Got a bee in my bonnet about going there next year, for maybe a month or so. Gotta be cheaper than Maui, windier, no driving necessary?? These are my 3 main prerequisites, especially the first and last one.
Any comments?
What I hear: (never been there)
The chop will drive you insane. It is cool for the first couple sessions and then you are sick of it
Variety: there is none. On Maui (or in Oz) you can get flat water slalom, and a wave spot and a choppy B&J spot all in a couple of kilometres. Gorge gives you only the latter.
Cost: 1 month in gorge or 3 in WA?
WA: No driving necessary? R u sure about that?
Cos I DON'T DRIVE!!
At the Gorge I could theoretically park my carcass in a hostel and sail my brains out every day, and par-tay every night, which is all I'm good for. Right?
well if you could get to lancelin you wouldnt have to drive any where. hook up one of those units or at the caravan park and carry ur rigged gear down 100m to the beach.
I went to the Columbia River Gorge about 15 years ago to windsurf. We had a car to get around. You could park yourself at Hood River and sail from the foreshore. However there are good launches in other places. The wind varies in strength up and down the river. The area is so beautiful and different to Australia that you would probably want to travel. You have to remember we are talking about America, a place that makes Australia look like the world leader when it comes to public transportation. I'd be surprised if there is any public transport around the George as its country area. If you go there, the bargain food is salmon. Buy a fish everyday and cook it in different ways. Very nice and cheap.
I also went to Lancelin for a holiday about 10 years ago. There isn't a huge amount to see around there; no mountain ranges, waterfalls or volcanoes. Once there you could just hang out there and go windsurfing. If you could, camping at the caravan park would be the go as you would probably hook up with some windsurfer tourists from England and the rest of Europe.
Firstly you need to understand that the best time to go to the Gorge is Mid June to Mid August. The windiest time is probably late July. However, they have good and bad years. The wind is mainly dependent on cold air over the Pacific and warm air over the desert. This weather setup unfortunately can reverse or stop altogether any time of the year. I went there back in '91 and never sailed anything bigger than 4.5 during my 2 month stay. I also went in '02 and only had 2 days of wind in the 21 days I was there (apparently it was their worst year on record).
Now specific to your questions:
Cheaper than Maui: Yes...
Windier: Yes and no... but when it blows it usually blows big... read you will need a 3.5 sail or you won't have a lot of fun.
Driving necessary: It can be done... I have met this German guy who stayed there for 6 months and always caught a lift with someone. He also scammed his way into the local Pizza joint to get "free" access to their salad bar and sweet talked his way on to the couch in a house full of windsurfers.
If that's not you thing than you could catch a Greyhound from Portland to Hood River. Either stay at Youth hostel in Hood River (sail the Hood River marina) or at the Bingen Inn Hostel (sail the Bingen Marina). Too problems with this: Firstly, to get the best wind you will need to travel as the sector with the most wind seems to travel up and down the river depending on how the pacific weather systems are. Secondly, the Gorge is more than just Windsurfing. You will need transportation to see all the cool places there.
So what gives, if I'd be you I'd learn how to drive a car and get license. The Gorge has been one of the best places I have ever been too. The overall combo of friendly people, lots of wind, lots of non wind options make this is fab place. Then if you feel like a wave sail you can simply head down to the Oregon coast. There are some world calls wave sailing spots. Just get ready for the ice waters of the Pacific.
Check out the last edition of the American "WindSurf" magazine. 20 page section in there on the Gorge. Looks like there are many places to sail, so you may need a car if you want to explore.
P@ssed me off have 20 pages of the magazine dedicated to river sailing in the Gorge. Didn't leave much for anything else.
Surely if your going to travel you can do a lot better than travelling all the way to sail on a river. Why not go to England in the middle of winter to sail on one of their lochs if thats the case?
W.A Geraldton, Sunset Beach Caravan Park, is on the beach, if you wanna sail out thru the whitewater. Coronation beach about 20 Km away the best of everything there, ref break or flatwater,
Mobydisc, I am all with you. Unless someone has actually sailed the Gorge it's hard to really appreciate it for what it is. There is a reason why a number of people that spend their winter in Maui make the Gorge their summer home...
Sick_em_rex, the Gorge (as in the water temp of the river) is only cold in Winter (Duh) and Spring until about mid to end of May. However, this only applies to the section from Portland to about Hood River. If you go East the water is pretty warm the air temperatures are considered as rather hot. Even someone from WA would be fine with a short sleeve steamer in Summer.
Oldgreyfox, I don't argue that WA has great sailing. However, if you want to go somewhere in June/ July/ August that's warm, easy to get to and reasonably priced you will need to go overseas. Unless I am mistaken the real season for the area around Geraldton is mid December to mid February.
I've been to the Gorge and I've sailed it in August and it was damnnnn cold when I was there.
I guess cold is a relative term... when I first arrived in this great country called OZ I used to sail in a shorty during winter... after all compared to sailing in a European it felt more like a bad Northern European summer.
Now of course I wear a short sleeve steamer even during summer. I have probably gone soft...
Wet Willy, if you are after a place were you get lots of wind, it's relatively cheap and warm have you thought about places in Europe?
Fuerteventura for example is great! You have a choice between the South (lots of wind, great infrastructure and cross off conditions with chop and sometimes waves) or the North (not so much wind but better wave options).
Also, the Greek Islands can be fun. Rhodos, Mykonos, Paros and Naxos are just a few options. Generally speaking you don't need a car as you can fly into Athens and catch a cheap ferry from there. On the islands themselves either hitch hike, get a scooter or use local public transport. There is plenty of wind in July/ August and each of the islands listed can offer both wave or bump and jump conditions with gear rental and accommodation.
Another option could be Egypt. The areas around Sagafa and Dahab have some pretty windy periods... not much in the way of waves though.
