Stevenson and Home Valley

fredf · Since 10 Jan 2009 80 Posts Eugene. Or Â

I haven´t lived in PDX for more than 10 years but used to windsurf the Gorge a lot. Now that there is so much info available via the internet I can follow where people are kiting and where the wind is blowing. We used to go to Home Valley when the wind was in the west but I don´t remember anyone speaking favorably of Stevenson. Now I see the wind blows there at least as well as anywhere up and down the river and sometimes is the only spot in the west when all the other windy spots are way east but nobody seems to say anything about Home Valley, not far from Stevenson..

Questions:
Do people kite Home Valley and if not why not? Lots of room and easy launch, right?
Why did we miss Stevenson all those years? Have the conditions there changed for the better?

westender · Since 09 Aug 2008 41 Posts Portland/Stevenson Â

Who missed Stevenson?

I found car keys near HV last week.

Nak · Tue Sep 01, 09 10:04 pm

Stevenson & Home Valley are both great. I've never launched at HV, but downwinded from Stevenson. Great fun! Very Happy

I guess people launch there occasionally, but it seems like a lot more fun to launch at Stevie and get out at HV.

gorgebob · Since 25 Jun 2007 259 Posts Portland, OR Shop Owner

Hey Fred
Home Valley just isn't quite the same as it was back 20yrs ago. The bay can get kind of thick with alge or something. Although the parking is improved the feeling is kind of skank. I believe with support and work it could get back to the great beach it was.
Bob

kitezilla · Since 22 Jun 2006 453 Posts gorge Obsessed

Home Valley is an easy place to bring your kite into...but, it is a hard place to get a kite out of.

To self-land a kite in the HV "bay", just glide into the bay and crash it. It will stay down, because of the major wind shadow, and you can easily self-rescue it by throwing it to your safety and doing the IKO style rescue, where you wind up your lines in order to access the kite.

Getting a kite to launch out of HV is whole different matter, because of:

(1) the "dirty" wind in the water, where it is shallow enough for your launcher to stand.

(2) the back eddy current and the downstream current, which will tend to either bring a floating kite back into the "bay"...or worse... right smack downstream into the giant rock, or into the rocky area between the shore and the giant rock. Having your kite plastered up against the giant rock is much to be avoided.

(3) on light wind days, the jet skiers tend to buzz into the "bay" at your most awkward moments.

(4) on high wind days, the windsurfers own the place...very little room for a blown up kite and lines... a few passive-agressive windsurfers will ruin your day.

(5) your kite may not launch very well, because of all the holes in the leading edge bladder, which were caused by the weird "eddy" wind shifts occurring on the grassy rigging area, which tend to flip your kite over and into the BLACKBERRY bushes.

(6) seaweed isn't usually a big problem, but when the water warms up, it can be.

(7) the sub-surface rocks near shore, just west of the bay are nasty.

( Cool

families with kids tend to play in the same place that you might want to set up your kite and launch in.

So, in general, I would say that if you get a clean launch, HV is a good place to kite, but when things start to go bad...they just get worse and worse.

Gman · Since 11 Feb 2006 4911 Posts Portland Unstrapped

We do it all the time Question

Go get it

Sasquatch · Since 09 Mar 2005 2103 Posts PNW Bigfoot

Great info "zilla"! I presume most of the info you just disclosed is predicated on the wind blowing from west to east? Right?

I've never done it, but I think the more popular HV sailing/kiting is done when the east winds kick in. What is the launching like then? Mainly taking about wind shadows etc. . . the rocks, stick etc will always be there.

When RR is nuked out, HV to Stevenson seems to workout a lot better because the winds are more steady and not blowing as hard as RR.

kitezilla · Since 22 Jun 2006 453 Posts gorge Obsessed

Correct....I was talking about west wind days.

East wind is much more doable...the wind comes into the bay better.

Gman · Since 11 Feb 2006 4911 Posts Portland Unstrapped

We use Home Valley as the starting point for downwinders on Easterlies or Terminus from Stevie on Westerlies

It is a sucky drift, drag through seaweed and squirrelly wind launch (best with a launch helper)

but I bet the CGKA will work on improving it this year

kitezilla · Since 22 Jun 2006 453 Posts gorge Obsessed

windmtnpete · Since 13 Sep 2009 46 Posts Home Valley Â

Certainly quite a few hurdles to cross to get access to the HV candy store yesterday. VIP camper barricades, high water, gusty, flukey winds at launch, fishing nets, etc.

Best candy was early... yep, early 4.2 poleboarder bird got the candy (that was me)... wow, nice smooth swell west of the rock yesterday, shore-to shore 25+ winds mostly gone by 11 AM when the strings took to the water.

The launch.... with trees and rocks downwind to the west, why did they not launch on eastern side of the bay where I launched from? If you stay along that eastern shore (out to that point) it stays fairly shallow all the way to the wind line with lots of open space downwind for strings on an east wind. Of course, there is that wind shadow from the trees, but yesterday there was a slightly southerly (onshore) slant to the wind at HV.... often when Stevenson east wind is showing slightly north, HV is slightly south because of the way wind wiggles around Wind Mountain. Another thing.... the wind direction in the rigging area is often very different from what's happening at the wind line..... so, it could seem very north when rigging but be very south when launching..... or really, really swirly.

Anyhow, reason I don't kite is because of the limited launches for kiting in the Gorge. HV is a major kitemare..... need to create some grassy open space west of the swimmers beach on that point that sticks out on the east side of the bay, perfect kite location to launch both east winds and west winds if trees and brush are removed.