Up the River without a Paddle

If you have vacation time, and you are looking for something to do for the day, sailing up the Columbia Gorge on a tall ship might be the perfect trip for you.  Board either the Lady Washington or the Hawaiian Chieftain and imagine yourself back in the 1800s.

Lady Washington at dock in Washougal, WA with Hawaiian Chieftain astern

We had our choice of sailing aboard either ship, and although we'd sailed on the  Lady before, we chose her again.

Brig Lady Washington

We Our trip would take us from Washougal, Washington up the Columbia River, through the Bonneville Dam Locks, under the Bridge of the Gods, and end at Stevenson, Washington. Bruce, Ryan and I met at 6am at Starbucks and drove up the Columbia Gorge to drop off a car, and back to Washougal to board.

You see the gangway beside the ship.  That must be hauled in when preparing to get underway.

And we were off, with the Hawaiian Chieftain astern.  The Columbia Gorge is a beautiful drive on either the Oregon or the Washington side, but neither compare with sailing up the river.

Hawaiian Chieftain in the sights of the Lady Washington Stern Chaser

I've been loading some video and hope to have some raising the sails in the next post,