Double Dammed 42 miles + 37 knots

The 2011 - Hood River Yacht Club – Double Dammed Race from Cascade Locks to The Dalles Oregon.

West coast Weta Distributor Dave Berntsen and Seattle Weta Dealer Ethan Salkind teamed up and took on the Double Dammed 42 mile race down the Colombia River Gorge. Conditions saw winds at 25 knots gusting 37+. Check out the awesomerace coverage..

I must admit that I wanted to race in the Double Dammed race for the past few years but the race reports of carnage and crash pics (See pics below) of keel boats wiping out in 40kt gusts kind of threw me off.  I’ve sailed in the Columbia river plenty on windsurfers and I14’s since the 1980’s so I was aware of the unique conditions you get in the gorge.  Along time ago - I recall windsurfing somewhere south of Hood River on a tiny windsurf sail (3.2 meter ) and getting hit by a gust that totally flattened me – I equated the gust to being hit by a car or a small bus.  These were not your “normal” sailing conditions.

This year I was looking for a fun/challenging race for the Weta, a boat that I know is very stable, fast and capable of keeping it together in high winds.  It was a good idea to try the Double Dammed – an annual event hosted by the Hood River Yacht Club - 42 miles downwind race in 25+kts of wind with gusts over 37, a 3+kt ebb current, steep/short waves, fresh water and a whole group of enthusiastic sailors to see who can sail the course the fastest?  This race has been the domain of local keelboats (Moore 24, Melges 24, Express 24) sailed by some of the top local sailors and a handful of top professional sailors.   Only one Multihull has competed in the race before, in 2009  a Corsair 24 raced and never before has a dinghy/small boat entered the race.  I figured this race would be a lot of fun on the Weta…or NOT a lot of fun.   Only one way to find out….

The day before the race I met Ethan Salkind from Marine Servicenter (Pacific NW Weta Dealer based in Seattle) in Cascade Locks.  Ethan and I spent some time preparing my new Weta for the race and discussing whether or not to sail single hand or as a team.   Our boat was a standard “out of the box” Weta with no modifications.   I took some time to seal the daggerboard well and fair the rudder (to prevent cavitation) and I installed a hiking strap (so I would not fall off the back of the boat) but everything else was standard equipment.  On race day conditions were forecast as “perfect gorge conditions” 25kts+ and we decided to sail together.

Conditions at the start were 10-18kts and we started with the pack of keelboats that were running deep along the Oregon shore away from the rivers ebb.   We needed to stay away from the fleet so we did not get stuck in bad air so we jibed into the ebb where it was windier, but we were not making much progress – that is until the first big gust hit which sent us down river and we separated from the fleet in no time.  By the time we reached the first -real windy-part of the river known as “Wind Mountain” we were in 4th place following Dan Kaselers  Melges 24,  Pteron, Morgan Larsons Moore 24, Brusier and Bill & Melinda Erkelens in their Wabbit.  The top three boats were completely rocketing in front of the fleet and we were in pursuit.  At this point I figured that this race was going to be some fun.

Ethan and I handled the first windy/gusty section no problem and we seemed to make better progress with more wind.  I was hiking hard off the rear section of the main hull and Ethan was hiking on the rear of the trampoline.  We powered through the gusts and the Weta had no problem punching through the waves.  Confidence builds and we pushed harder.   The Weta was completely stable the whole race and we never felt out of control.  If it was really rough and we needed to slow down a bit I could bear away, and put the weather ama in the water and everything went stable.  There were some big waves to negotiate through – no problem.

The Melges 24 was off the charts fast and most of the race all we could see was a blue spinnaker sailing farther and farther away.  Bill and Melinda’s Wabbit was also way in the lead and the closest boat to us was Morgan Larsons Moore 24 “Brusier”.   At times we’d make ground on Brusier but would never come close to passing.  Just west of “the Hatchery” we saw Brusier bear away in a big gust, and the whole Moore 24 went underwater, kite released, boat popped back up, kite re-set and off she went without missing a beat.   That was some awesome boat handling…

The rest of our race was 4 hours of non-stop planning through waves and ripping gusts.  We hit some windy sections at The Hatchery and Dougs Beach with gusts (I am told) at 37kts.  Having a crew on the Weta was a good idea for these conditions, we had sufficient weight to keep the boat flat and powered up at all times, plus it was real fun to share the experience and laughs with Ethan.  The video (HRYC 2011 Double Dammed – Weta) is a particularly windy section as we approach The Hatchery.  After the jibe in the video a big gust hits and I think this was the fastest we sailed during the race.  My GPS noted 17.41 kts top speed – not accounting for 3 knot current – so I guess were hauling along at 19kts+.

As we sailed closer to the finish, we were not aware that The Wabbits impressive performance was cut short by mast failure.  The Pteron had some halyard issues but finished first with a time of 4:00.38 and Brusier second with a time of 4:06.49.  We came in third (boat to finish) with a time of 4:21.17.   The Weta was the only boat to race that flew a kite the whole race and was the smallest/lightest boat in the fleet.

I think that our performance in the Double Dammed helped build credibility for the Weta.  Honestly - I think that the keel boat fleet did not expect us to finish and though that were kooks for attempting the race in the first place.

This race was hands down the best sailing I have done all summer and is on the top of my list for next year.

Check out Davos review on the Ronstan sailing gear he used for this race here.