Last week my wife and I got to drop the kids off at the grandparents and head out to the river, the Columbia River, that is for a three night cruise. To say it was a great trip is an understatement. After arriving at the brand new Westport Boat Launch, we packed all the gear into the cuddy we were able to put the sails up and sail off the dock, no bumps, paddling, or drifting (I believe a first for us).
We sailed downwind AND down the current (that NEVER happens on the Columbia) along the southern side of Puget Island hardly shifting a sheet to make landfall on Lark Island just west of Puget Island.
After waiting for the daytime visitors to leave we were able to snag the only comfortable campsite on the island, where despite the 90+ degree day the night was chilly since the wind shifted back to it's normal pattern of blowing upstream bringing in cool air from the ocean.
The next day we headed around the north end of Puget island and again sailed downwind hardly shifting a sheet to the eastern end of the island and dropped anchor just as the now much stronger wind started working up some lumpy water along the long fetch of the river. Along the way we saw Bald Eagles and a waterfall and passed under the bridge that provides car access to the island (curiously decked with wood)
We spent 2 nights there exploring the island. We saw pelicans, wandered over sandbars, watched a deer swim the half mile to cross from the island to the Washington side, relaxed in a hammock... pure bliss.
We then flew back to the dock with a brisk breeze and headed home.
And then last weekend took out kids out for a perfect light-wind day sailing around Fern Ridge (where NACR will be this year)
I'm so glad summer's finally here.
We bought an O'Day Javelin and once we had our first kid we decided we needed a little more space to do these cruises so we bought a Daysailer in 2019.