VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Harrison Lake is exceptionally clean and has very cold water, does not warm as much as Nitinat. The lake gets its wind by W-SW thermal effect in summer and when the desert like Canyon and Lilloet area heats up. In winter it has wicked NE very cold and at times violent outflows that leave Harrison Hot Springs sometimes sandblasted. There is (was?) a questionable telephone wind line which made Rivtow sailable when it read 11+ knots (meaning 15-25). It seems the winds have gotten very much less than in the "good ol days" and there are a lot of formula and kitesailors that now frequent the area. Over the years I have found there is no reliable forecast mechanism, it can be totally howling in Abbotsford or even Chilliwack and it's totally dead at the lake. Best to call into town to the coffee shops. Usually comes up late, around 2-4pm. The lake has two main locations for windsurfing/kiting but you can enter the water along the first portion of the road up to about 2km past RivTow. (Launching off the beach in town is difficult and gusty):

1) Riv Tow (old site is now gone) also known as Breakwater Beach (which has a boat launch as well) -
Conditions: Flat water to wind chop conditions, good day is 9m kite, 5.0m wind, average good day sail 6-7m, 12m kite best windline is at the breakwater and in front of hotel and Whippoorwill point, can be holey in between. Downwinders possible and desirable as chop builds down the lake toward the east side of the islands of Echo and two smaller ones. A downwind race "Bear Creek Blowout" is sometimes put on on a calm windless weekend in July, take a floaty board and/or a motorboat escort
Amenities: There is a portable outhouse, rock/gravel beach, gentle entry, amazing scenery, beautiful waters where if thirsty just plunk in and gulp!
Hazards: drunken boaters; only navigation hazard is sunken boak on lee of breakwater and potentially two pilings in the small bay in front of beach near the road, ~50m off shore, tho they likely have been cut; for kiting please note powerline along roadside and rip rap rock, launch toward water Warning to not get sucked into Harrison River by going too far west, you will have no wind and end up in Harrison Mills after a long drift with no road access.

2) Bear Creek campground - gorgeous spit at bottom of a hill visible well from above when descending logging road, signed as park. Used to be dug out to prevent vehicle access by psychos from Surrey but was restored to park, not sure of current status.
Conditions: Nitinat like but sometimes it doesn't blow through so if light at Rivtow forget Bear Creek, best times in June/July, usually a sail m less than Rivtow and can be awesome, Breckenridge Glacier visible from here.
Amenities: nice campground and scenery but none I am aware of.
Great sandy/pebble beach, fresh water right at beach from lake or Bearcreek
Hazards: only hazard are 7 miles of cliff well below the beach so if you get stuck with no wind u could be screwed for a long drift; mosquitos on non-windy days can be a drag unless right at the beach, usually none; odd bear; gun-toting idiots and drug dealers used to hang out and party there but this has likely been reduced by campground caretakers, if no caretakers, don't go on a weekend!! automatic weapons fire and threats once resulted in cops walking from the site on foot and their cruiser was rolled off the road down the cliff, this is Deliverance Country at times and angry husbands bury their ex-wifes out this way so don't stop and ask a guy what he is doing there with a shovel....

Getting there: Access to Harrison is by Hwy #1 or Hwy #7 (windy but pretty route through farm country) from Harrison Hot Springs. Riv Tow site can be seen on the uppermost right hand of the google map:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s ... 8&t=h&z=16

and is reached by driving due east, then along the lake Marina for about 1km.

Bear Creek is located following along the same road, past the Riv Tow site and about 20 minutes past end of pavement near the provincial campground turn offs for Hicks and Deer Lakes (total probably 25 minute drive on an at times super elevated logging access road). There are hot spring locations further down this road and you can drive through to Pemberton, Whistler or Lilloet if you are adventurous.

The Harrison Windsports Society maintains a very basic website.
http://www.harrisonwindsports.com/

Hi Kus,

Nice write up on my home beach....here are some additional comments:

Rivtow

I sail Harrison (at Rivtow per Kus's pics) about 20 days a year between May and August. The Breakwater Beach is about 25 minutes from my house in Chilliwack. Most days it is very very flat, with nice smooth corduroy wind rippled fresh water....so flat that you can sail big gear way overpowered and really rip (see pic below). The water is cool, you will need a decent shorty for sure but most wear long suits even in the summer. On weekends the boat traffic can be a bit ridiculous and that creates some chop. 15 of the 20 days I sail 7.5M or 6.5M on a 140L Freerace board. It can be a bit boring as it is so flat, but at least it is sailing. There are about 10 - 15 regulars who race each other back and forth. If it is windier then most sailors are on 100L - 115L boards and 5.5M - 6.0M rigs. I like to use a 113L board with a 5.8M at Harrison (when I could be on a 95L - 100L if I were at Nitinat) as there are holes in the wind in the middle, and the extra board volume makes it easy to get thru those holes.

The windline is still up, it will read 2 to 15, average of 7....which means it is blowing a steady 15.

iWindsurf also has a set up on the local marina which is the best forecaster of wind. I don't usually head out until the wind turns south in Chilliwack and the windline has an average of 7 or more.

Bear Creek

This is very very similar to Nitinat, except the Lake is much wider. When guys are on 6.5M - 7.0M at Rivtow, you would definitely be on 5.2M - 5.8M at Bear Creek. But best to sail with a buddy here as the lake is really wide and as Kus says there are cliffs right down to the water so you cannot walk back to the launch if things go wrong. I pack a rescue kayak out there when we go.

The redneck factor at Bear Creek is better now.....but I camped there once with my kids when they were 1 and 3 years old.....some drunks were racing their monster trucks around the campsite and almost went thru our tent in the night.

Harrison is where it all began for me to, Bear Creek can get some really big wind swell as well, seen some big ramps out there.