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Puget Island Circumnavigation (pictures fixed)

PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2022 1:01 am
by Hesedguy
A picture is worth a thousand words they say, so here goes.

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).
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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.
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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.
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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)
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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.
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We then flew back to the dock with a brisk breeze and headed home.
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And then last weekend took out kids out for a perfect light-wind day sailing around Fern Ridge (where NACR will be this year)
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I'm so glad summer's finally here.

Re: Puget Island Circumnavigation

PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2022 10:34 am
by Anstigmat
Not sure if it's just me but none of these photos seem to be working.

Re: Puget Island Circumnavigation (pictures fixed)

PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2022 5:49 pm
by Hesedguy
It wasn't just you, but now they should be viewable. Thanks for the heads up, Anstigmat.

Re: Puget Island Circumnavigation (pictures fixed)

PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2022 5:56 pm
by tomodda
Great tale, great pics, thank you for posting! Who is this wife who willingly jumps onto an overgrown dinghy for 5 days of bobbing along on a river? Must be a Mirage!

I kid! Good for you guys faz r getting some "us time," and then still getting out with the rugrats. Happy boat, happy family!

Tom

Re: Puget Island Circumnavigation (pictures fixed)

PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2022 7:11 pm
by GreenLake
Thanks for the story and the great pictures!

Re: Puget Island Circumnavigation (pictures fixed)

PostPosted: Sun Jul 10, 2022 12:18 am
by Hesedguy
Tomodda, Anyone who's ever had small children knows you need to get away!

These trips are one of the highlights of the year for both of us, we've done it in some form or another every year since getting married... 10 years now! :shock:
When we got married I had an El Toro, my wife said if we're going to go sailing we need to get a bigger boat, to which I happily agreed! :D 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.

Re: Puget Island Circumnavigation (pictures fixed)

PostPosted: Tue Jul 12, 2022 3:33 pm
by Anstigmat
So glad to see these images! What a wonderful trip. I'm hoping to do some DS camping this Summer as well. Out here I'll be taking advantage of the Maine Island Trail Association.

Re: Puget Island Circumnavigation (pictures fixed)

PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 8:14 pm
by thoughtfulreef
Thank you for the tale and photos of the beautiful trip!

How was the current? I took my new to me DaySailer out on the Columbia river near Portland in early/mid June and it was a force we were not ready to deal with as we were getting out in the boat for the second time!

Do you think the current is substantially diminished as you're further from the Bonneville dam?

Re: Puget Island Circumnavigation (pictures fixed)

PostPosted: Wed Feb 01, 2023 7:46 pm
by Hesedguy
Sorry this reply is coming in late. The current on the Columbia doesn't change relative to the distance from Bonneville, it is dependent on discharge (quantity of water moving down river) and cross section of the river (how big the "pipe" is at any location). You may have gotten the worst of it going out in June, hopefully you had a few other successful trips last summer.

Here are a few other tips for river sailing:
-The current tends to stick to the outside of bends in the river (it wants to keep going straight, but the land is forcing it to turn)
-The current tends to stay in the middle on straight sections
-If in doubt, look at the banks on both sides, the steeper bank usually has the stronger current (It's steeper because the current has been pushing against that bank eroding it)
-When sailing upstream pull your centerboard up so it doesn't catch the current
-Try to avoid sailing upstream when the wind is blowing downstream (pretty rare for summers on the Columbia)