Columbia and Willamette Rivers?

[jeffz]

Picking up the M on Tuesday August 28th in Seattle @BWY

We are pretty new to boating, have been on the Columbia on a Jet Ski but need to learn the ropes. I am curious about the major do's and don'ts of navigating the mighty Columbia and Willamette. We have a GPS/Chartplotter, BWY mods for controls in the cockpit and have taken a basic course on boating. I know we need to stay clear of the big boys in the channel but what other pointers do you PDX owners have to share.

Love this site but ready to get offline and get WET.

[mallardjusted]

jeffz,

Congrats on the new boat. The Columbia and Willamette are going to be similar to navigating most large bodies of water. Make sure you're aware of the shipping lanes (and rules), and that your charts are up-to-date to stay away from underwater hazards. I suspect the area you are talking about is impacted by the tides, so make sure you have a good tide pc program or tide books.

Local knowledge is also a great help. If there is a marina nearby, talk to some of the experienced boaters to get their input.

[Catigale]

I cant offer any local knowledge but regarding shipping lanes and freighters and barges..

dont expect them to follow any rule or regulation you might read about...they are usually 'constrained by draft' so the right of way rules dont apply, in short.

Moreoever, if they hit you, you get turned into 1 million shards of fiberglass , while they feel a 'bump'

Rule one - dont get hit by anyone large.....

[Don T]

Hello,
Just remember that those dolphins and wing dams are there to divert the current so there is a lot of debris around them. Sand bars are ever present so having a good depth sounder will keep you out of trouble. Rarely in the same spot twice. Every 4th of July they close off the Boneville dam to lower the river and create beaches for the holiday. Even if you were just out a couple of days before, everything has changed. No tides to worry about east of Portland but down river they become a factor. By St Helens it is 50% of the coastal tide and delayed by ~4 hours (less for ebb / more for flood). A danforth anchor works perfect in the river bottom. Current is 6 kts unless you are riding the flood tide wave up river. I have seen the river flow backwards. Beware of the duck hunters late in the season, it is a rude awakening when they start shooting close by. The coast guard will answer over the VHF "we don't recommend boating in the lower Columbia at this time" when you call to find out what's going on. Not much sailing on the Willamette, too much tacking and fickle wind. Bridges everywhere. Always keep a sharp eye out for floating stuff, like dead heads and logs and such. More debris in the spring than in the fall.

I suppose that's enough for now,
Don T

[Harvey]

Congrats and welcome to the Columbia River fleet.

Advice about getting out of the way of barges and ships is right on. At times it can get pretty busy below the Columbia/Willamette confluence.

If you are launching in Portland, you will find that the launch ramp on Marine Drive is uneven and difficult to use when the river is low.

Scappoose Bay is a nice place to launch but it is a couple miles of motoring out the channel to get to the river near St. Helens. You can leave your tow vehicle and trailer overnight there with no charge beyond the launch fee of $5. St. Helens and Sand Island are nice free places to moor overnight. Be aware, however, that the channel between Sand Island and St. Helens is a no wake zone, and there are no warning buoys. There are signs posted, but high up on pilings where you may not look while docking or watching out for other boats (I just paid a fine for exceeding 5 mph although I was at least 500 ft. from any other boats or piers).
Have fun, hope to see you there.
Harvey

[jeffz]

Thanks for the replies.

Been out twice just motoring for now. Going to work on the sailing next week. We have been putting in @Marine Park on the WA side, almost directly across from Salty's. Nice ramps but getting lots of experience docking and loading with a cross wind. About as challenging as a cross wind landing. Going to stop being stubborn and drop the rudders during the windy docking and recovery activities.

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

Rule one - dont get hit by anyone large.....

or anyone small, or anything whatsoever

[Mark J]

Looks like it will be a good week for PCX sailing once this front blows over.
Should be 5-10pm from the West or NorthWest. Perfect for the long upriver runs. You've probably noticed the the I5-to-I205 stretch is the place to be. Races on Tues & Thurs. Things quiet down significantly east of the I205 bridge. And even more when you head up the Gorge.

Launching at Camas might be more sheltered than Marine Park. And the Puffin Cafe there is worth a stop. Check the wind forecast before you headup the Gorge, tho, or you might get wet. A trip up to Beacon Rock is a good outing/overnight.

Lots of Summer to go,
Mark

[jeffz]

Thanks Mark.

Went and checked out the Camas launch. Been using Marine park and you are right about no shelter, boy are you right. Got a lot of practice loading with 10-15 mph cross winds. Rented a slip at Steamboat Landing today. This should work out better not having to setup and tear down the whole works each time.

Going to check out the Puffin heard good things.

We took off last tuesday evening after the long weekend and motored up to St Helens, OR. Tied up at the free city dock and walked into town for Pizza. Spent the night on board and sailed part way home on Wednesday. First time with the rags hoisted. Well worth the trip. They have restrooms with shower facilities also.

[pokerrick1]

I just came back tonight from visiting the Columbia River Gorge from Portland to Hood River (Sans Boat) for the last 5 days and many things came to mind while looking at the gorgeous scenery. First of all, the winds through SOME of that area are HORRIFIC, like the locks above the dam area (25-40 Kts every day I'm told), and I don't know how ANYONE sails there, but the marina had 3 powerboats and 37 sailboats??? The marina at Hood River also had mainly sailboats, but the winds there are much more reasonable - - - and a lot of board wind surfing is done there. There was only one Mac in the marina (an X I think, around 1999 or so maybe, name started with a "K")

The Columbia River current speeds ranged from about 2 MPH at Hood River to OVER 10 MPH at the Cascade Locks (per the commercial Captain I talked to there).

All in all some parts of the Gorge looked like spectacular places to sail - - - but it made me realize how great we have it in Southern California in Marina del Rey where the wind comes up every morning at 11:30AM, blows between 8 and 15 kts, almost ALWAYS in the same direction, and stays that way until late afternoon.

Rick

[jeffz]

You guys are spoiled down there for weather. It is pretty unique up here but after living here 2 1/2 years there are not many other places i would like to base out of.

[Mark J]

Jeff,
Steamboat Landing's looks like a nice location. You've got the option of up or down river. Having a boat in a slip for the Summer (and pulling it out for the occasional road trip) is great. The after work sails on the river, after things quiet down, are phenomenal.

If you pull the boat out, Hood River is a great local destination. Definitely a different feel than the Portland stretch of the river. Good launch ramp in the Marina, with a wrap-around dock/windbreak.

The Gorge is spectacular. Its nice that when the wind is right for sailing, the windsurfers (too calm) and wakeboarders (too choppy) stay home.
Although the fishermen are always out, when the salmon are running.

River is exceptionally shallow, notably by Reed & Sand Islands.

Not quite ready for the summer to end. Though it may be.
And I envy Rick for that.
- Mark

[Mark J]

Columbia River Gorge

[Catigale]

Thats very pretty and reminded me of West Point on the Hudson - thanks for sharing that one.

[waternwaves]

Columbia gorge...

normally fairly easy to move around the river, wind from the west ,current from the east...... the waves have a limit to them....

however....

in the winter and spring months...

you can get nuclear winds (A small joke about wind oringinating from the direction of the Hanford nuclear facilities....)

Sailing on those winds is a wild ride.
45 kts plus, 4 ft of chopp....all going the same direction, with the gorge funnelling the wind.....

Hard to describe trying to tack in that, heading up river....as sailboarders fly by you 15-20 ft above the waves......



Here is a video of only 25 to 30 kts on the river...... and yeah I know that there are other fantastic places to board....... but htis one is close to home..

eric... this one is for you, not particularly intense...but fun none the less...........

Remeber this is a narrow river that the wind is kicking up.
columbia gorge

And for those who think windsurfing is too tame.......and like to travel to exotic places..

this is what 30 to 40 kts can do to ruin your day.....

TOUGH LANDINGS

I dont need another hobby.. but does anyone want to teach me how to do this and not kill myself??