A Day on the River

I've always looked at the Willamette river, and wondered how it is because you always see so many people on boats, kayaking, swimming and hanging out in there, and you always hear various things about water quality etc, but on being invited out today, I couldn't have been more amazed by how nice and warm the water is.  Literally a perfect day for some of this... The one and only Dani Kiwi Meier getting in the barrel (well, his knees are).  This is the machine that was making that wave happen.... I've seen this before, and tried it once in some boat not really designed for it in Annecy, but this was something else.  Master craft, top of the line wake surfing boat...We were lucky enough to be invited along by Trevor from Nemo one of the originals in the snowboarding scene, who moved to Portland in the 90s to go snowboarding at Hood, moving here from Hood.The boat is crazy, its so good, as it has these ballasts which suck water in, to weigh it down and you can have settings for each person in the boat, so you have a wave specific person to each persons style.  Of course with Kiwi being someone who has surfed for a long time, he was straight onto this... pushing turns and pumping all the way along.  Its an amazing system, you hang on the back of the boat, and as it accelerates away, your hanging on the rope, and let yourself back into the sweet spot, and then your on your way...The boat then goes around 10-15 mph to create that wave, and it must be insane if you come out here with a couple of crazy good surfers, i bet they could crush it.Surfing behind a boat, is something which when you first see it may appear to some as something to be skeptical of, but its actually pretty amazing how good it is for you surfing.  You get way longer on a wave then you would in the ocean, you can find the sweet spot of the wave, play around with your foot positioning and helps you think a little more about your surfing.  It takes a while to get used to but its pretty amazing that you can get so long on the wave.  I even got back leg burn, which I havent felt since i went to Baldface a couple of years back....This boat though, seriously probably one of the best things ever.  Music playing, cooler built in, plug your iPhone in, create a wave out the back, get a tan, what else could you need?The gents.. Hanging on a boat, must be one of the nicest ways to spend a Sunday, such a nice day.  We managed to do some surfing, the kids hung onto the inflatable ring out the back, and discovered a couple of beautiful spots for some sun. This is Oak Island.  Its funny because there are so many spots like this and Ross Island which you never really see from land. El Capitan.The other amazing thing is how different the city looks.All of a sudden I feel like I'd love to live on a house boat. But i mean when house boats look like this, why not....?Portland must be one of the most photographed cities around (me included) but getting to see it from the water is something else.I know senior Weaver will be happy with this photo... They have recently started up the Brew barge, an exentsion of the brew cycle, such a nice idea, but I can imagine drunk people cycling on water must end in carnage some days.Kiwi driving, Trevor keeping an eye on operations, and me just getting sunburnt back here.I also discovered that New Seasons in Sellwood sells Stiegl Radler too, probably the best summer drink ever.  Boat supplies... check!I tried getting barreled too, but might need a couple more efforts to get it fully dialed....Thank you!