Stevenson in west wind?

[mchaco1]

Looks like a good day forecast tomorrow in stevenson with west wind. How is it in a west wind, Ive only gone in east? Wheres the best place to launch in west wind?

[nada]

Just go to the main launch at Bob's. Lots of folks with not so keen upwind chops go to the kite launch on an East day and then land at Bob's, but no need on a westerly day.

Sailing is fine if you like flat water slalom. Long reach, small wind chop every now and then. Low key social scene, grassy rigging area, changing room and nearby bathrooms.. plus within stumbling distance to Walking Man.

If memory serves, Stevenson is the windiest launch in the Gorge in terms of number of days per year as it best both the East and West winds

[tweeky]

Yeah, everything Nada said. Mike, you should go to town at Stevie if you've just been doing it on easterlies there. Great place to sail on westerlies, but yes, the water stays pretty flat unless its raging. Don't be afraid to go all the way to the other side of the river. There's usually a log boom there, but just outside of that, there is lots of very flat water to work on your jibes. Both above and below the log boom (if its still there, its been a while) the shoreline gets deep quickly, so feel free to get pretty close and utilize the flat water. Wind gets a little up and down on the far side, but sometimes you find a nice big gust there to help you power through the turn. If something goes wrong, pull outs at East Point (kiting beach) new sandbar in front of the RR bridge, and Cascade Locks (in Oregon!). Usually, if you end up way downwind, you can land on the sandbar, then walk/short swim yourself & gear to the Washington shore line, and then walk along the shore back to Bob's. Just watch out for the occasional big rock under the water. Have a good session!

[hrwindsurfing]

There's a nice group out at Rowena that has been showing up regularly on the west winds. Come out and sail!

[mchaco1]

Sounds good Stevenson is only 30 min from our new house, so I should be out there a lot this season.

[ramps]

Stevenson has some of the most steady westerlies in the gorge, ususally about 20-24 with about 5 mph variation on either end. Beware, it will often die around 4 PM, so go east after that time.

[srr37]

A few years ago , the hatch was too windy for my 3.7 - I went down to home valley and had a great time on my 4.7, with the place all to myself.

[westender]

Got some good rides at Bob's on Saturday.

[WMP]

As with all windsurfing sites, Stevenson has had some very good years and some not very good years. We haven't had a good west wind year for several years all around this here gorge, so maybe this be the one?

[johnmcs]

Also, don,t forget all the cool webcams in Stevenson:

Bob's Beach: http://cityofstevenson.com/cam_bobsbeach.html
Kite Beach: http://cityofstevenson.com/cam_kite.html
Stevenson: http://cityofstevenson.com/cam_city.html
River Cam: http://cityofstevenson.com/cam_river.html

And Bob's Beach has doubled in size and has a new launch.