If you find the wind to strong or to weak in one place you can usually move East or West to a place that fits your needs. A good roof rack is a must. If you are driving 65 MPH on the freeway into a 40 or 50 MPH head wind your boards and gear are seeing over 100 MPH of wind. There are more than 20 windsurfing shops in the Gorge. Most are located in Hood River but Lyle has a shop also.
Most shops rent equipment as well as sell new equipment.
The largest selection of used equipment is at Windance. They usually have 30 to 40 boards and several hundred sails on consignment. They also have lots of new equipment and good advice. Wind Sports also has used equipment. The following lists of phone numbers were taken from the Yellow Pages dated April 1998.