, which turned out to be a smart move. Paul and I did a bear away set with Mike and Dave right on our heels, in a puff and sailing low with speed. As I was wondering how they got 8 boat lengths inside of us so quickly I saw them jibe off as Paul said, “You know we’re going to the short leeward mark right?” I had completely overstood, which took us from being in the pack to being over 20 boat lengths behind JB and the first place that would seal up the regatta. I was ticked.
Paul and I ground our way back on the second beat and rounded the windward mark on Mike and Dave’s heels. As I was hoisting the kite, Paul yells to me, “They flipped!” and I looked over to see them capsized to windward with the spinnaker halfway up the mast and both of them hanging on inside the cockpit. For a moment I thought they were finished only to look back and see the wind catch their spinnaker and in a second pull their mast up out of the water. It was the fastest capsize I’ve ever seen in a 505, it was blowing over 20 knots and neither of them ever had to stand on the centerboard. Paul and I managed to hunt down JB and Justin so they only rounded a boat length in front of us at the last mark and Mike was right behind us. We climbed inside JB as we drag raced on port toward the shore and as the breeze lightened tacked back toward the middle of the river. JB tacked with us, but Mike and Dave decided to hit the shoreline. They sailed into a light spot and I saw our opportunity to finally seal the regatta. We tacked back onto port, crossed JB and then tacked on layline for the finish right on top of Mike. With a first place, Paul and I knew the regatta was clinched, but the sailing conditions were so epic there was no way we were going in before the next race.
The breeze had built and we were raked back as far as the mast would go. Paul and I got to the windward mark first, stole a move out of JB’s playbook from the previous race with a jibe set, remembered to sail to the short leeward mark on the first lap and were laughing as huge puffs sent us skipping down the river. We built a strong lead and finished the regatta on a high note with two bullets.
The Columbia Gorge Racing Association is truly world class and put on a flawless regatta in one of the best venues I’ve ever had the pleasure of sailing in. If anyone is ever on the fence about attending an event here in the future, don’t even give it a second thought. Just go enjoy the warm weather, strong breeze, fresh water, beautiful scenery and most importantly, the company of all your 505 buddies – easily the most friendly and fun class in the world.
