Rufus currents & floatsum - Board Recovered

Kmun · Since 05 Jul 2009 271 Posts Obsessed

My board was found and returned.
THANK YOU JEFF!

I was way wrong in predicting it’s drift path. The Dam Release over night was only 70 kcfs ish. This is very low & slow. Best swells Spring happen at 190 to 300. Greater than that rate the buoy at the Maryhill bridge will be tilted at forty five degrees and all but extremely high winds will not have counter energy to form still waves/swells.

The following morning after losing my board I first paddled a SUP along the south shoreline east of the Rufus launch. The dead calm wind and no current along the south shore assured me that board drifted east via the night’s wind against any westerly mid channel current. The hidden south shore duck pond bays and shallows were looking perfect for holding a board as well as eliminating fishermen interest to stumble upon it. Impressive water clarity (easy 10 feet) and no tilt to the vertical walls of weeds confirmed lake-like low current stillness not a flowing river with counter current eddy’s. I felt great optimism in finding the board in the next duck backbay just around the bend.

As I approached the Dam conditions changed. Man’s impact is everywhere. The continuous rip-rap shore strewn with years of old fishing net rope began to change my attitude. This area appeared to be an urban corridor of human activity…day and night. For sure this whole shore was scanned in the last 12 hours. Hard shoreline and easterly current finally increased enough to know further easterly drift was unlikely. Over on the North shore island current again slowed to lake appearance. The sunny warm calm paddle was ironically relaxing in a place where I had only known it to be nuking sensory overload. The beautiful conditions made me almost look forward to scoping the more natural shorelines to the West.

Getting back to the car I had a phone message from a stranger that found the board that morning.

Where did it end up? Bigjohn’s answer was darn close. The board was nested up against the rip-rap in the first little bay to the east of The Wall boat launch. Check on bigjohns photo. How did it get there? Well I did loose it 2/3’s of the way across to north. Then, an east bound barge came through during my near-dark post shredded-kite, body drag and walk of shame. Perhaps it drifted southeast with the wind then turned counter clockwise even with the island (where the Dam’s current is showing) then west with the current along the North shore.

I’m glad I placed a layer of packing tape over protecting my name and address (written Sharpie ink).

High five to Jeff Holiday a local Rufus resident, ag business consultant and new to the sport kiteboarder. He was cruising the shore on his jet ski while looking for his own lost board. It seems I will be making my periodic karma compensations when i shop at his parents mini-mart there in Rufus (next to the tackle shop. Thank you all to the NWkite community for your feedback and co-motivation.
Shred-fourth

Justsmile · Since 20 Jul 2009 1530 Posts Not Portland XTreme Poster

There is a place in Vancouver for about 100 bucks a day to rent a waverunner.

http://www.skwatercraftrentals.com/m_default.asp

Off marine drive

Sasquatch · Since 09 Mar 2005 2103 Posts PNW Bigfoot

Lots and lots of boats downstream at the mouth of the Deschutes fishing for steelhead.

Maybe hire a guide for some steelhead fishing and some recon.

Unfortunately it seems like a wash at best to me. Your going to be spending at least a couple hundred bucks trying to find your board. Might not be worth it.

bigjohn · Since 13 Mar 2012 664 Posts Addicted

Rufus can be tricky when looking for lost equipment. Challenges are the variations in current and wind. Sometimes things go with the wind, other times they go with the current. I lost a kite off the beach once that headed downwind for about 200 yards until it picked up the current which turned it upwind and it ended up on the washington side by the wall wind marker. I had a friend that found a board across from the wall on the oregon side on one of the islands.

In general the current wins at Rufus, but this year seems to be a lower than average current year, thus all bets are off in my opinion. Add to this the variations in yesterday's wind.... and you just never know when an item might hit land.

Also, the islands create havoc in terms of stability. In high current times there is considerable flow through the islands. However this time of year the flow is rather mild.

Sorry to be so vague, but in my opinion, check all shore lines from 300 yards east of rufus launch all the way to the Maryhill bridge inclusive of both sides of the islands.

In my opinion, if it made it past the Maryhill bridge... well who knows... perhaps it would get stuck in an eddy by the deschutes.

See attached picture of known spots for found equipment in the past.

Anthony · Since 07 Oct 2008 362 Posts Salem Obsessed **CGKA Member**

I have wondered if the Army Corp Dams collects the boards that float to the dams?
Might be a good place to start.

Wally Gator · Since 23 Sep 2012 38 Posts Â

You should always have your name and phone number on your board I put reward on mine. Lost mine at Lyle got it back two weeks later was more than happy to give the girl $40 for recovering it.

jaksavage · Since 02 Dec 2009 216 Posts hood river Stoked

check at peach beach as the fishermen bring them in. Had my wifes returned 2weeks later found @ deschutes mouth. They get pretty beat up after a few days.
Luck to you.

Holliday · Since 06 Oct 2015 2 Posts New Member

It was a pleasure finding the owner! It feels good that we didn't lose another to the river monsters...

FYI if anyone loses anything at the beach in Rufus let the girls at the market know. Often I find myself tooling around on the ski and am more than willing to help. As of now I am going to call my twin tip a loss but, as always the gentlemen at Windance hooked me up with a great used board. This one now has my name and number covered in clear tape(thanks Kmun).

Cheers