Bear lake: wind predictor and best launching?

[marcoarici]

Hello, I would like to try to kitesurf in Bear Lake but could not find much information about it.

I have been monitoring the NWS Forecast selecting the middle of the lake:
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.ph ... it=0&lg=en
It looks like in the afternoon the wind its often NE, which would make the Idaho east shore the best bet. Does anyone know of a better predictor?
Can anyone confirm my theory and/or recommend a launching site?

Thank you Marco

[trevmorrell]

Hey Marco, I actually lived in Bear Lake for quite a few years and from my experiences there, the three places I always try to ride are North Beach, Ideal Beach RV Park, and the Garden City Beach. On the east side the wind doesn't seem very steady at all, plus the lake gets really deep really fast on that side. The main factor I have noticed with the wind in Bear Lake is if it is blowing directly west or east then the wind usually either has huge holes in it or changes direction/speed very rapidly. Best bet is try to ride the north you were talking about. Good luck.
Trevor

[Jason Klein]

If the wind is NE, it would be side-off on the idaho eastern shore. That'd pretty much be the worst situation for you if something goes wrong - you'd drift a long way before hitting land again. Western shore in UT would be your best bet on NE wind. that way the wind will have come all the way down and across the lake, so it should be smoother, and if you have an equipment issue, you'll get blown back into shore pretty quickly.

[marcoarici]

Jason is absolutely right. For everyone reading this post: if the wind comes from the NE, please do not launch from the NE shore.
Sorry guys, I did get confused and typed NE when I meant SW. However, the stronger winds are indeed from NE and the west UT side would be best for that. Thank you all for your input. Marco