What can I do?, Windsurfing
Windsurfing in the Columbia River Gorge
What is it?
Windsurfing is a surface water sport using a windsurf board usually two to four meters long and powered by the effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a mast, wishbone boom and sail. The sail area ranges from less than 3.0m2 to more than 12m2 depending on the conditions, the skill of the sailor, and the type of windsurfing being undertaken.
Once referred to as “surfing’s ginger haired cousin,” windsurfing has long struggled to present a coherent image of the sport to outsiders. Until the 1990s, participants would regularly use different names to describe the sport, including sailboarding and board sailing. Windsurfing can be said to straddle both the laid-back culture of surf sports and the more rules-based environment of sailing. Although it might be considered a minimalistic version of a sailboat, windsurfers can perform jumps, inverted loops, spinning maneuvers, and other “freestyle” moves that cannot be matched by any sailboat. When compared to surfing, Windsurfers were the first to ride the world’s largest waves, such as Jaws on the island of Maui. [more]
When it happens?
Early season starts in April or early May and lasts through August. West wind is most common with many windy days. Late season starts in September and goes through November with West and East wind days and more no wind days. Windsight has provided some data on sailable days for the year 1994. A sailable day is defined by them as a day that contained a 3 hour time period where the one minute wind speed average was 15 MPH or greater. This calculation does not include wind gusts. For a day to be considered sailable there only had to be one place on the river that met the above specifications. This means that there could have been sailing from Rooster Rock in the West to Arlington in the East or anywhere in between. East wind days were included which helped the numbers for March and November. [more]
Other helpful links:
Columbia Gorge Windsurfing Association
Top 20 Sailing Spots in the Gorge
Windsurfing information & Live cameras in the Gorge
Top photo courtesy of Mike Godsey and Windnotes Design
