It was strange. There we were, driving on the dirt road between Fort Bidwell and Adel when we noticed some campers coming out of a turnoff. We didn't pay too much attention at first, but after getting a little closer we noticed dirtboats on the roof. Upon further inspection it turned out to be the "Emperor" and his entourage, and by the time we stopped in Fields for burgers and shakes there were even more loyal SASSASS members.

It was hard to believe, or even comprehend, but somehow everybody had the same idea to go to the Alvord for some dirtboating on this week in June. As the day went on, more and more people showed up. It was kind of eerie, freaky even, after all this was a non event, no trophies, no taco bar, no entry fee, just the usual parties, sailing and, of course, porta-potties.Monday started off with sun and no wind. It was a good day to set up camp and put together the boats along with the Bocci and golf courses. By the late afternoon the wind come up for some lovely evening sailing with most everybody taking part. By the evening there were around 49 or so people in the extended camp, which included groups of sailors from Oregon and Washington and one guy from Montana (our foreigner for the year).

Tuesday was the first of the synchronized sailing (SS) days but unfortunately it was a repeat of Monday. When the wind finally came up it was in the form of a slow moving wall of dust with one of the largest dust devils inside of it. By the time the first wall of dust had come and gone, the wind had changed direction in a big way and it was gusting quite badly. While the big-boat guys held on to their boats to keep them from flying away in the ever-changing wind conditions, some of the smaller boats dared the elements and went out sailing. About this time, a tornado touched down on top of the mountains behind us and the thunder started. All in all, it was quite the afternoon. When it all mellowed out, some people had some of the nicest sailing conditions ever. The only problem being it was late and the Mayor's Mixer had started and the appetizer for the evening was 25 pounds of steamed shrimp! The wind blew well into the evening and topped out at about 45 mph at around 11:00 at night. Those of us who were still up had a great time trying to save the awnings and anything else that wasn't tied down. We were finally successful when we tied the tent to the awning and the awning to the trucks. This last move (tying the awning to the truck) is usually a bad move, as one sometime forgets to untie the next morning on the way to the hot spring. Everybody seemed to be having a great time though as there was quite a bit of laughter (or this could have been the effect of the Mayor's Mixer).

Wednesday had the same feeling as the other days and our premonitions were correct. No wind most of the day and then some n the afternoon. But today we were ready and got some (SS) in. We started off with the Kids, the old pros were back, Rex, Kai, and Travis but this year there was a new comer-8 year old Jack in his French built Le Duc sandyacht. Rex came out with a win in the first match and Jack was a surprise winner in the second. Pat and John C. both won in the Twin fleet. Mary and Cindy traded firsts and seconds in the Single fleet. While Erik in his DN finished first in the only middle class match of the day, dominating over his fleet that was made up of mostly wind surfer powered craft plus Grimm and his soup. Ben and his wing boat dominated the Upper class, with Alan and the rest of the fleet a little out of sync.

Because of the wind direction and the location of camp we ran the (SS) slightly different this year. At the start we reached to the "weather" mark. After turning the mark, we then went leeward, weather, leeward, weather and then a reach back to the finish. This set up was great for the spectators as the starts and finishes were at top speed, and as you probably already know, it is all about the fans. "Dirtboating! It's Fantastic!"

The wind for this evening was very much the same as the last only coming out of the other direction. We were ready though and all the trucks and ropes were handy. There was only one problem with the wind on that night. Let's say it got pretty ugly and leave it at that.

Thursday once again started out the same, no wind. The cold pool (a watering trough fed by a siphon hose from the spring) that was brought by SASSASS got quite the workout, as did the Bocci court and the coolers. Spirits stayed high in camp and people found other things to do. Some went to the hot spring (I don't know why), some went fishing, some went exploring up the steep and windy roads that are on this side of the Steen mountain, some went to Fields for a shake while others just drove around with the air conditioning on.

The (SS) started later in the day once again with the Kids, Travis, Rex and Kai all won and Jack kept it close. Erik continued his streak in the two Middle class matches and the Oregonians in their wind surfer rigs were heard swapping lies about their trials and tribulations around the course. Cindy won both the Single matches and Brook and Hillary tried (SS) for the first time. Curtis won the first light air Twin match and Dennis in "The Emperor's" chariot left the fleet in the royal dust in the windy second.

There was some confusion about the course in the first match for the Upper class. When the boats finished there was some discussion about the validity of said match. Lester, the current European/FISLY Class 2 World Champion, who went the wrong way, was heard saying to the committee (in a raised voice, so the spectators could hear, because it's all about the fans) "If you can't make this for stupid people, everyone should just go home." The committee realized this was true and tossed the match out. The match was rerun (starting in a rainy thunderstorm) with Gooch winning again followed closely (sort of) by Dennis. Alan who had shown great speed in the first two matches was heard grumbling about his brake being on after his 5 th place finish.

That night the entertainment was the Pot luck dinner and the famous Raffle. It was the standard fare of great food and an unpredictable performance by Mel and his Angels. The wind was down a bit that evening and everybody turned in a little earlier than usual (11:30).

Friday was the same as the rest and most were quite tired of it. People wanted to pack up for the long drive home. The "event" was called off at around 12:00. People packed up quickly and were leaving for the spring and some food in Fields.

Of course by the time we were leaving the wind was blowing nicely. Gooch and Linky were out sailing having a great time when they were hit by a big wind shift. Gooch's wing went into a flutter his boat popped a wheelie and the spokes of his wing control flung around and hit his hand. (It looked quite swollen).

Once again there was a large crowd of SASSASS members at the café in Fields. There is a sign in the café that shows the amount of shakes they have sold compared to the amount of burgers they have sold, in the last year. For the first 15 years of the study burgers out-sold shakes, but since 1999 shakes have out-sold burgers. Are we changing our eating habits or is this global warming thing for real?

We had all the weather you could ever want, sun (104 F), wind (53 mph), tornadoes, thunder, lightning, rain and of course DUST and lots of it. We also had all the other stuff that we like so much like Sipping, Sailing and Soaring.

This was a great "event" that couldn't have been pulled off by just any club, SASSASS has a great membership, that seems to be on the same page when it comes to what we want to accomplish in the world of dirtboating and dirtboating events.

I, among others, would like to thank; John and Rachel for all the organization and bringing all the stuff to make the camp nice (like the awnings, shrimp, mixer mixes, (SS) stuff and Porta-Potties), Brian and Brook for bringing the cold tub, Mary for dealing with the shirt sales, Jeff, Dennis Sr, Obi's brush and "the guy from Oregon" for taking care of the dirty little problem we had, Ally and Marina for sitting in the sun and being scorers, Mel, Alan and Travis for helping with the marks, everybody who donated raffle prizes, Linky for bringing ice and all the loyal SASSASS members who showed up and made it such a fun time.

All that being said, I still can't believe what a strange coincidence it was for everyone to meet at the Alvord during that particular week.

See you in the desert or on the beach
Dennis US2000