Downwinding In The Gorge

Our friend, Dennis Oliphant clued us into something relatively new, “Downwinding” in the Gorge. His friend Jeff Parker put up this video.

Jeff says, “There is a section of the Viento run (Viento State Park to Hood River) that we call the Wells Island Express that starts about a half mile west of Wells Island and stretches to the eastern edge of the island. The water in this area is only about 2-4 feet deep, so instead of the big round rolling swell that is typical of the rest of the run, we get short, closely spaced swell with the occasional breaking wave. This short period swell is just the right size for a paddle board to fit into and results in unreal long effortless rides. Today was one of those days when there was more surfing than paddling on the 8 mile run. This ride is about 45 seconds on a single swell. So much fun!” 

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