Freestyle, Gorge games goes off!!! Monday June 15. Hey guys, live from ABC’s (Atlanta Boardsailing Club) no. 1 reporter at the Hatchery, Hood River Gorge. First expect your dues to the club to go up, especially since the club paid my entire expenses to travel to Oregon and cover the Ford Gorge Games Freestyle event. Traveling in ABC style (First Class) I arrived in Portland, OR around 10:00pm Pacific, hammered on Merlot (4hours and 46 minutes of it) and arrived via taxi to the hotel around 1:00an Monday. I neglected to tell the taxi driver I was staying in Portland , so he had inadvertently drove me to the event site, in Hood River, which wound up costing us an additional $60 bucks. But what the hey, ABC paid for it, so I had a little swim in the Columbia River before drive’s decided it was time to get me to my destination for the night. I awoke 6:00am for breakfast, with head pounding, and phoned the hotline (only available to the competitors, and elite volunteer staff) to determine if the event was on. It was on, with a typical Gorge forecast. 25K and building.
I arrived at the event site and proceeded directly to my prearranged parking spot, primo I might add, and proceeded directly to the staff tent to pick up my credentials. After a briefing from the event coordinator, I was assigned my duty, which was crowd control where the pro’s were launching. Ok, it was like field level at the World Series, and I got to boss everyone around.
First let me say this, I looked across the river and it looked like Van Pugh on Steroids, There was a 4-6 foot break just to the right of the launch big giant swells rolling their way downwind, with a steady 25 knots at the beginning, and I can assure you, there was some gusts up to 35K, I was in awe. Most of the first heats were ran on 4.5’ and 5.0’s, but remember these guys amp up on power to get their moves in during the 6-minute heats. I noticed all the mag editors there, Eddie Perticelli, John Choa, and the like, and the event was stacked with pro’s, both men women and Juniors. Guys, we have got to get busy, these kids can rip. I noticed everybody’s masts were a lot slimmer than ours, and their boards were all new, for some reason.
Aside from clew first every damn thing imaginable, there were forwards, push-loops, back-loops, wymaroo’s, willyskipper’s, diablo’s, vulcans, spocks, Grubby’s and a new move called a Swazy. (Disregard my spelling, I majored in Business) but to explain a Swazy, it’s a Vulcan, but you cork the board to leeward instead of windward and spin around whirling the sail around, (Ok Can’t explain it, much less visualize it).
To sum it up, winners are as follows.
Men’s Open/Pro
Mitch Gingritch,
Web Pedrick
Womens Open/Pro
Torri Tubbs (I Think that’s her name, but she’s hot)
Temira Wagonfeld
If you want to check the real, professional results, go to http://www.gorgegames.com
It will be on NBC Sports on 9/1 and 9/2 and OLN in October. Be sure and look for yours truly, I’m all in it.
Plop
Danny Johnson
great write-up. Dr. Phun is out of a job.
Hey, while you are on the expense account, see if you find anything good at the consignment shop. Daddy needs a new wave board ;)
-wf
Reminder, I still have that Sailboards Maui wave board that has your name all over it. One thing I noticed out here,is that the prices for used gear, is way higher than what we're getting in our area. Maybe we need to truck up all our used gear out here to take advantage of the more favorable appreciation for used gear. I keep an eye our for a bargain.
PS. let me know if you want piic's of the my board. It cames with Dakine bag, three MFC fins, and nice Dakine Straps, price for you, is negotiatable, of course.
Plop
Danny Johnson
If Daddy brought home a new wave board right now, Daddy would be sleeping at the shelter for homeless husbands. Thanks for the offer, though. But maybe I should ship some of my inventory out there.
wf
OK dad, maybe I should let you demo the board, to kind’a get to know it a little better. Maybe then you will appreciate the nights spent sleeping with your gear in the garage, instead of with the better half.
Today after watching the tea-baggers shred a few ankles and feet, I went up to shop in town. It's like heaven here, shops everywhere, and on every corner, except the prices are really high. Everything full retail and then some, and I noted a windwing 1999 6.0 new for $395. The used stuff was all above $200.00 back to ‘99 as well. I'm serious; we should pack up Gene's Flowery Branch consignment shop, bring all of it up here and we’ll all be sailing full carbon skinny rigs and sweet new boards. Inside story, while undercover as a touring pro, I discovered a conspiracy involving Gene’s Mathis web host, sponsors, phone carrier, and bank manager, all of which conspired to shut down his consignment shop web page working together with iwindsurf.com's classified branch, for selling used gear way below acceptable margins. I used some more of ABC’s expense money to get it back up and running, with the assumption we’ll get the used gear prices up to par.
Tomorrow, I’m going sailing, with a 25K forecast I may be too tired to report in tomorrow night.
PS Is it OK if I spend the extra $25 bucks for the full carbon skinny rig? John Chao has set me up with a 2003 Drops board, man it pays to be an ABC member
Plop
Danny Johnson
Dude,
Bad news.... Poindexter in accounting emailed me late last night. Seems as there was a slight mix-up in your travel allowance. While you thought you put "Visit to Gorge in Hood River", it came out as "Visit to Jorge in Good River", our old friend, Jorge Rodriguez, in Good River, AL.
There may be some complications now getting your expenses through. Pull out your Worldcom ABC phone card and get on the line with Poindexter and see if you can get this mess straightened out ASAP.
Sorry about that.
Regards,
William and the independent Arthur Anderson audit team
Mr. Poindexter, please wire $500.00 to me imediatly for postage stamps. It apppears I may have sent the last 15 issues of the Newsletters to the wrong addresses. Also, for some reason my ABC Platinum Mastercard keeps getting rejected. I'm off to the launch for some white knuckle sailing today. more later
Plop
Danny Johnson