The Gorge!

Truly couldn’t ask for much more from the Gorge. It was gorgeous, had cool weather, and had big breeze. We sailed out of Bob’s Beach which is in Stevenson, Washington and it was super charming and had better conditions for the iQFOiL. The first two days we were there, the breeze was consistently over 20 knts with gusts to 30 knts! It was definitely a jolt back into serious iQ training but was super fun and is some of the conditions I am best at. As the training camp went on it got lighter which made sailing in 15 knts feel comparatively super easy! I learned a lot and tuned up my big breeze speed and abilities.

Beyond the sailing, we got to do the prettiest possible commute through the mountains of Washington all along the Colombia River with expansive outlooks over the river and surrounding mountains. On our off day we even got to hike near Mount Hood where there is a ski resort in the winter. We carved our own path up a black diamond and saw a waterfall and even snow towards the top. Snow in July?!?! A crazy concept for a Floridian but was gorgeous and definitely didn’t wake up that morning expecting to have a snowball fight!

We ended the week of training with a two-day training regatta in which we did a total of 13 races in breeze varying from 8-18! The races were tricky as the breeze was inconsistent across the racecourse which made for tight and exciting racing. I am extremely pleased with how I improved and ending as the first-place female! 

Overall, the Gorge was full of long days of windsurfing with great conditions and great friends. The US Sailing iQ Squad is such a collaborative and fun environment, and now I’m on the plane to long beach for the next stop of the US Open Sailing Series!