The fifth race of the Gorge Cup occurred last Saturday at the Hood River Event Site and after the final heat finished, the leaderboard of the annual windsurfing slalom series looked very much the same as it did heading into the final weekend of racing.

In what organizers and longtime competitors agree is one of the windiest races in the Gorge Cup’s long history, more than 30 windsurfers put their skills, and gear, to the test over the weekend at the Hood River Event Site. Saturday’s action included gusts into the 40-mph range, and Sunday into the upper 30s, giving racers in the summer-long series a true taste of what nuclear Gorge conditions can dish out.