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rperkins
Joined: 03 Jun 2007
Posts: 8
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 Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 5:37 pm Post subject: |
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they killed all the fish in sprauge, supposedly the news says that it will be ok to go back in the water in two weeks. 
No sailing for me unless I go to williams.
Ross. |
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mrbucks
Joined: 03 Dec 2001
Posts: 18
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| Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 10:57 pm Post subject: Aprague Lake Sailing |
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I lived in Spokane for almost 20 years sailing many of those years. Over the years I think I've tried every puddle between there and Seattle. Rediscoverd Sprague lake as the windsurfing gem of Spokane ... primarily for spring/fall sailing.
I've not sailed out of the campground. I always have sailed almost due south on the other side. From Sprague you take the paved road out along the lake. On the right you come across a corrall. It is private land, so you need to respect the owner. Let yourself through the gate and close it behind you. On any given good day ... I've almost been guaranteed that I'll find at least one or two other cars and sometimes it fills up. The launch is shallow and gravelly. Rig in the prairie grass ... ain't great, but it ain't sand. They are on the wind pager, too. It's 42 miles to the site from downtown Spokane ... just under an hours drive.
I've met some great people there. There was a porta potty there and at one time I'd heard that the owner collected a small season fee to allow you in, but I've always respected the owner and never left garbage behind. Short of going to Roosevelt, it's the next best fix, really.
Windy Bay @ Coeur d'Alene ... tough access. It's almost all private land, I think (West side anyway) ... the public launch is 'around the corner' in another adjacent inlet with poor orientation ... so it's hell getting out into the windy channel. I think that unless you know someone living along windy bay ... you'd be hard pressed to get out and rip it.
Sprague ain't the best ... but it can give you a great fix. Enjoy it! |
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geohaye
Joined: 03 Apr 2000
Posts: 1437
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30knotwind
Joined: 30 Aug 2005
Posts: 239
Location: White Salmon, WA
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| Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 3:48 pm Post subject: |
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Is anyone sailing Sprauge today? Windy and sunny.
Did anyone sail it yesterday, looks like the wind was up.
C |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935
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| Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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| mrbucks wrote: | Short of going to Roosevelt, it's the next best fix, really.
...
unless you know someone living along windy bay ... you'd be hard pressed to get out and rip it. |
Au contraire, Senor Bucks. Port Kelley and Plymouth are far closer to you than is Roosevelt, and Port Kelley gets better swell than Rosey in the same amount of wind. Today, for example, was 5.2 @ PK ... with swell just about the size of my bud's full-sized Ford Econoline van and far steeper than anything Rosey gets. Yesterday PK was too windy to sail. PK is often much warmer than Rosey this time of the year, too, and sometimes much windier. It can be the only spot in SE WA with wind; I had the whole river bend to myself on a 4.2 one whole day when I doubt there was a whitecap between PK and Astoria.
Some days Plymouth and Patterson can have the only good wind on the Columbia. They seldom get great swell, but the western horizon is wiiiide and flat as a Kansas prairie -- good for very steady winds and nice 2-3-4-foot swell.
And even Richland gets good a few days a year, when SSW winds rip straight up the Columbia's centerline directly up the nostrils of the current. I'll bet today's swell has been running close to chest high right in town, with consistent wind somewhere in the 4.2 range and air temps in the 50s. Short reach, but fantastic rig and launch on miles of manicured grass. Too bad this happens only a few days a year, but it's often there's no wind anywhere else of a good direction.
As for access problems in general, I have heard that several times and places over the decades: "Great winds, but the shoreline's all private (or the park's closed for the winter)". I've had 100% success with this devious, deceptive, obnoxious trick: "Knock, knock. Hi, sir; I wanna play. May I use your waterfront?" Up-front honesty fools 'em every time so far, especially when they get to watch the show and ya leaves their land cleaner than it was hours ago.
\m/ |
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bryb
Joined: 06 Oct 2015
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 4:21 pm Post subject: |
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Blah. So it's either "1.7 trillion gallons of radioactive and hazardous waste" from Hanford, or bio waste, etc at Sprague. Oh boy! Help, nano beetles are eating my sail!
Last edited by bryb on Mon Jul 20, 2009 5:59 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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krusbros
Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 6:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Sprague is about as good as it gets around here. I haven't sailed out there for years but had some great times out there when I did. The waves can get pretty big on a good day, enough to chop hop. But these days I don't mess around. I usually go to the Roosevelt or Hood every other weekend in the summer...but if I'm in the area and it's blowing I'm heading for Sprague. |
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bryb
Joined: 06 Oct 2015
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 6:09 pm Post subject: |
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1. Is it required to get a "vehicle use" permit (https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/wdfw/vup.html) to get on Sprague at any launch location, or just at the WA State Fishing ramp?
2. How accurate has the iWindsurf Forecast Tables proven for this location?
I'm new to observing via this site, but I've noticed a couple days when reality was blowing but the forecasts showed little (ie: blowing 15, forecast 5).
http://www.iwindsurf.com/windandwhere.iws?regionID=1681&location_id=485&ISection=Forecast+Graphs |
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nwwindsurf
Joined: 06 Oct 2015
Posts: 43
Location: East Wash ag waste dump
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| Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 3:54 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, I'm interested in this too. Anybody know?
Forecast for this Sunday is looking sailable with the big stuff... |
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nwwindsurf
Joined: 06 Oct 2015
Posts: 43
Location: East Wash ag waste dump
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:55 am Post subject: Re: Aprague Lake Sailing |
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| mrbucks wrote: | I've not sailed out of the campground. I always have sailed almost due south on the other side. From Sprague you take the paved road out along the lake. On the right you come across a corrall. It is private land, so you need to respect the owner. Let yourself through the gate and close it behind you. On any given good day ... I've almost been guaranteed that I'll find at least one or two other cars and sometimes it fills up. The launch is shallow and gravelly. Rig in the prairie grass ... ain't great, but it ain't sand. They are on the wind pager, too. It's 42 miles to the site from downtown Spokane ... just under an hours drive.
I've met some great people there. There was a porta potty there and at one time I'd heard that the owner collected a small season fee to allow you in, but I've always respected the owner and never left garbage behind. |
I gave this launch site a desperation shot yesterday. First time out in over 6 years. Hanging out on a 8.5m sail... really need to redeveop my claw grasp, boy were my forearms in for a shock.
I located the corral, some 4.5 miles along the south road. The gate was wide open. It still has an old, blue porta potty standing there but the door is blown off (Mike/isobar must have had a big burrito there at some point). Otherwise it didn't appear to have been used for at least 6 months with all the tall weeds down to the flat rock launch area. No sign of human markings at all. Nice quiet spot. I was a bit nervous of some shotgun toting rancher coming down to kick me outa there.
Stuck the biggest Curtis weed fin on that I had and had a couple fun reaches, just a little to rest the arms. Nice quiet lake as far as boats go. Other than some weeds and nailing a boulder too close to the shore on a return reach (weed fins have another advantage... usually don't rip out of the board), it was sort of fun.  |
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