Potholes Reservoir in N/NE winds?

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

Potholes blew hard for a while Friday from the NE and is forecast to repeat today. With its three-mile fetch, the SW side may get some swell. Has anyone sailed off that beach near the main south end marina in those conditions? Is there a better launch site for N-NE winds? Is there swell or just flat water? Or is it nothing but a powerboat madhouse like so many lakes on Memorial Day?

Mike \m/

jota · Joined: 28 Feb 2001 Posts: 205

Ok, I'll bite: what the hell is potholes?

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

Am I the only one here with Google and Google Earth? Wink

"The biggest swell this side of the Gorge", according to eastern WA expert "Rocky", aka crazyboardhead at
http://home.earthlink.net/~crzybdhd/wind/wa-sites/beebee.html
Right off I-90 1.5 hours W of Spokane and an hour N of TriCities, it's a good sized lake with reaches 5-10 times the reaches available in the central or near-eastern Gorge. The Columbia is a joke in N winds, but if they hit Potholes, they blast down or diagonally across the lake towards the State Park and public beaches. It's probably even better in W to NW winds, since the eastern shore is also user-friendly. The problem with SW winds is a ridge that blocks the wind.

Rocky also describes a mini-Gorge on the Columbia north of I-90, where wind and current meet head-on to produce good swell. And, of course, Vantage, where I-90 crosses the Columbia, blows possibly stronger and more often than the Hatchery in the summer, the river there is very big and broad, and launches are plentiful. The problem is the chop; it makes Celilo seem like ice skating right behind a Zamboni. Southerly winds fix that problem in the fall.

Mike \m/

PennyB · Joined: 26 Aug 2006 Posts: 49

The Columbia @ Vantage and Potholes are close to the family homestead, and a nicer drive from Seattle than the slog on I-5 S. I would love to hear from anyone who sails there on any regular basis, in any season. I could not access the link to "crazyboardhead" although I think I have seen it in the past.
Penny

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

PennyB · Joined: 26 Aug 2006 Posts: 49

OK, I can see that the launch loks to be about 10 minutes from the state park, and about an hour from Vantage (not 10 minutes from Vantage). Not so handy to Seattle, but interesting anyway.
Penny

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

Yes ... Rocky must have a much faster car than I do. It looks like 50-60 miles from Vantage. But in N winds, it beats most other options I'm aware of on or east of the Columbia.

Mike \m/