Utah Windriders Association

Looking for a change of pace and some nicer weather, i headed down to Sand Hollow on saturday. About a 4 hr drive if you're hauling @ss. Nice location, clean water, soft red sand and nice surrounding views. "primitive" camping right on the lake or sites with water/electric/showers 100 yds away. Water temp 73 degrees. Wind was forecast to come up to mid-high teens in the late afternoon/evening. Unfortunately, for the most part it was 10-12mph. Made a few downwind runs, when i was way downwind on maybe the 4th one, got 15 minutes of wind into the 20's as a small storm passed by to the west and was way overpowered on the 14m and big board. Used 10 minutes of that wind making my way back upwind to my gear and swapped out to the 10m (rigged and sitting on the beach) and a small board. That lasted for another 5 minutes before the wind gave up for good.

If you see a weekend forecast for sand hollow that looks plenty strong (i'd look for a minimum of 20 - its a long drive to get skunked), I highly recommend a trip down there - nice spot.

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?w0=t&w2=wc&w3=sfcwind&w3u=1&w4=sky&w5=pop&w6=rh&w7=thunder&w8=rain&w9=snow&w10=fzg&w11=sleet&AheadHour=48&FcstType=graphical&textField1=37.15700&textField2=-113.35560&site=all&unit=0&dd=0&bw=0&BackDay.x=41&BackDay.y=10

Watch for the post frontal north wind there or at Quail Creek. I've had some nice days at both reservoirs on a strong north.

Ben

Thanks for the link to the forecast in Sand Hallow. I highly recommend this location as well. The afternoon thermal wind is pretty consistent. Mid to upper teens is great for free ride and formula gears. The Zion NP is nearby. So, it is definitely a good place to go check out. If there is no wind, there is always the national parks.

Wow, that's a great weather link! I'm a regular at Sand Hollow, if all goes well I'm there 2-3 times per week since I am only an hour from being on the water. We're usually subject to afternoon winds right in the range of 10 to 15 kts with those occasional gusts like Jason was mentioning. Last night I was out on a 105 tlr board with a 5.7 sail with a few good runs followed by the never ending struggle to get back upwind. Yeah, I've still got to figure out some secrets to getting back to where I started on this board. In the mid summer, the 2 o'clock wind is very predictable although it's a good idea to bring a paddle to do some stand up exploring around the island in case it doesn't show up.

If you plan on being in the area, PM me. We set up right in the parking lot at the top of the hill from where you enter the park.

Vaughn

That link works for anywhere, just slot in the lat/long for the location into the address line. I've got it bookmarked for most spots around ut. I'll paste them into the weather link thread later.