Naturally, Columbia River Gorge Draws Windsurfers
HOOD RIVER, Ore. - First, there is the wind.
It is born in Washington's and Oregon's eastern deserts, where summertime thermals suck marine air, making a natural wind tunnel through the Columbia River Gorge. The westerly breeze grows into a stiff wind by the time it reaches Hood River.
When gorge gusts make contact with the monofilm and Dacron sail of a sailboard, the fun begins.
And so do the growing pains for Hood River, which has seen windsurfing become both an economic savior and a community irritant.
The sport is the heart of a growing tourist industry and has changed the face of downtown Hood River. As more than 200 windsurfers gathered for the U.S. Windsurfing Association National Championships in the gorge, the old and new of Hood River have learned to live together.
"I think overall it's been smooth," said Tina O'Banion, executive director of the Hood River Valley Chamber of Commerce. "There are some rough spots every once in a while, trying to get the two areas to coexist."
The two areas are the windsurfers, who began flocking to Hood River about 10 years ago for the dependable and often spectacular Columbia Gorge winds, and a town that had depended on agriculture and timber for decades.
Some longtime residents blame the windsurfers for driving up property values, forcing natives to move to less expensive properties outside of town. And no one disagrees that vans and four-wheel drive vehicles carrying boards stacked like lumber clog Hood River's main thoroughfare, especially on summer weekends.
Windsurfers in turn say some of the town's old-timers don't appreciate a clean, low-impact industry when they see it.
"This is one of the best venues in North America," said professional windsurfer Tom Pace, who lives on Maui, Hawaii. another windsurfing mecca. "The big buzzwords are `U.S. mainland,' `wind,' `inexpensive' and really friendly people.
"This was a sleepy little community," he said. "People come in with a way to revitalize it."
Mayor Bob Palmer doesn't disagree.
"I can remember walking out on Oak Street on a Saturday or a Sunday, and I could have fired a shotgun up there and not hit anything," the former city fire marshal said. "Now I can drive through town and see the vibrant business going on."
Walk up Oak Street today, and storefronts tell the story of economic change.
Hurricane Custom Sail Loft is on the right. Sailboard Warehouse, with its welcome sign of "No shoes, no shirt, no shorts, no problem," is on the left. Hood River Windsurfing and Sportswear. Airtime. Sail World. Windwing Custom Sails and Accessories.
An estimated 35 companies with sailboarding ties, board and sail makers, designers of harnesses and clothing, make Hood River their base.
"It's pumped a great many dollars into the whole gorge," O'Banion said. "It's created the third leg of a two-legged industry here - agriculture and timber - and tourism has become a third leg."
Hood River isn't the only Columbia River town to benefit financially from windsurfing.
Timber-depressed Stevenson, Wash., has remodeled itself as a windsurfers' welcome wagon. Cascade Locks, Rowena and Bingen, Wash., are on the windsurfing wave.
Property values in Hood River County have jumped in the last decade, from $446.3 million in 1984 to $890.2 million in 1994.
Hood River's leaders want to retain a small-town atmosphere while catering to skiers and windsurfers, as well as companies that could broaden the town's economic base, Palmer said.
"We're being impacted all the way around in the services we provide," he said. "But we can't deny the businesses that come here."
At the Hood River Event Site, the staging area for the five-day national championships, sailors rigged their sails and tested the 15-knot winds.
"We'll have $1.5 million worth of gear out here," said Jay Haladay, the event organizer. "It's not an inexpensive sport."
The championships include competitions for all ages and skills. The mix of sailors include teen-agers to 70-year-olds, neophytes and a handful that make their living catching the wind.
"My dad picked it up at 68," said David Stanger, a former Olympic-class racer from Charleston, S.C. "After his third time, he came over and said, `David, I have something to tell you about this windsurfing.' And I said, `What?'
"He smacked me on the head and said, `Why didn't you tell me about this 10 years ago?' "