Potomac River - Evening Paddle from Columbia Island Marina

Let's try this again without the Meetup app messing up the date yet again. Plenty of you will have the day off and it's one of the longest days of the year - perfect conditions for an evening paddle near the monuments

We'll shove off from Columbia Island Marina PROMPTLY at 6:15pm and head 1.5 miles upstream towards the Roosevelt Island, before turning around. I intend to stay on the west bank of the river and avoid crossing the channel. Sunset isn't until 8:35, but we should be back at the ramp around 8:00.

This is event is suitable for paddleboards (including iSUPs) and recreational/touring kayaks, but not inflatable kayaks. Everyone must WEAR, not just bring a USCG-approved life jacket or PFD. I recommend bringing a white deck light too, in case the evening turns out to be cloudy. There is a high likelihood of encountering motorboat traffic.

If you have never been to Columbia Island Marina before, please study a MAP, as you ca only get there from southbound GW Parkway. Putting blind faith in your GPS will likely lead to you missing out on this trip. There is supposedly a $5 fee to launch at the dock, but the posted QR code for the payment app has never worked, in my experience.