GIVING BACK, CONNECTING COMMUNITIES

We are so very excited to share a new relationship Island Sailing has entered into with Columbia Riverkeeper! 

For over twenty years Columbia Riverkeeper has been a tireless environmental advocate for this wonderful river so many of us have the pleasure of exploring and enjoying under sail - and Island Sailing is so very happy to support their efforts. 

Their mission says it all:

“Columbia Riverkeeper’s mission is to protect and restore the water quality of the Columbia River and all life connected to it, from the headwaters to the Pacific Ocean.”

Take a look at the history of this wonderful community of people and the many times they have succeeded in protecting these waters we all love so much.

I myself have a place deep in my heart for the many waters that have made up and continue to make up my sailing life. 

I often reminisce about the amazing years I spent growing up on Lake Michigan: the wild races, the crazy storms we endured, the incredible "midnight sails" and the countless dreamy days and nights of sailing I experienced throughout the years of my youth on The Northern Light on the waters of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are very much a part of who I am to this day. 

Hardly a day goes by that I don't think about the thousands of miles of waters from Prince William Sound all the way out west to the Bering Sea and Norton Sound that I spent six years traveling and working on - they too are a part of the fabric of my life and who I am now. 

Of course I can wile away the days, elbow on the desk, resting my head in my hand, gazing off into the distance thinking about the beautiful waters I have plied between Martinique and Florida in recent years - especially those around St Kitts & Nevis, Guadeloupe (my favorite place on this whole big blue ball) and Antigua... and yes, if you listen closely you'll hear me sigh as I visualize getting back down there again to set sail in those beautiful trade winds once more...

Indeed - the waters we sail are more than just places: they are in fact part of what this life makes us.

Then, there's The Mighty Columbia... 

I'll never forget the day I drove up to the boat ramp on Marine drive after having seen it on a road map. I had only been coming to Portland at times each year to visit friends at that point in my life and that morning I was looking to get out and explore the area. As we pulled into the parking lot I could see the tops of several masts out on the water and immediately could tell they were racing! (The big boat fleet was bearing down on "A" - the downwind mark set just off the ramp area.) I jumped out of the car and pretty much ran out to the end of what was then a rickety old wooden dock exclaiming out loud - practically shouting: "They sail on this river?!?!!!?" I was soooo excited! 

Once back at my friend's house my heart was racing with excitement as I opened the phone book,  (yup... it's been a while now) thinking, "there's got to be a place I can rent a boat" - and I found Island Sailing. The voice on the other side of the phone answered my question about renting a sailboat with, "you might actually be interested in our membership." And as they say - the rest is history. 

So I'll be completely open with you all here: I have a deep love for this river: for it's currents and it's eddies, for the wonderful and often wild west winds and gusts that come bowling up against the current creating that fun steep little chop that can toss up "pearls on the foredeck" on those amazing summer evening sails, it's beautiful meandering shorelines, even for it's east winds - when they're not too crazy. (By the way - there is a Sacagawea dollar coin under the mast of Mahalo that I glued there when I first got the boat and rewired the mast...)

And so it is with much respect for the work they do that I am so happy to give back, on behalf of the community that is Island Sailing, to this river by entering into a great relationship and supporting Columbia Riverkeeper and all that they have done and are doing to protect, preserve, and care for this beautiful river we can all so proudly call "our home waters".

Please do take a look at their work, at who they are and at what they do, and perhaps you too might consider supporting their excellent and important work. We will be sharing more about this in the coming season. We are already talking with them about working together for Earth Day this year and about how we can continue the relationship by connecting our communities on behalf of The Mighty Columbia.

So thank you all again so much for choosing to be a part of the Island Sailing Community and as we are always fond of saying: 

"We'll see you out there!"