Cascade Locks Marina for east winds

westender · Joined: 02 Aug 2007 Posts: 1288 Location: Portland / Gorge

The last time "that" sternwheeler stopped in Stevenson was about 2 years ago.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

Guess I'd better start taking a few bucks in my wet suit (phone, bridge toll, "taxi" fare) when I sail out of Bob's.

Mike \m/

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

westender · Joined: 02 Aug 2007 Posts: 1288 Location: Portland / Gorge

In East wind, anything downstream of Bobs' is Walk of Shame territory. If you want to do something different, do a down winder from Home Valley. We used to launch by the ball fields but you have climb down the rocks.

bobgatpdx1 · Joined: 13 Oct 2002 Posts: 385

My simple solution to avoiding east wind "walks of shame" is to always sail upwind of the launch area.

When I launch at Bob's on east wind, I generally sail by the kite point. That way if the wind dies, I can slog back to Bob's no problem.

At Rooster, I launch at the most western stairway (shortest walk across the mud), and sail upwind a bit of the big tripod.

If the east wind starts to feel like it's dying, best to make a bee-line back home - especially when the water gets cold.
bobg

ascott72 · Joined: 12 Jun 2006 Posts: 124

Based on this post, I decided to check it out. Sailed Cascade Locks on sunday with a friend. 6.4 sails. Easy parking, nice beach/launch, good swells. The beach is just upriver from the entrance to the lock so I was a bit nervous about staying upwind and not getting caught in the lock at first but got over it. I suppose if you were drfiting downriver, as long as you stayed on the outside (north) of the lock, you would be fine. Seems like it would be a pretty sweet place when it really blows.

jimoakes · Joined: 21 Apr 2006 Posts: 172

OK . Don't tell anyone else about Cascade Locks. I sailed out of there yesterday and it's getting WAY TO CROWDED!

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

Is it just because I no longer live in a van down by the river and thus must drive a couple of hours rather than a few miles to sail east winds, or have they really been sparse the past few years? Didn't we get 12-15 days of many hours of very strong east winds most Falls years ago, as opposed to far fewer and shorter days the past several years? I almost made the trek for these three days of good forecasts from all sources, but in retrospect I'm glad I didn't if the graphs are any indication; they show a couple of hours each on Sun and Mon with crap so far today.

I'm not knocking the forecasts; Sun and Mon were windy days. But two hours (I don't count east winds unless they produce good swell ... say many hours @ 4.2 or better) of 28 pales compared to the 6-8-hour 3.7 blasts we used to get beginning in late August. (Pete and Temira are welcome to December-February Wink

.)

The same Q goes for corridor dawn patrol. We used to get dozens of them each summer (4.x by 5:00 AM); now I see a small handful per season, if that.

Wha hoppen?

Mike \m/