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Hello fellow Mac owners. I have returned to this forum after being absent since 2006 when I had to sell the 26X. I only got the sails up on it twice before life events forced the sale after a very brief ownership. Now after all these years I just acquired a 2009 26M which I am currently making seaworthy since it sat outdoors neglected for 2 years. Hope to be in the water by June. Anyone ever sail on the reservoirs (Swift, Yale, Merwin) by Mt. Saint Helens? Hope to see you on the Columbia River this summer!

Welcome back, and congratulations on acquiring a 26M! Glad you are able to get back into boating. I'm not familiar with sailing in your area, but am looking forward to seeing pics of your boat projects and trips. Glad to have you posting again!

Thanks Jimmyt. I will post photos after I complete the work. Happy sails!
Dave

Sorry I didn't see this sooner. I sail a out of the Port of Camas/Washougal on the Columbia River. I've done one trip to Yale and usually take my boat to Swift at least once a year. It is a magical place. Feel free to message me if you have any questions about making the trip.



Jeff

I picked up from Washington, and sail out of slip in Portland a ‘12 26M.

If you have issues with yours, I’m around. No long trips yet, but I still go out as weather permits!

Daves_knott_here last post was May 16. It seems Dave’s not here.

If there are PM’s between Dave and forum members about sailing in his area, please go public and post them on the forum. There may be others who could use that info tomorrow, next month or next year?

Interested in selling?

Daves_knot_here wrote: ↑Tue May 16, 2023 7:39 am Hello fellow Mac owners. I have returned to this forum after being absent since 2006 when I had to sell the 26X. I only got the sails up on it twice before life events forced the sale after a very brief ownership. Now after all these years I just acquired a 2009 26M which I am currently making seaworthy since it sat outdoors neglected for 2 years. Hope to be in the water by June. Anyone ever sail on the reservoirs (Swift, Yale, Merwin) by Mt. Saint Helens? Hope to see you on the Columbia River this summer!

Ran past a nice 26m in the Multnomah channel today. Had a whole bunch of BWY gear on it as well. There’s a few of us out here apparently.

I asked if the posted here, but didn’t catch the name.

Without trailering, we've sailed up to Becon Rock and down to Astoria (we trailer back). If you ever need advice on spots, we know a few. Feel free to send me a PM.

Jeff

C Buchs wrote: ↑Tue Nov 28, 2023 12:41 pm Without trailering, we've sailed up to Becon Rock and down to Astoria (we trailer back). If you ever need advice on spots, we know a few. Feel free to send me a PM.

Jeff

Or, you can post them here for all to see. There may be others interested. This forum is here for the benefit of Mac owners, and you may be able to benefit a few.

Good point Ray! I guess I was just taking the lazy way out. I'll put together a post or three for each of our favorite destinations.

Jeff

I'll start upriver at Beacon Rock and work my way down. We've been farther upriver, but we trailered there and back. I'll stick to trips we've made from our home, The Port of Camas-Washougal.

It's about 25 miles to Beacon Rock State Park. You can read about it here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beacon_Rock_State_Park. I've always told people it's the third largest "free-standing monolith" in the world. I guess maybe it's second, but depends on how you define it. No matter, it's BIG.

Getting here requires close to two hours of wide-open motoring through the west end of The Columbia River Gorge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_River_Gorge. Sailing the distance is technically possible, but sections of the river have 4-5 knots of current, so it's not practical.

The dock is old, but has power (water is at the top of the ramp). There are nice bathrooms with showers. There's a boat launch that's mostly used by fishermen and 3-4 campsites. Overall, it's a quiet spot where you can watch the beaver swim around. Last time we were there, we could hear the babies making soft noises under the dock. I don't remember the cost, but it was less than $20 for the night. There is also a lot of room to anchor between Peirce Island and the shore. Some of the area is shallow, but that's not a problem for us!



If you want a nice stroll, there are some nice flat trails west of the dock. Great fields and places for the dogs to run.

For a little more exercise, there's a 3/4 mile trail that has 51 switchbacks to the top of Beacon Rock. When the kids were young and we were going to take a long road trip we'd stop and see how fast we could go to the top and back. 30 minutes and they'd burned enough energy for a few hours in the car. The trail was finished in 1918. So, the railing isn't up to current child safety standards, but it's safe enough and the views are beautiful!

Here's a picture of the family at the top with some Japanese exchange students.


A longer hike is across the road to the Hamilton Mountain trail. We like to hike to at least Rodney Falls (Pool of the Winds). It flows into a pool 3/4 of the way down. You can look through the V notch into the pool to feel the spray and wind flow out from the force of the falls. It's really cool!


I recommend sailing home. So much nicer to not fight the current. There are beaches along the way that I'll post about later. Here are a few shots of the hills and some of the waterfalls along the way.


My pictures really don't do it justice! If you want to see more of what it's like, just search for images of "The Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway".

Jeff

I am not aware of any plans I have to go to Orogon, but I am sure pleased for you to have posted the above.

Thanks for the pics. I love that area. We’ve been playing around hayden island and up the willamette a bit, as well as the Multnomah channel.

There’s lots of beautiful places out there on the Columbia.

MissionMac wrote: ↑Sat Dec 02, 2023 9:15 am Thanks for the pics. I love that area. We’ve been playing around hayden island and up the willamette a bit, as well as the Multnomah channel.

There’s lots of beautiful places out there on the Columbia.

We took our first trip up the Willamette this year, but only as far as the St. John's Bridge. I'll get to that trip, but I have a few more upriver before I get there.

Jeff