Hood River Marina still full of sand?

[hrwindsurfing]

The new park, west of the Event Site (and East of the Hook) has access to the water for families, though it is already getting filled in by the algae blooms as I write. The windsurfers will still have access to the Fred Noble/CGWA launch at the paved parking lot right between the new park and the Luhr Jensen building.

When I'm sailing alone for a dawn patrol quick session prior to work (and can't make it to the hatchery), I've had to launch at the Fred Noble launch site, as the Port is not removing the cable to the Event Site until 8:00 in the morning. This launch easily avoids the chaos and crowds at the Event Site, there is no fee, and one can sail up to the White Salmon bridge for some nice swells.

For the beginning sailor, the large sandbar at the Event Site allows ample room for long reaches, without a current to sweep you down the river. The disadvantage - you wash up on the sandbar with some very upset kiteboarders if you are practicing your waterstarts. The crowds get pretty hairy at the Event Site, unless you sail up to Wells Island. At the White Salmon Bridge, I found a lot more kiteboarders up there avoiding the crowds, but have had no problems interacting with them at that location, as there always seems to be a more advanced caliber of both.

Not as hard core as those awesome year around windsurfers in the Gorge, but got out for my first session on a 4.7 at the Event Site on March 18th with 3 other windsurfers and 4 kiteboarders! Bring on the West wind!

[tmayer_h2o]

I assume that you are asking about the marina because you are looking for a family friendly beach. I've sailed the marina a couple of times since the Nov 06 floods but it's not that great for sailing or swimming in my opinion. As an alternative, you might check out the new waterfront park that is west of the Event site - it should be ready for people this summer. There is a swim-only beach and the east end of the park will have a new launch and rigging area for windsurfing (paid for in part by CGWA with the settlement fund from Dougs). So families with young kids will have a safe place to hang out and swim while one or the other parent sails.

My son is old enough to sail and has outgrown the Hook. For kids at this level, I found the Event site to be a pretty good step up. There are some shallow areas around that are good for learning waterstarts and if you end up downwind, you land on the spit. My son and his friends have washed up several times on the kiting beach and everyone has been cool with it. I personally think the kiting/windsurfing vibe at this site has been a little hyped up (although I'm sure there are a few bad apples on both sides) - reminds me of snowboarders and skiers a few years back.

[SamD0g]

Now that the Event Site launch is half as long and the sailable river area is shared with a number of kiters equal to the numbers of windsurfers. Rowena looks better and better every year. It has grass rigging & pit toilets.. The wind can be weirdly gusty and the IWS sensor reads soooo crazy wrong. It is fairly family friendly with out of the wind grassy spots and lots of parking. Has any one had experience with the lagoon area to the East vis a vis beginners ?

[hilton08]

The new access ramp at the HR Waterfront Park looks like it will be really nice, although there should be a bigger wind shadow than at the Event Site. I think it is important that the windsurfers try to resist "taking over" the new park when it opens since it was originally designed as a community park open to all. The ramp is close enough to the East end of the park that I think it will also be practical to park and rig at Fred's Beach (Luhr Jensen) and still launch from the new ramp. Both spots should be a good alternative to the Event Site on crowded days.

[River-Lizard]