Winter Windsurfing the Gorge

Winter Windsurfing the Gorge and forecast guide

This guide is meant to give you the information to sail in comfort and as much safety as possible thru the winter so whether you are a wave addict or a high wind junkie stuck in the Pacific Northwest for the winter you can get on the water and emerge into the spring with sharp sailing skills ready for another great season of wind and waves.
Just like its companion guide (Newcomers guide to wave sailing the Oregon coast) we will take the accumulated wisdom of the experienced winter sailors and boil it down to a user friendly guide packed with good information.

Can I really be warm and comfortable sailing in the winter????
Absolutely! But not in your 4/3 suit. Thickness and layering count and are very important to safety as well as comfort. Thick surfing suits and thick drysuits are the order of the day. In fact the days the air temperature approaches the mid 50’s your winter suit will try to overheat you and you will actually look forward to falling in.

How cold does the water get????
First let me say that with the correct suit you will not feel the cold water any where but on your face when you fall and don’t linger in the water to long. But for a typical winter the water temperature for November will range from 56*F to 48*F. December will see 48*F to 42*F. January will see 48*F to 35*F. February will see 38*F to 40*F and March will see 40*F to 48*F. You can find the current water temperature at
http://www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/ftppub/water_quality/bon.txt

How about the air temperature????
The very bottom end for comfort is 39*F air temperature. At that temp the best mitts will lose their ability to keep your hands warm.

I want to feel the boom!!!!
A bit of an adjustment yes… but it only takes a few sessions to get used to sailing with gloves or mitts and if you move your harness lines closer together the sail will sheet out on its own in the gusts. Another huge advantage to sailing with gloves or mitts is in your sail handling skills. With more reliance on your harness your skills will increase dramatically. Allowing you to sail for much longer periods of time without fatigue. Think of epic days on the coast with logo high waves and not having to sit on the beach because you are tired.

Gloves or Mitts????
Having bought most of the brands I am pretty biased towards Kayak mittens they grip the boom exceptionally well and they keep your hands toasty down to 40*F air temp. The brand is called NRS. The model is called the 3.5mm toaster mitt. Available at most kayak stores. You can view the mitt at
http://www.nrsweb.com/default.asp

Suits….
Whatever brand you choose think thick! 6 mm or better is a good start. Under it think layers The Prolimit 2mm winter rash guard works well. Scuba shops sell a neoprene undergarment as well. Some wear medium weight polypropylene long underwear under their suit also.

What people are wearing……

Dave …. Ripcurl 6/4 with thermal rash guard, NRS mitts 7mm Ripcurl booties

Gary W….. I know lots of folks don’t like the concept of bag suits. I bought a
used Kokatat Gore-Tex last year and sailed with it twice in Jan/Feb.
With a cozy fleece layer underneath, it was far more comfortable than any
neoprene suit. After a couple of hours of sailing, I stripped off the
suit and deriged in the dry fleece layer underneath. No frigid
“struggle out of the neoprene suit” session. Anyways, don’t discount them. Mine appears more tear resistant than neoprene, and I’ll be able to kayak in it too 😉

Tom E…. I use a 4/3 with a hooded vest
Chris…. I would add that a hood is a must….the hooded vest (from pro-motion I think) seems to work well for most people. I wear a neoprene hooded O’Neil thermo-shirt which goes under my 5.3 and it is OK but not great…water still gets in.
Harpspey……For myself I am SO covered in neoprene it’s scary. O’Neill drysuit with Promo vest/hood, and DaKine wintermittens. Way more than a casual summer sail, you need to dress for a possible swim. Just get use to the immobile feeling. Air/water both at
about 35 deg. is about my limit, and that’s if the sun is out.

Booties….
Once again thickness counts. I wear 7mm Rip Curl brand Booties. They work very well.

Hard winds are a blowing…..
The winter is known for nuclear east winds. The sail range for most of the winter sailors is 2.8 to 4.2. Being blown off the water on a 2.8 is not uncommon! It is standard for Hood River to have glass smooth water and Roosters Rock to be 2.8.

Safety!!!!
Cold water can kill you and do it fast. Your gear needs to be in good shape with a known good bogy. You should always sail with a friend and you both should have access to a phone if things go bad. Being mentally prepared to toss your rig and paddle your board in like a surfer or be towed in while laying on your board are wise choices for when things go really wrong. If that doesn’t work then a 911 call should be made as time in the water should be minimized.

Forecasts….
NOAA can be found at http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/text_only.php?wfo=pqr&zone=orz009&county=orc027

Gradients can be found on Iwindsurf pager or at
http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/or/hourly.html

Look for a minimum pressure gradient of .12” between PDX and The Dalles.

East wind and the MM5

This guide is a tool to help fill the gap in the off season when IWindsurf is not providing professional forecasting. The MM5 has been a reliable forecasting tool and I have used it extensively to find Gorge east winds and Coast winds. Gorge East winds are pretty easy to forecast out of the MM5 However this is not true of Gorge west winds. For with west winds you are much better served by having a real meteorologist at IWindsurf guide you. Hopefully you will find this guide easy to understand and pick up a few extra days on the water.

First the MM5 links.

The 4 kilometer link is at …. http://www.atmos.washington.edu/~ovens/loops/wxloop.cgi?mm5d3_slp+///3

The 36 kilometer link is at… http://www.atmos.washington.edu/~ovens/loops/wxloop.cgi?mm5d1_slp+//72/3

So what am I seeing on this 4 kilometer page?

• You will see the outline of Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
• The colors you see are forecasted air temps in degrees Celsius. A bar graph at the bottom of the page will give you the reference to what color is what temperature.
• The white box at the top gives the time and date of the forecast map you are currently looking at.
• On the left side of the page are control buttons to control the sequence on the maps you are viewing. If you can not control the map with these buttons check to see if you have downloaded the Goggle tool bar. The map controls don’t work with the Goggle toolbar as the map uses Java script.
• Each long wavy black line you see represents 1 millibar of pressure (converted to inches of mercury that you are used to seeing on the Iwindsurf pager each line would represent .03”hg.)
• The box directly on some of the black lines is the pressure in millibars these lines are also called “isobars”.
• The Box on the red lines gives you a temperature in degrees Celsius and the red lines show temperature transitions.
• The little black arrows with hash marks that kind of look like a feather are known as wind Barbs sometimes called Barb vectors.
• The wind barb long end points in the direction of the forecasted wind.
• Each full length hash mark or feather on a barb represents 10 knots of wind. So a barb with 3 full length hash marks would equal 30 knots of wind
• Each half length hash mark or feather on a barb represents 5 knots. So a barb with 2 long hash marks and a half length hash mark would equal 25 knots of wind
• A barb with no hash marks on it equals 3 knots.
• A triangle instead of a wind barb equals 50 knots

Now that I know what the images are how do I find wind by looking at them?

• In regards to the colors remember that wind likes to flow from colder areas to warmer areas.
• In regards to the pressure wind flows from high pressure to low pressure
• You want to see the Black isobar/millibar lines closer together. I like to see 4 or more lines between Portland and The Dalles. It is at its best when the isobar lines are displayed in a tight pack around the Troutdale and Stevenson area.
• The isobar lines should be at or near to perpendicular to the river.
• Be sure to check out the colors for when air temps of 5*C (41*F) or colder and if they are forecasted it is simply too cold to sail.
• A south east wind cant is usually bad news for Roosters.

Ok so what am I looking at when I view the MM5 at 36 kilometers?

• What you are looking for on this page is the “big picture.”
• High pressure systems for us spin in a clockwise pattern and low pressure systems spin in a counter clockwise pattern. This gives you a better idea of what is coming.

Where to sail……
The three primary Gorge sites to sail in the winter are Roosters Rock, Daltons Point and Stevenson.

Roosters Rock…
Is an Oregon State Park. Thus there is a fee to park here. Park near the ranger Station. The water on the Oregon side is shallow almost all the way to the channel marker in front of the Ranger station.
Pros – Very strong wind and close to Portland, You can change in the rest rooms at the Ranger Station which are out of the wind and warmer.
Cons – Very strong wind, and strong current cold in Dec/Jan/Feb, This is a known meeting place for perverts. Be careful bringing children here.

Daltons Point…
Is located just west of Multnomah Falls. It is wise to park near the water here and be in a group as this is a bad spot for car break ins.
Pros – Close to launch, very strong wind. Better swell than Rooster.
Cons – Very strong wind, cold in Dec/Jan/Feb
Always stay upwind of the boat launch near shore of Oregon side, fin eating submerged rocks.

Stevenson…
Bobs beach and the Point are both popular launches. If the ferry is docked next to Bobs beach then the Point is a better choice. There is a sheltered changing facility at Bob’s Beach in Stevenson (courtesy of Bob Carlson himself), but the restrooms at both the pier and East Point/the boat launch are locked up in the winter.

Pros – Better swell than Rooster and Dalton
Nice grassy rigging area. Close to town.
Hardly ever gets too windy to sail like Rooster and Dalton.
semi-swell in the big bay near east point, as well as the relative lack of current there Sometimes the lighter winds at Stevenson are worth it for a more pleasant sail.
Cons – More of a drive from Portland, bridge toll Usually less wind than Rooster and Dalton.

Also, don’t forget Cascade Locks, east of the marina. It’s rare that it’s filled in there, but if Rooster AND Stevenson are both insane windy sailing, or if you just want to mix it up, it can be quite good. Just look out for barges/sternwheeler coming around the bend by surprise, and don’t break down or you’ll be in the Locks’ washing machine.

Several People deserve thanks for their input to this guide and the best thanks you can give, is to come join us.