Launch sites on Pend O'reille (Sandpoint, Bayview, etc)?

nwwindsurf

Any opinions / tips for this area?
Anybody sail there semi frequently?

Sandpoint
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both of these launches seem fairly well exposed to SW...

- city park, somewhere along the loop road (aka Bridge St). bigger lake chop and avoiding more boats?

- memorial park (at the south end of Boyer) for flat water at the mouth of the river? is that a waste treatment plant next door to the park? any shallows to watch out for besides close to the bridge?

Bayview
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- it's suppose to have wind and a nice beach area, but not sure about the wind shaddows...

30knotwind · Joined: 30 Aug 2005 Posts: 239 Location: White Salmon, WA

Senor on LPO:
http://lpo.dt.navy.mil/

Closest launch to Spokane is at Bayview on the southern tip, about 2 hour drive. Planing wind is from about 4am to 8am. IMO never leave Spokane when the sensor looks good at 9am, you'll get skunked: the wind dies every time, like clockwork before 10/12am--believe me.

Sandpoint on the northshore is another possibility on a S, SW wind. Also, there is a campground east of Sandpoint near Hope, ID, I forget the name, that works on a S wind. These sites are early too, planing winds are only from 5am to 8am. I've heard of launching at Telache (sp?) on the west shore, but the road is rough and time consuming.

Don't even think about lake CDA unless you have private property near Windy/Sunup Bay or Harrison, ID on the east shore.

Conclusion: sail the gorge.

nwwindsurf · Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 1:56 pm Post subject:

Bayview is close to home so this might be a better spot for me.

Looking at the Deep Moor winds for the last couple days, 12pm-6pm on Aug 10th was 15-20mph, and 11am-3pm on Aug 11th was higher but gustier. Unfortunately that sensor is quite far up from Bayview. The other sensor at Yellow Barge (Bayview) is out of order. Still, it looks promising.

If anything, at this point I just need to regain some balance, sail handling and conditioning before any gorge trip.

30knotwind · Joined: 30 Aug 2005 Posts: 239 Location: White Salmon, WA

Sailing the lagoon at 3-mile Canyon is what you need, MAP. 3+ hour drive from Spokane; beginner/intermediate in the lagoon; great swells outside and upwind; gorge wind; daylight sailing. Very Happy

schweitzer · Joined: 18 Jul 2000 Posts: 45

I live in Sandpoint, only 4 blocks from the launch at memorial field. I sail off the city beach. A Very nice park with lots of grass, lifegarded swimming areas and pleny of parking. for years my stuff was nearby in a locker at an operation called The Windbag. That conncession has been trashed by the city Rec. Dept. 'no longer exists. Typically the wind is best out of the SW when you sail across towards the east end of the railroad bridge (over a mile).
Sailing on Pend Oreille is good for BOARDSAILING,
lasers, Hobie Cats, and there is a lively racing fleet with many J24's.
Kiters will discover this place soon.

WINDSURFING gets good when the wind comes from the north down
60 miles of the Percell trench onto the north end of the lake.
This is off The City Beach also! 'ussually at 6 AM. (October) Pend Oreille is a beutifull, very deep lake. (1800ft!) crossed by hwy 95 on a 2 mile "Long Brige", east of the bridge is considered the "lake" 111 miles of shoreline there. West of the brige is considered "The River". the Abeini Falls Dam is 22 miles downsream and hold up the level of both, Thats another 44 miles of shoreline, some of it quite primative. There are lots of access points. Springy Point is a campground west on the south side of the river where you can camp and sail. With pleny of time and Gasolene you can be on the Long Bridge at 6 pm, head south and be at Roosevelt at midnight, ready to drive on or sail at dawn.

nwwindsurf · Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:11 am Post subject:

Just to beat this question to death... So is there no parking & launching from Memorial Park?

I've been in and around Sandpoint when it's blowing 15-25 SW and the river from Memorial to the long bridge looks really quite good. I thought maybe this section would be a little less contentious with fewer boats and flatter water?

Otherwise, City Park seemed a bit "touristy" - a lot more looky-loos and sketchy kids/ppl hanging around checking out parked cars. At least, that's the feeling we get... maybe it's never been a problem...

Overall, I'd like to figure out the local water scene and take advantage of it more frequently without resorting to only sailing on occasional long road trips. Of course, there's no wind here in the near future so the point is mute at the moment.