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Oregon Sailing Articles

5 articles — destinations, conditions, tips, and local knowledge.

Navigation

How to Cross the Columbia River Bar

The Coast Guard runs its only Motor Lifeboat School at Cape Disappointment because the Columbia River Bar produces conditions that don't reliably exist anywhere else. Here is what you need to know before you cross it.

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Passage Planning

Portland to the Pacific: Sailing the Columbia River to the Ocean

Few sailors think to sail out of Portland — but the Columbia River is 100 navigable miles from the city to the sea, ending at one of the more consequential bar crossings in North America. The working version of the Portland-to-Pacific passage.

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Seamanship

Sailing the Oregon Coast: A Bar-by-Bar Guide to the Toughest Stretch on the Pacific

The Oregon coast has no inside passage, no easy anchorages, and a bar crossing at every harbour entrance. Also: dramatic scenery, whale migrations close to shore, and the working satisfaction of completing one of the more demanding stretches on the Pacific Coast. The honest version of how to approach it.

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Destinations

The Best Anchorages on the Oregon Coast: Where to Stop on a Pacific Passage

The Oregon coast has no shortage of scenery. It has a very short supply of working anchorages. The seven that matter — where they are, what they're like, and what to know before the anchor goes down.

Destinations

Newport, Oregon: The Pacific Coast's Most Accessible Harbour Stop

Of Oregon's six navigable harbours, Newport has the most approachable bar, the best services, and a waterfront town worth staying in. The working version of why a Pacific Coast passage that stops anywhere in Oregon should stop here.

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