downwind

The Gorge Downwind Championships have already acquired an unrivalled reputation as a bizarre but wondeful place for downwind paddling...  Why bizarre?  You're blown upriver by winds that howl up the Columbia River Gorge...  Check it out.

Sharon Armstrong is a highly respected downwind paddler in Durban, South Africa and she often has her GoPro strapped to the back of her ski...  In November, 2017, Durban had some weather - and she headed out for a run from Marine Lifesaving Club to Umhlanga - in 35kt and torrential rain and lightning!  Respect!

Trees blown down on powerlines, roofs ripped off buildings, yachts blown ashore...  Downwind time in Sydney, Australia!

This is a great little video from the Epic training centre in Tarifa, Spain.  What stands out for me is the look of the conditions - beautifully shaped, big waves, cracking downwind...  

I recently bought one of the new HD GoPro Hero cameras...  It’s been a learning curve but I’m finally getting the hang of it.

To quote the distinguished and celebrated sage Jerry Seinfeld:  "The sea, that day was angry my friends, like an old man returning soup."

What happens when you lose your ski on the beach!

Hurricane Alley was living up to its name - the 30kt NNW wind was ricocheting off the cliffs and mini-tornados were swirling clouds of spray across the surface of sea...  and I knew that the cameras were out of memory!

Reverse Buffels surfing...

False Bay, Cape Town: February 8, 2008.

[Editor: Murray Williams sent us this account of a classic downwind run across False Bay here in Cape Town...]

The squad at Pringle Bay - 7am (Pic: Dawid Mocke)

Forecast (on Buoyweather.com): "Gale Warning. Very windy conditions with rough seas

Small craft advisory: Large long period swell

Winds: SE 27 to 35kts

Seas: SW 14ft at 13sec"

Translation: "Yee haa!"