S PORTS
www.hoodrivernews.com
Hood River News, Saturday, June 20, 2015
World-class paddling event coming to the Gorge
Outrigger canoes and surfskis highlight Gorge Downwind Paddling Festival July 19-25
News staff writer
See PADDLE, Page A8
Columbia
Gorge
Windsurfing
Association
Beach Bash
to be held
next week
Contributed photo
A SURFSKIER, flanked by windsurfers, cuts through the Columbia River. Those
who paddle surfskis and outrigger canoes either professionally or recreationally
are invited to register for the inaugural Gorge Downwind Paddling Festival that
will be held July 19-25.
Team photos contributed; water photo by Keith Howell
LITTLE LEAGUE CHAMPS
Local Little League teams had their championship games last weekend, featuring showdowns in boys majors, boys minors, and girls minors this season. Clockwise, start-
ing at top: For boys majors, New Dawn Security beat Apple City, 6-1. From left to right are New Dawn Security team members Cristofer Castaneda, Maurico Diaz, Caleb
Hoover, Tanner Fletcher, Hunter Hough, Harrison Howell, Forest Lawson, Jackson Perkins, Mason Spellecy, Nathan Van Dooren, Cade Wetherell, Luke Rinella, coach Les
Perkins, and team manager Mike Van Dooren. Not pictured: coach Sean Spellecy. Next, in girls minors, Boda’s Kitchen beat Gorge Fly Shop, 7-1. Pictured in the back row
from left to right are Boda’s Kitchen coaches Tonya Schroeder and Ryan Flory (not pictured: coach Mitzi McMurrin). Middle row, left to right: Sydney Cox, Lauraine Smith,
Miyana Robertson, Kyra Davis, and Kirie Nesbitt. Front row, left to right: Rachel Smith, Sienna Davis, Zoe Mansfield, Tiahna Pacheco, and Kim Anh Kirschbaum. Next, in
the minor boys championship game, Hood River Supply defeated Gehrig’s Chevron, 7-5. From left to right are Hood River Supply team manager Eric Fauth, Aaron Aamodt,
Elijah Adams, Isiah Adams, Mathew Fauth, Sam Fauth, Caleb Foster, Robert Glassmann-Germain, Joseph Kahler, David Torrescano, Nicholas Tuttle, Caleb Wahlstrom, and
Catelyn Wahlstrom. Not pictured: coach Eric Foster. Finally, Tanner Fletcher and Harrison Howell are shown dumping the water bucket on their coach, Mike Van Dooren,
after winning the boys majors championship.
SPORTS BRIEFS
Leonard Hickman wins Flag Day golf tourney loop trail) that is just north of Kingsley Reservoir pared for some hard work, some easy work, and lots
Staging Area. Work party will be Saturday, June 27.
Start time is 9:00 a.m. Work party will end at ap-
proximately 1:00 p.m. Clear cuts and road construc-
tion work from Erica Timber Sale have been com-
pleted and trail 191L can now be reconstructed. This
trail is designed for ATV’s but is multi-use; also used
by bicycles, equestrians, and hikers, etc. A portion of
the previous route used to run along an old skid road
that was rocked for the timber sale. The work party
will improve a new, fun section of the loop that is
being reconstructed through the woods and that has
bypassed the old road section. Volunteers may also
reconstruct portions of the trail routed through the
new clear cut units. Hand tools will be provided but
volunteers are encouraged to bring their own (lop-
Kingsley Reservoir trail work party June 27
pers, Mcleods, Pulaskis, rakes, hoes, etc.). Bring cof-
Hood River County has scheduled a trail work fee, work clothes, gloves, sturdy boots, safety glass-
party to reroute/reconstruct a section of 191L (the es, hat, water, lunch/snacks, sunscreen, etc. Be pre-
Congratulations to Leonard Hickman, winner of
the June 14 Flag Day Golf Tournament at the Hood
River Golf Course. Hickman edged second-place fin-
isher Tom Goodwin for the honor. In third place was
Gary Sollman and in fourth was Jim Franks. Individ-
ual prizes are as follows: First Out: Bill Van Ek; Spe-
cial prize, donated by Robin Goodyer. KP No. 3: Hick-
man. LD No. 8: Goodyer. LP No. 9: Hickman. LP No.
13: Doug Hamada. KP No. 11: Bill DeBorde. The next
tournament is scheduled for Friday, July 19, starting
at 8 a.m. The tournament is the Red, White and Blue
tournament. Non-members are encouraged to enter.
Cost for members is $35 and non-members is $40.
Last day to enter is July 17.
Ways of
the Wind
A summer series
with Greg Stiegel ,
By BEN MITCHELL
The Columbia River Gorge is home to a multitude of wind and water
sports, as well as a number of festivals and races to go with them and come
July, the Gorge will add another such festival to its already busy summer
roster.
The Gorge Downwind Paddling Festival will be held July 19-25, but un-
like many other events at the waterfront, this one won’t focus on wind-
surfing or kiteboarding, but rather surfskis and outrigger canoes that will
race downwind from Home Valley and Stevenson to Hood River and Bin-
gen in the event’s two races.
Though this will be the first time the race will be held in Hood River, it
is destined to be the “largest event of its kind in North America,” accord-
ing to the event website, and is included as part of the Surfski World Cup
series and will serve as the North American championships in the sport.
For downwind paddling neophytes, event director Carter Johnson ex-
plains that outrigger canoes are essentially canoes with support floats
(outriggers) located out to the sides of the watercraft. As for surfskiing,
Johnson describe the concept as taking “very fast, tippy kayaks and you
race them down the largest waves you can find. There’s no limit to how big
these waves can be. The bigger the better. If it’s blowing 50 (m.p.h.), we’re
more excited than if it’s blowing 40.” He added that outrigger canoeing is
A7
of fun! Also bring your motorcycle, ATV (to ride on
other routes), bicycle, horse, or running shoes for a
ride (or run) after the work party is over. For more in-
formation, call Henry Buckalew, trails program coor-
dinator/forest technician II for the Hood River Coun-
ty Forestry Department at 541-387-7089.
Sports story correction
A story in the previous edition’s sports section in-
correctly listed HRVHS as having won two state
championships in the 2014-15 season and then later
in the article correctly listed the six championships
the school had won this past school year. The two
state championships listed should have been re-
ferred to specifically as OSAA state championships.
We regret the error.
The summer wind season
hit us early in the Gorge this
year. We have seen warm
days and steady west winds
in the corridor for over a
month now. Last week’s heat
even felt a bit like late July
or maybe even August usual-
ly does. I take this as a sign
of more good things to come
for us wind and water seek-
ers!
It is already mid-June, the
kids are out of school, and
the summer events and ac-
tivities on the water are in
full swing. Last week we saw
the third installment of the
Gorge Cup race series go off
with perfect conditions.
Race director Scotia Bauer
re p o r t s t h at , “ M a c R a e
(Wylde) was amazing on Sat-
urday, with seven first-place
finishes. Fiona (Wylde) fin-
ished second overall for the
day, too... the story is Team
Wylde!”
Speaking of perfect wind-
surfing event conditions, the
American Windsurfing Tour
held its annual contest in
Pistol River with epic condi-
tions. Gorge locals Nathan
Mershon, Ingrid Larouche,
and Anna Rohden all had
top-five finishes in the Pro
divisions. A huge congrats
to Columbia Gorge Wind-
surfing Association board
member Sean Aiken for tak-
ing home the top spot in the
Masters division. Check out
the event video posted at
gorgewindsurfing.org.
Coming up in the Gorge,
the CGWA is excited about
its premier of the Beach
Bash. Four days of fun for
everybody! The event kicks
off Thursday, June 25 with
the Pray For Wind party at
Stonehedge Gardens from 6-
10 p.m. Live music, belly-
dancing, tons of raffles and
a u c t i o n p r i z e s, a n d a
gourmet dinner are in store
for you. Dinner tickets ($10-
20) sold at the door and pro-
ceeds benefit the Gorge
Groms kids windsurfing
program.
Friday, June 26 is worth
getting excited about. There
is a high wind demo, sup-
por ted by Windance, at
Rowena from 11 a.m. to 3
p.m., free of charge. Then
we are excited to kick off
the first major concert at the
new amphitheater in the wa-
terfront park, Friday (6-10
p.m.) with an outdoor con-
cert presented by 10 Barrel.
Tim Snyder is headlining
and Smoke on the Water is
opening the show. T his
event is open to all ages and
entry is free, thanks to sup-
port from 10 Barrel and
Naked Winery. Be sure to get
there early and stake out
your spot on the lawn.
T he Big Winds Beach
Bash takes place on Satur-
day, June 27, all day at the
Event Site. With another full
bill of music in the after-
noon, local beer and food for
sale, and over 24 vendors on
hand, you will not want to
miss this beach party! A
sample of events for the day
include: Free SUP clinics,
f re e b e g i n n e r w i n d s u r f
lessons, unlimited demos,
A rch e r y Ta g , M t . H o o d
Meadows kids section, the
Never Windsurfed Before
Race, and much more!
T h e C G WA i s s t o ke d
about this new event and all
the support from the local
community we have had so
far to make this event possi-
ble. We are still looking for
fun, energetic people to help
us during the event. If you
want to participate, please e-
mail
G re g
at
cgwa@gorge.net.
Stay tuned to GorgeWind-
surfing.org for more info,
and I hope to see you on the
water soon!