Belle Haven Marina (Fairfax County, VA)

  
FIG. 1A View of Potomac River from the Belle Haven Launch area
(to view a land photo:   if browser is Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), use "control =" to zoom
in by hitting the "=" key while the ctrl key is depressed.  To zoom back out, use "control -". 
If browser is Netscape or Firefox, simply right click on the photo and then select "View Image")

FIG. 1B aerial view of launch area
 

    Belle Haven Marina is a launch on the Potomac just downstream from
the Washington, DC area.  It is located on the Virginia side of the river,
about one mile south of the Woodrow Wilson bridge.  It is accessible
from the GW parkway, about 8 miles North of Mt Vernon and about
one mile south of the city of Alexandria. 

    The Belle Haven Marina launch faces east into P.G. county MD. 
Thus, any wind without a west in it is preferred for this location.

    The Belle Haven Marina was, in the 1990's, a very popular windsurf
establishment and windsurf launch.  There was once evening races
that would attract so many people that the parking lot would become
clogged, and once had a rental/storage/lesson facility on site.  That
ended around year 2000, but the launch remains available for anyone
who wishes to use it. Belle Haven Marina still rents sailboats,
and gives lessons etc.

    The website for Belle Haven Marina is http://www.saildc.com/. 
Their address is use 1201 Belle Haven Road  Alexandria, VA 22307.   The directions
 to this launch are posted on their Internet site and are:

    Upon entering the marina, drive towards the river until you
reach a T intersection where the main office is on your right.

FIG. 2 View of T-intersection (Note: Always view photos by
first right-clicking on them and then selecting "View Image")

  Turn right at this T intersection and follow to the end where you
see storage trailers in front of you.

FIG. 3 View of Launch area with storage trailers in the background
--to the right is the astroturf launch and to the left you can also
launch from the point of FIG. 1 (to view a photo:   if browser is Microsoft Internet
 Explorer (IE), use "control =" to zoom in by hitting the "=" key while the ctrl key is depressed. 
To zoom back out, use "control -".  If browser is Netscape or Firefox, simply right click on the photo
and then select "View Image")

  At this point, to your right, you will see green artificial turf sloping
into the water as you face West.  It is on this green artificial turf
that the windsurf launch is.  When you put your board in the water
on the green artificial turf, you must proceed on a "J"-shaped course
to get around the dock and the sailboats parked there to get out
into the river to the East. This J-shaped pattern can be walked or sailed.

FIG. 4 View of Launch from astroturf
(to view a photo:   if browser is Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), use "control =" to zoom in by
hitting the "=" key while the  ctrl key is depressed.  To zoom back out, use "control -". 
If browser is Netscape or Firefox, simply right click on the photo and then select "View Image")

    Hazards of this launch include 1) pollution, but only after a large
sudden rain, 2) excessive submerged aquatic vegetation July-Nov,
and 3) a current is present.  Regarding the pollution issue, this is
caused by the fact that raw sewage is dumped into the Potomac
after a sudden rain because the sewage treatment facility can not
treat the large volumes of runoff that occur during a big rain event. 
It can take several days or more to flush out the pollutants after
such a rain event.  Outside of this, the quality of the water in the
Potomac is suitable for windsurfing, despite being downstream
of the big city.