Utah Lake becoming Hood River
Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 1:03 amEveryone,
Thanks for the replies to my last post. I would like to continue this discussion about Utah Lake and a Utah Windsurfing Culture in-depth.
To reply to Craig's comments about Utah Lake, I would like to say the following . . .
- It is my observation and experience that at least 5 out of every 6 days (95% of the time), Utah Lake is sailable (surfable, kiteable). I can't speak for kiting ratios because I'm not a kiter, but for windsurfing here's what I think . . . with a 7.5 sail and a 160-240 liter board, you can windsurf Utah Lake virtually any day of the week, and for sure at least 5 of every 6 days (even in the summer). With a 9.5 or 9.8 sail and the 160-240 liter boards, you can plane and rip most days of the week on Utah Lake. With a 100-145 liter board and a 4.5 to 6.5 sail, you have at least one really great wave sailing day per week when you are planing and ripping with this gear.
- Utah Lake is one of largest freshwater bodies in the country, and is subject to an echo effect with its waves. This means that the waves get huge because they reflect off the relatively shallow lake bed and magnify in size with each iteration. This is awesome news for windsurfers and kiters because it means monster swell for wave-riding and jumping (which rivals coastal locations and the Gorge).
- Today there are a lot of very high performance windsurfing boards in the high-volume 160 - 240 liter range. You can rip and jump on these boards. These boards also require very little wind and only need smaller sails to get them moving. And where is most of the money in windsurfing?? The same place it is in with skiing - in beginners and intermediates. Look at the bell curve. Most of us aren't going to become pro windsurfers or pro skiers. But most of us who try the sport of windsurfing are going to grow to love it and derive great joy from it that will enrich the quality of our lives. And most of us who try it and love it are likely going to stick with it as a lifelong sport. These 160-240 liter boards are very stable, high performance and durable - perfect for the majority of us who are beginners to intermediates and want a great lifelong sport that we can derive a lot of joy from. Not only are these boards great for starting out (because they are really stable and easy to ride), but windsurfers can keep them as they get better and progress since they are also high performance boards that can be jumped and jibed!
- Windsurfing is much cheaper and accessible than skiing, as well as other watersports. It is way cheaper than buying a car too! For $1500 you can get an awesome board/rig set. For $2000 you can get an even better board/rig set. You can't even come close to getting a car or jet-ski (not to mention a boat) at that price. You don't have to register or insure a windsurfer like you do a boat or jet-ski. You also don't have to buy lift-tickets when you go windsurfing. You don't have to wait until the season starts to go windsurfing, you can go anytime the ice has melted (which is mostly year round on Utah Lake). You don't ever have to deal with avalanches with windsurfing, and there are no fines for going out-of-bounds. In fact there are no boundaries at all. You'll spend a lot more money overall on skiing and lodging, than on windsurfing. Windsurfing is also a lot safer. When you fall, you only land in soft water. One windsurfer in Jaws, Maui said he loved it because he could come away from a horrific fall off of a monster wave, and get up and walk away unscathed. Ask a motocross biker or skier if they can say the same thing?? They can't!! Another good friend of mine in the Gorge is an operating room nurse. He says that he almost never sees a windsurfer of any sort in the hospital. But, he said he is constantly seeing many skiers and snowboarders from Mt.Hood who are getting hurt on the slopes!
- Finally, in my observation, at least one day a week there is a huge swell day at Utah Lake when low-volume boards and small sails can be used to ride Hawaii-Gorge like conditions, and at least once a month for sure there is this condition in the "golden-epic mecca" stage (and usually more than once a month).
- Next, wetsuits are cheap (really, they are not that expensive) and drysuits are also quite affordable ($300 or so). This makes Utah Lake accessible in the even greater condition seasons (February, March, April, October, November, December). Surfing in a dry or wetsuit is great! It brings Aruba and Carribean to the Rockies in December! Its really not that bad at all!
So, why am I mentioning this? Because I think that Utah Lake is primed and ready to become the next Hood River. I realize that economics may not justify a windsurfing shop there right now, but did the economics justify a shop in the dump-gangster days of Hood River? But, they built it and they came (see Field of Dreams the movie). But seriously, if it was built, people would inevitably come. If, on Center Street in Provo (near Utah Lake State Park), there were windsurfing schools, board repair shops, awesome local bands playing lake culture music, cool restaraunts, great windsurfing and kiting stores, rustic hotels and beautiful lodges with windsurfers and kitesurfers pictured on the stain glass windows, people would definitely come!! This would really clean up that lake. People wouldn't throw trash on the shores. The municipal government would build awesome sand beaches and grassy rigging areas. They would build spectator areas for the PWA (Professionaly Windsurfing Association) sponsored formula races and the inland wave/freestyle competitions. The local community would get caught up in the spirit of the sport, and the local economy would thrive! Maybe Josh Stone and Kevin Pritchard would even come to sign autographs for the young aspiring windsurfers!
You honestly don't have to go to blue-water destinations to find your windsurfing heart's desire. Remember what Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz "if you go looking for your heart's desire and look farther than your own backyard and don't find it, perhaps you never lost it to begin with." Dudes, its right here in our own backyard!
So, what are the next steps to make this happen? I know this dream can become a reality if the right things happen and the approach and methods are skillful and intelligent.
So what does everyone think? I would really love to hear a lot of responses to this post and gain some valuable insight from everyone. Hopefully everone's responses will generate the necessary enthusiasm to make this happen in the next few years!
Windsurfing Magazine coming to Utah was a start, now it is time to continue moving forward with this in a big way!!
Thanks,
- Arctic
Thanks for the replies to my last post. I would like to continue this discussion about Utah Lake and a Utah Windsurfing Culture in-depth.
To reply to Craig's comments about Utah Lake, I would like to say the following . . .
- It is my observation and experience that at least 5 out of every 6 days (95% of the time), Utah Lake is sailable (surfable, kiteable). I can't speak for kiting ratios because I'm not a kiter, but for windsurfing here's what I think . . . with a 7.5 sail and a 160-240 liter board, you can windsurf Utah Lake virtually any day of the week, and for sure at least 5 of every 6 days (even in the summer). With a 9.5 or 9.8 sail and the 160-240 liter boards, you can plane and rip most days of the week on Utah Lake. With a 100-145 liter board and a 4.5 to 6.5 sail, you have at least one really great wave sailing day per week when you are planing and ripping with this gear.
- Utah Lake is one of largest freshwater bodies in the country, and is subject to an echo effect with its waves. This means that the waves get huge because they reflect off the relatively shallow lake bed and magnify in size with each iteration. This is awesome news for windsurfers and kiters because it means monster swell for wave-riding and jumping (which rivals coastal locations and the Gorge).
- Today there are a lot of very high performance windsurfing boards in the high-volume 160 - 240 liter range. You can rip and jump on these boards. These boards also require very little wind and only need smaller sails to get them moving. And where is most of the money in windsurfing?? The same place it is in with skiing - in beginners and intermediates. Look at the bell curve. Most of us aren't going to become pro windsurfers or pro skiers. But most of us who try the sport of windsurfing are going to grow to love it and derive great joy from it that will enrich the quality of our lives. And most of us who try it and love it are likely going to stick with it as a lifelong sport. These 160-240 liter boards are very stable, high performance and durable - perfect for the majority of us who are beginners to intermediates and want a great lifelong sport that we can derive a lot of joy from. Not only are these boards great for starting out (because they are really stable and easy to ride), but windsurfers can keep them as they get better and progress since they are also high performance boards that can be jumped and jibed!
- Windsurfing is much cheaper and accessible than skiing, as well as other watersports. It is way cheaper than buying a car too! For $1500 you can get an awesome board/rig set. For $2000 you can get an even better board/rig set. You can't even come close to getting a car or jet-ski (not to mention a boat) at that price. You don't have to register or insure a windsurfer like you do a boat or jet-ski. You also don't have to buy lift-tickets when you go windsurfing. You don't have to wait until the season starts to go windsurfing, you can go anytime the ice has melted (which is mostly year round on Utah Lake). You don't ever have to deal with avalanches with windsurfing, and there are no fines for going out-of-bounds. In fact there are no boundaries at all. You'll spend a lot more money overall on skiing and lodging, than on windsurfing. Windsurfing is also a lot safer. When you fall, you only land in soft water. One windsurfer in Jaws, Maui said he loved it because he could come away from a horrific fall off of a monster wave, and get up and walk away unscathed. Ask a motocross biker or skier if they can say the same thing?? They can't!! Another good friend of mine in the Gorge is an operating room nurse. He says that he almost never sees a windsurfer of any sort in the hospital. But, he said he is constantly seeing many skiers and snowboarders from Mt.Hood who are getting hurt on the slopes!
- Finally, in my observation, at least one day a week there is a huge swell day at Utah Lake when low-volume boards and small sails can be used to ride Hawaii-Gorge like conditions, and at least once a month for sure there is this condition in the "golden-epic mecca" stage (and usually more than once a month).
- Next, wetsuits are cheap (really, they are not that expensive) and drysuits are also quite affordable ($300 or so). This makes Utah Lake accessible in the even greater condition seasons (February, March, April, October, November, December). Surfing in a dry or wetsuit is great! It brings Aruba and Carribean to the Rockies in December! Its really not that bad at all!
So, why am I mentioning this? Because I think that Utah Lake is primed and ready to become the next Hood River. I realize that economics may not justify a windsurfing shop there right now, but did the economics justify a shop in the dump-gangster days of Hood River? But, they built it and they came (see Field of Dreams the movie). But seriously, if it was built, people would inevitably come. If, on Center Street in Provo (near Utah Lake State Park), there were windsurfing schools, board repair shops, awesome local bands playing lake culture music, cool restaraunts, great windsurfing and kiting stores, rustic hotels and beautiful lodges with windsurfers and kitesurfers pictured on the stain glass windows, people would definitely come!! This would really clean up that lake. People wouldn't throw trash on the shores. The municipal government would build awesome sand beaches and grassy rigging areas. They would build spectator areas for the PWA (Professionaly Windsurfing Association) sponsored formula races and the inland wave/freestyle competitions. The local community would get caught up in the spirit of the sport, and the local economy would thrive! Maybe Josh Stone and Kevin Pritchard would even come to sign autographs for the young aspiring windsurfers!
You honestly don't have to go to blue-water destinations to find your windsurfing heart's desire. Remember what Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz "if you go looking for your heart's desire and look farther than your own backyard and don't find it, perhaps you never lost it to begin with." Dudes, its right here in our own backyard!
So, what are the next steps to make this happen? I know this dream can become a reality if the right things happen and the approach and methods are skillful and intelligent.
So what does everyone think? I would really love to hear a lot of responses to this post and gain some valuable insight from everyone. Hopefully everone's responses will generate the necessary enthusiasm to make this happen in the next few years!
Windsurfing Magazine coming to Utah was a start, now it is time to continue moving forward with this in a big way!!
Thanks,
- Arctic
