The Columbia Bar

wyrman

wyrman

Well-Known Member
Jul 12, 2012
1,921
Tri-Cities, Wa
Boat Info
2007 310 Sundancer
Engines
Twin 350's, V drives
2003 Fisher 17 aluminum
90hp Honda 4 stroke
We camped by the Columbia bar for a few days this past weekend.
One of the placards an overlook said the bar is the most dangerous one in the world, I can't vouch for that, but I do know it's a bad one.
Anyways, it was such a nice day I had to share this panoramic pic.
You can see both jetties in the pic, and flat water.
The next day it was raining sideways, so I'm sure it was pretty nasty.
20201026_062553.jpg
 
Greg, sounds like you had a good camping trip. Way to go!

We took the boat across the bar in August on the way to Seattle. It was a light wind day and we timed the tide spot on but we were still in 4'-6' waves.

For some fun video watching, go to Youtube and search for "Columbia River Bar".
 
Gofirstclass said:
Greg, sounds like you had a good camping trip. Way to go!

We took the boat across the bar in August on the way to Seattle. It was a light wind day and we timed the tide spot on but we were still in 4'-6' waves.

For some fun video watching, go to Youtube and search for "Columbia River Bar".
Click to expand...
That's one of the reasons for sharing the pic Mike.
It sure was a beautiful day, but it isn't anything to mess with on other days.
 
Cool shot. Thanks for sharing.
 
Beautiful pic! I lived in Longview, WA in the early 80s and went salmon fishing 5-6 times always crossing the bar each time. On either side, all good.....however, the crossing was nasty every time. At least 1/2 of the people on board would be sick the entire trip. My hat is off to the captains that cross here on a regular basis. I have also heard it said that the bar is where the best of the USCG train.

Bennett
 
Our friends have been spending three weeks each October for the past few years. They get to watch the Coast Guard train in their helicopter. They're not training like that this year due to Covid, they usually bring people from other states to train.
 
I drove a Navy cruiser of about 8,000 tons over the Columbia Bar a number of years ago. Or, I should say I did what the embarked pilot said to do. There are a group of pilots who focus exclusively on the bar. Once through, a ship picks up a different pilot for the rest of the river. The pilots make a lot of money but they earn it every time they get on and off a ship at sea. Our transits were pretty uneventful with goo weather but I do remember bouncing around a bit. I think it's true that the Columbia is the most dangerous bar in the world. There are river entrances that are more challenging navigationally such as the Mississippi but the Columbia bar is all about wind, wave and current.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,118
Messages
1,426,556
Members
61,035
Latest member
Lukerney
Back
Top