An impressive fourth place finish in the Pistol River Wave Bash amateur division marked a personal best for Ucluelet local Jesse Jared Cohen.
“You’re not really sure what’s going to happen because it’s all about wave selection and how you ride that wave” Cohen told the Westerly News. “Until you catch a really nice wave, you’re kind of on edge. But, in each heat, I was able to catch a few really nice ones for sure and the judges liked them.”
It was the third time Cohen had competed in the Oregon-hosted windsurfing competition and he found himself sailing out with final four for the first time.
“I knew, going into that heat, that it was going to be really hard because I knew the other sailors and they’re very seasoned, experienced guys,” he said. “I would have been blown away if I had beat one of them, so I was happy with that final.”
He added he hadn’t had time to notice how well he was doing during the competition’s earlier 13-minute heats, but was thrilled to hear his name called for the final four-man heat.
“By the time you get off the water and sit down have a drink of water…you’re pretty much back on the water in no time. You don’t really have that much time to think about it,” he said. “You’re just going for it.”
Cohen said he’s been hooked on windsurfing since being introduced to the sport roughly six years ago.
“I just started chasing the winds and, wherever it was windy, I practiced,” he said.
“It’s full-on adrenaline. The speed aspect is really fun. You get going close to 25 knots on the water on a really small little surf board and riding waves with it is just as fun. You can really drive down the line and hit the lip kind of like a surfboard, but with more speed. And, going out using waves as ramps is awesome.”
Windsurfing is not common on the Coast and Cohen said he’s one of only a handful of locals addicted to it, though, he added, sailors from Parksville and Victoria, where the sport is more popular, head over Sutton Pass when the weather is looking good.
“On a really good day at Long Beach, they’ll drive out for the day or couple of days if it’s a good forecast,” he said adding he hopes to see more locals get engaged.
“It would be great to see more people. The more people out, the more fun you have.”
He said windsurfing is conducive to a wide-range of ages and skill-levels, but cautioned anyone getting into it to be prepared for a steep learning curve and several years worth of wipeouts.
“It takes years and years and years of practice and a lot of wipeouts, but the nice thing about water sports is the wipeouts don’t hurt you. You just get back up and do it again,” he said. “It’s something that’s worth looking into. There’s lots of really good talent out there…It’s an exciting world.”