10/15 - 10/29 - 2017 Snake/Columbia River C-Dory Cruise

If anyone is interested in my 2 cents here it is.... I grew up along the Columbia. If I could choose any month to do this trip, it would be October. September can still be very hot. I don't know what all this talk and worry of rain is about. 2/3 of the trip is the driest barren desert climate in the NW. Autumn is beautiful and you would likely never need a heater or AC.

I am all for safety, and I believe the more the better. However I think the worst days on the Columbia are nothing to get intimidated about for a C-dory owner. These boats were made to handle much more than the Columbia. Having these boats and only taking them to lakes is like having a Hummer and only using it to buy groceries. Yes the Columbia can be very windy, but there are MANY safe places to anchor up if you do your research.

To toot my own horn a little.......Last fall I had my wife drop me off at Beacon Rock, just below The Bonneville dam. She then drove the trailer home to Tillamook. I took my time and cruised to Astoria. The original plan was to have her pick me up at Hammond marina, but the ocean conditions were so ideal for the next day, that I decided to just keep going. I crossed the Columbia at 7 am and went to my home port in Garibaldi, was home at high tide. This is why I chose this boat, to have adventures like this. From Bonneville to Astoria was a real pleasure cruise, seat reclined, one foot on the steering wheel....
 
Still considering joining this cruise, bringing along a friend.

I'm thinking about having my wife accompany us to the put-in, where she will drop us off and then drive my truck/boat trailer to the take-out in Astoria. She'd then take the bus/train home to Mount Vernon.

Have any arrangements been made yet for a specific take-out location in Astoria?

jd
 
capt. meares":3ie2k8s4 said:
If anyone is interested in my 2 cents here it is.... I grew up along the Columbia. If I could choose any month to do this trip, it would be October. September can still be very hot. I don't know what all this talk and worry of rain is about. 2/3 of the trip is the driest barren desert climate in the NW. Autumn is beautiful and you would likely never need a heater or AC.

I am all for safety, and I believe the more the better. However I think the worst days on the Columbia are nothing to get intimidated about for a C-dory owner. These boats were made to handle much more than the Columbia. Having these boats and only taking them to lakes is like having a Hummer and only using it to buy groceries. Yes the Columbia can be very windy, but there are MANY safe places to anchor up if you do your research.

To toot my own horn a little.......Last fall I had my wife drop me off at Beacon Rock, just below The Bonneville dam. She then drove the trailer home to Tillamook. I took my time and cruised to Astoria. The original plan was to have her pick me up at Hammond marina, but the ocean conditions were so ideal for the next day, that I decided to just keep going. I crossed the Columbia at 7 am and went to my home port in Garibaldi, was home at high tide. This is why I chose this boat, to have adventures like this. From Bonneville to Astoria was a real pleasure cruise, seat reclined, one foot on the steering wheel....
Click to expand...

IMHO, Bonnyville to Astoria is a piece of cake most any time. Rain is not an issue in a C-Dory. The stretch from Umatilla west down river through Biggs, Dalles, Hood River and Cascade Locks includes the windsurfing world capital, and the windiest water I know. And I live on Juan de Fuca Strait. I have lived, worked, driven along the full length of the Columbia and Snake from Lewiston, to the coast. I agree, from Bonneville on down is doable anytime. The other section might get pretty hairy in those late fall blows.

It would be interesting to have some input from one of the tug and tow captains that run that river 24/7/365.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Yes I have often thought it would be very interesting to talk to a Columbia River Tug Capt. Growing up I have always dreamed of how great of a job that must be, Possibly in my top 3 list of dream jobs. The Dalles to Bonneville is definitely the Wind Surfing / Kite Boarding capital of the world, Ideal conditions to experience some of the capabilities of what a C-dory excels at best.
 
I have talked to both Tidewater and Shaver captains there on the water, via VHF and they are very cordial and helpful. Might be worth trying to contact one of them via an office call. If anyone would have a good feeling for the "right timing" those guys should.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Thanks everyone for your valuable inputs.

John Firefly, that is great that you are going the 150 mile stretch from Lewiston to Tri Cities.

Brent Discovery, thanks for the magazine reference. There is good information in the article on the lower Columbia - especially for Astoria, Cathlamet, St. Helens, Portland, Washougal, Hood River, and The Dalles Areas.

El and Bill, we are just following in your historic footsteps. It is hard to do, but we will try our best. I read your entire writeups on the Snake and Columbia Rivers. Thank you.

Capt Meares- Yes, I too believe October is a good time to go. I spent some time looking at weather and wind data and came to the conclusion that this was a possible viable window of opportunity. One never knows on the weather, but I also agree with you that we have sturdy vessels, worthy of the journey.

JD, we hope you can make the trip. Please let us know your plans.

Best, Jim and Kath
 
Right now, we have four (4) vessels committed to this entire trip. They are as follows:

1. Jim & Kath on Pounder
2. Bernie on Vega
3. Floyd on Far C’R
4. Chuck and Penny on Two Bears.

In addition, we have John on Firefly doing the 150-mile Snake River stretch with us. If there are others still going on this trip, please confirm your participations.

Following are launch and retrieval dates, and high-level logistics, for this Expedition Cruise:

• The Group launches their vessels and is prepared to depart the dock by Noon, on Wednesday, October 18th at Hells Gate State Park. We would leave our trucks and trailers in the Park or Lewiston area (TBD exact location). It is an 800-mile road trip for me from Sacrament to Lewiston. I plan to leave Sacramento on Sunday, October 15th with truck and boat in tow to give myself plenty of time to get to Idaho.

• We would plan (weather and lock schedule dependent) to all arrive by boat in Astoria on Friday, October 27th. This is ten water cruising days. This is our goal, which is pretty aggressive, but we all realize that we may have to deal with some back-end contingencies.

• On Saturday, October 28th we would return by vehicle from Astoria to Lewiston (432 miles). We would either get a ride from a volunteer or we would rent a van in Astoria. One person could stay with each boat and one person could go to get the rigs.

• On Sunday, October 29th we would drive our trucks and empty trailers back to Astoria from Lewiston.

• On Monday, October 30th, we would all head in different directions back to our respective homes with our boats in tow.

The above is the simplest and most straightforward logistics for this adventure. For our next level of planning we will later discuss the mileage spacings and locations of our stopping points along the river cruise. Some have indicated that they may be interested in cruising with us the 150 segement from Portland to Astoria.

Jim & Kath
 
Great videos, and a great trip. Best wishes for a as good a weather and a safe trip. Sttll thinking I may be able to help with transportation if needed.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Harold on PennyBridge, thanks for posting the George Grech video. This video was very encouraging for our own trip.

This was a trip by two guys in one 22 foot C-Dory. They took their Lewis & Clark journey in September of 2014, 520 miles from Lewiston to the Columbia River Bar, in 13 days. They reported that they had no problems finding food and gas on their voyage.

It looks like they left their tow rig at Port Clarkston on departure. I will check out this storage option for us.

It also looks like they did not need a tender for the journey as there were plenty of places to tie up along the way.

One other tip I got from looking at their video was to be sure to bring good bumpers along for the eight locks that need to be transited.
 
Dear All.

As an update, we now have the following attendees for our “Great Lewis & Clark Snake/Columbia River C-Dory Cruise”:

1. Jim & Kath on Pounder
2. Chuck & Penny on Two Bears
3. Floyd & TBD on Far C’r
4. Bernie & TBD on Vega
5. BBorosdy.

In addition, we have John on Firefly doing the first leg with us on the Snake River stretch.

Finally, we have three maybes’ as follows:

1. JD on Berta’s Boy
2. Harvey on Sleepy-C
3. Harold on PennyBridge.

Both Harold and Harvey have expressed interest in helping us with return driving if they decide not to attend. We appreciate these offers greatly.

Harvey, regarding some of your weather skepticism I just reviewed some weather data on Windfinder and found that October has the lowest probability of high wind for the Columbia River Gorge.

Who really knows what will happen on the weather, but I just wanted to give you some encouragement to come!
 
Thanks Jim. I just drove the Columbia yesterday. Would have been a great day to be there on a boat. I stopped at the Arlington Marina and talked to the operator there. Said weather could obviously go either way, but they would not have chosen Oct. It is transition time and it would be hard to predict.

But as I drove, I watched the beauty of the Gorge and thought more of the trip. it will be epic.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Just lurking/following. Would be fun to do this trip, but I've already got 12,000 miles on the trailer just this season since March, and seriously looking at a SE Alaska trip with the boat next summer. But who knows, if boredom sits in and I'm not doing much school bus driving... Colby
 
Colby, don't wimp out.

You told me it was nothing to X-C the country with the c dory behind. Besides, if you dawdle a bit you can trailer home across the Rockies in the winter. That would be fun.
 
Uh, across the Rockies in winter? Well I do have my heater that works pretty well...lol. I'd be better off to just stay out there until heading to Alaska...but then there is that gathering in Florida in March... :lol: Anyway, I never say never....you just never know... Colby
 
Dave on Raven Dancer here; I have been following this thread with a great amount of interest, and even though I can not do the entire cruise there is a very good chance I could join the group at the Vancouver boat launch which is approx. half a mile up stream of the I-5 bridge.
It seems like a lot of planning has been invested so far and I was wondering if you had a day and time you would be in that area. I can always anchor up and be ready when you come by.
I will be watching for your reply or you can email me at drlaabs@comcast.net if you prefer.
My son will be helping me launch and then picking me up at the John Day boat launch right around Tongue Point so I will not require any transportation.
Thank you.
Dave
Raven Dancer.
 
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