the view, coming from the north.
so folks, you may not realize it, but hartlands is running at a great level for surfing everyday for at least a couple of hours. but it's a little tricky. the flow forecast on H2Oline a day out is inaccurate. they are not predicting a release, but then they always release water. also, the release has regularly been a two or three tubes release, which is not normally considered good for surfing... back in the day the wilder dam would release one tube all day in the summer, but now it seems they've hired someone who is watching the grid demand a little more closely and they're timing a bigger release for shorter time period in order to sell the energy at the highest possible price. not ideal for us surfers, but you can catch the main drag wave for more than an hour while the water is rising to the full release. remember, hartlands is 4 hrs downstream of wilder. that means that the full release is attenuated over the miles of riverbed before it arrives, so it rises more slowly. get on it!
the put in
main drag wave from just upstream
the view while surfing... via cell phone camera.
the upstream view with the front of my tekno, best hands-free device there is.
this was the last day i'll spend paddling my riot tekno. just sold it, but got to enjoy it's superlative qualities out there one last time. carving back and forth across the face of the wave without paddle or hands. just edging back and forth. beautiful.
jolyon
