2013 Columbia River 150-ish

2013 Columbia 150 - Wednesday

Upriver trip - Rainier to Sand Island off St. Helens.

The docks at Rainier face the river and are subject to big waves. They are constructed in such a way that it is calm on the inside of the docks, but water will splash up between the segments on particularly rough waves. Mike sleeps on shore and had to position his tent so it wouldn't get caught in the splash.

There I am, looking proud in front of my boat.

And there's the fleet, getting ready to launch.

Mike was riding with Phil and Ann in the Ann Martin Man, that is a nice boat. 21' long and as big as an RV inside.

Too pretty not to take a lot of photos.

Ann Martin under sail with Jo-joma in the background.

I don't understand yacht designers. That thing is plowing tons of water - Mike calls them "8 gallon an hour" boats. I wonder how much money I'd need to have before I'd just piss it away like that?

Another fleet shot: Wave Watcher and Ann Martin.

Now THAT'S a good shot of a Pelican under sail.

Fleet shot

Jo-joma in front a a big house. It was a good day for sailing.

That's a big mooring hook. I was tempted to touch it.

Fleet passing the mooring hook.

All that remains of the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant my dad helped build back in the late 70. Used to be the reactor here, now it's just a No Trespassing sign.

Another fleet shot. What you can't see is just upriver from Trojan, along the Oregon side, is some amazing counter currents. And the water is very deep.

Scipio's Goble Landing, a very sad place. There's a launch and marina there, and an ever growing pile of derelict ships - there's even a big old paddle wheeler in the pile. Either someone likes to collect them, or people are dumping them.

That little tug was a cutie. I got her skipper to wave at me - something the big ships rarely do.

Chuck and Shaline - the river was quite choppy this year - wind blowing against the current, I suspect. With the big Genoa on the nose, that little boat would ship green every once in a while. Shaline loved it, Chuck was a little more concerned.

Jo-joma running under full sail

Down near St Helens, we ran into a pair of windsurfers. That looks like a lot of fun.

We'd seen a ton of eagles - probably more than 20. Mike and I even watched as one tried to snatch a waterbird off the surface. The little guy would just dive under at the last second and the eagle would have to circle around again. Eventually, he got tired and left (the eagle, not the little guy.)

Dailies -that's against the current, folks.

We got to St Helens in mid-afternoon - it was hot hot hot. Mike and I went into town and had dinner at Dockside Steak and Pasta - very nice. I was less pleased with the conditions of the bathrooms on Sand Island - there are 6 toilets and only one door closes all the way - it's also the only door that locks.