guide to lake sailing

[jbrosecity]

Hi all... you would think in this day and age of EVERYTHING available online, that it would not be that hard to find some kind of guide to lake sailing. I found this sort of thing specific to the great lakes... and to a specific lake, like Lake Tahoe, for example, but have not come up with anything much more general. We are finally outfitted to travel the lower 48 towing our beloved Catalina 22 trailersailor in search of good sailing locales... we plan to spend the next few years at it. This is our rig:
http://www.TheAnneMarie.com/windseeker

I know the northwest US fairly well and so our first few seasons are blocked out but as we move around the country I would love to find some sort of guide which lists major lakes by state and their applicability for sailing. It is not that difficult to find a list of lakes for a particular state, but just try to figure out whether it is primarily a fishing lake or what.

I would think that one of the sailing magazines or organizations could put something together like this listing lakes by size and depth, including marinas offering moorage, launches, RV campgrounds, sailing associations and seasonal wind and weather conditions. Maybe I am dreaming, but it seems like it would a real boon to offer such a guide. I mean I would gladly pay $100 or more for such a comprehensive guide. I'm sure others would as well.

Does anyone know of anything like this or have any suggestions. I am tired of looking up local yacht clubs all over the US and sending "cold call" emails to their members asking these questions about a particular lake. Seems like someone out there could undertake such a project. Thanks for any input on this.

 

[Terry411]

just ask

when you are looking for a new area/state just ask. when you get to michigan there are many inland lakes to sail Gull,Higgins,Gun,Hardy pond,Torch and a bunch more. what are you looking for in a lake? Does it have to have a campground or can you stay on the boat a few days? you could spend a summer here and not hit them all.

 

[Terry411]

are you going all year or just trips?

 

[jbrosecity]

Yeah, thanks Terry - I'll make a note of those you mentioned for future reference... I guess I should have been more specific... none of my 'criteria' are written in stone, but factors like dependable winds, minimum size of say 7000 acres with reaches of a mile or more, and lakes accustomed to sailors which have well marked hazards, weekly moorage slips available, and definitely some campgrounds nearby accessible for larger motorhomes. It might be a great lake to sail but if if is 40 miles or more to the nearest RV parks, it would be crossed off our list, for sure. We could certainly stay on our boat for a few days in a pinch, but we are not really interesting in finding lakes "for a few days". We want places to stay 2-4 weeks at a crack, maybe even longer, and convenient for living in our 40' Motor Coach.

Some of the best places we have sailed are places like Fern Ridge Lake in Oregon which in summer is about 9000 acres with reaches of several miles, warm water, highly sailing oriented with pretty reliable winds that come up most afternoons. And campgrounds right at the water's edge with nice launches and reasonable cost short term moorage. The kind of guide I would love to see would be one that listed the basic specs like overall size and reach length, number of launches, marinas and RV parks - and then rated the wind at various times of year (along with attendant high/low temps) say on a scale of 1 -10 based on sailor input or some defined criteria. for example I found this website for South Carolina:
http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/waves-water/lakes.aspx

Seems to be almost utterly useless for sailors even though it specifically talks about "public access point for sailing, boating, fishing and other traditional recreation around a lake". Obviously there is often a HUGE difference in what makes a good lake for fishing in a little aluminum outboard fishing boat and what is prime for sailing. It seems to me that the sailing industry and all of the various sailing publications are totally 'missing the boat' (pun intended) if they do not provide this kind of information or at least link to it. Very possibly there is such a guide... I was just hoping to find someone on the forum who knows what/where it is.

 

[Terry411]

You can also day sail lake Michigan the harbor i'm in has a nice state campground on lake Macatawa. Nice sail down the coast to the next harbor of saugatuck about 6/7 miles. The next park north would be Muskegon I think you could go all the way around the Great lakes this way without having to sail very far. When you get up to Leland you could sail out to South Manitou island. Grand Travese Bay Could keep you busy sailing for weeks. As far as a guide the closest I can think of would be Delorme atlas & gazetteer for the state you are going to go. They have info on sites to see campground info boat launch info and more. We also go camping in a motorhome so we have been to many campgrounds that will work to sail from. Its a long way to come but I'm sure you will find it worth the trip.

 

[Sumner]

Here is a link to the western lakes we have sailed....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor-trips-1/macgregor-trips-1-index.html

We loved .....

.....Priest/Upper Priest and ....

..... Kootenay Lake.

Lake Powell....

...isn't a great 'pure sailing' like, but the scenery there is unbelievable.

Here are some links to more Idaho Lakes....

http://www.sailidaho.com/destinations.html

http://idahosailing.org/

I've seen reports on Yellowstone and Jackson Lake and other Wyoming Lakes, but can't find them. The same with Montana Lakes, especially Flathead Lake....google them and sailing.

Good luck and have fun,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

 

[Tom J]

You're wise to want some kind of guide to lakes before you sail them. Some of the lakes in New England have huge boulders that come within inches of the surface, right in the middle of the lake. Most lakes don't have nav aids of any kind. Have you located any Inland Waterway charts? Are they any help as far as lakes go?

 

[jbrosecity]

thanks to you guys for the comments so far. I have added McPhee Reservoir in Colorado and Kootenay Lake in B.C. to the list for future consideration. We are planning to go to Lake Okanagan as part of our summer itinerary for 2012. I have friends there and so we're planning to second a couple weeks there. I've been there before but never with the sailboat. It's a beautiful lake and Kelowna is a nice city. There are some decent RV options but the short term moorage options are pretty bad. Unless something good comes up we may only stay a week and skip the sailing. Pity, but it seems to be a particularly unfriendly place for itinerant boaters like us.

Also not sure how the winds are there... if anyone has any input let me know. I wrote the commodore of a yacht club there and he told me "Winds tend to be light except during storms when they can get quite high." and that "The winds are more consistent between Kelowna and Penticton in July and August than between Kelowna and Vernon." Light winds don't sound very inviting considering the exhorbitant moorage fees.

Kootenay Lake sounds more interesting. Birch Grove RV Park & Marina in Balfour sounds like a pretty nice option. I'll be checking that out, and perhaps making some reservations to try it out. Long and narrow but a mile wide making diagonal tacks should mean 2 mile reaches for the most part... maybe a lot longer if you can head up or down the long narrow lake. The Kelowna RV parks we are speaking with have very generous cancellation policies so if we get there and the wind is lame, we might just stay a short while and then head over to Kootenay Lake. Any more info from 'Sumner' or anyone else would be welcome.

After that we are thinking of heading down to Flathead Lake in Montana for at least a few weeks, wind and sailing dependent of course. Anyone who has sailed Flathead please feel free to chime in.

We haven't consulted any Inland Waterway charts. Generally we try to get input from sailors before we go to a place... local yacht clubs are a good source. But that's why I would love to see someone or some outfit put together a real guide to lake sailing around the states. We will look at charts when we get there of course... and I'm planning to buy a chartplotter for the Anne Marie. I wouldn't even consider travelling in our RV without a GPS nowdays (a truck and RV Garmin by the way) and I think a chartplotter for new lakes would be well worth the investment... especially huge long lakes like Kootenay.

We are confining ourselves to the Northwest for next summer but in 2013 after the holidays we plan to head south, sail some of the numerous great options in Texas til the weather warms a bit then head north. Definitely plan to sail the mighty Texoma as we leave Texas and then maybe head north to the midwest, eventually heading out to the St Lawrence Seaway, Lake George in NY, the Chesapeake, south for the winter and Florida options, then back up to Tellico in Tennessee, Lake of the Ozarks and some other Missouri options. This will take us into 2015 I think. Life on the road for a few years and a whole lotta sailing the photo below is from our windseeker website and taken in front of My Shasta this fall
　
　
　
　

 

[Terry411]

You can get charts for inland lakes I have a few books that cover different areas of the state. They are geared toward fishing but show depth and other stuff you can find them at the big chain outdoor sport shops Gander,Dicks,Bass Pro. I have seen them in many states you could order online from them before you go to help plan your next trip. I also have single lake charts some are cheap copys campgrounds sell for a buck,others are original full size from DNR . I used to fish alot on inland lakes and could find charts for the bigger lakes fairly easy.

 

[Jackdaw]

Interesting idea.

But as a start, I'd get the Navionics app for your smartphone or iPad. That have marine cartography for hundreds (thousands?) of inland lakes. Most other apps rely on NOAA maps, which do not cover inland waters. Example:

 

[jbrosecity]

Hi Jack... thanks for the idea but we don't have a smartphone, and if I did I certainly couldn't read the charts without some sort of giant magnifier. No ipad either and no plan to buy one. Just laptops which we live by. But I do plan to get a Raymarine chartplotter to mount on the cockpit bulkhead and then install Navionics charts. Not cheap, but a lot cheaper than a big hole in the hull and a ruined trip. And much easier than trying to procure physical charts for every lake we stumble on to. Since this is going to be a full time venture, the cost will easily amortize over time.

 

[Stu Jackson]

jbr, you keep flogging the lack of a book that suits your "vacation criteria". It seems what you're looking for is a book called "Great Lakes to Sail On" and with that title it would be very, very misleading, right?

So, let's call it: "Perfect Sailing Lakes for a 22 or 23 foot Trailerable Sailboat Where We Can Also Park Our RV 40 Foot Motorhome for Extended Periods."

Seems like that would be a hard book to write, unless you did it as as you traveled.

But I think there would be limited readership and market, 'cuz while there are many folks who do what you're planning, in the larger scheme of things, there just aren't that many.

There are many lakes that are fine for daysailors and could be described as "sailing lakes" but that may not fit your criteria for size, and length. Many lakes in California that are good for sailing are in the Sierra Nevada foothills at elevations you may not want to try getting your rig to. IIRC, the C22s used to and may still hold their Nationals on Huntington Lake. We looked at it years ago and chose Clear Lake because of the H Lake's elevation.

A great sailing lake in California is Clear Lake. It's huge and fun to sail, with reliable winds daily during the summer due to the proximity to the Coast Range and an unusual gap therein allowing sea breezes to make for great afternoon sails: the wind pipes up at 1200 to 1300 daily during the summer. And there is a marina at the north end of the lake in a town called Nice (as in France). Don't know where you could keep your rig though. We sailed our C22 up there for years during the summer. You can't stay on your boat in the marina overnight. So we learned to anchor out - some very nice anchorages on the lake, 'cuz the wind dies at night, every night, no storm fronts coming through for making wind.

That's another consideration: wind is caused by weather fronts or local conditions, like California's coastal range. So some lakes may be great in different seasons. Too many variables. Only consistent thing would be if there are no sailboats on a lake...

You could also sail the California Delta (Google it). Lots of places.

Good luck, and have a wonderful trip. That is a very NIFTY rig you have. Sweet.

PS - I'm not quite sure you "got the message" on charts for lakes. As I understand it, most "big name" chartplotters don't have good inland lake information, and the app mentioned has a lot more detail, so I hope you check it out for appropriate charts before you make a big $ purchase, or decide that the investment isn't worth it because of the lack of charts availability for what you are intending to do. For example, there were not charts for Clear Lake back in the days I sailed there except for one that someone made and got distributed hand-to-hand for those who cared. Turned out it wasn't necessary, 'cuz everything's deep, no channels, nothing fancy. A depthsounder or fishfinder is more important.

 

[Jackdaw]

Hi Jack... thanks for the idea but we don't have a smartphone, and if I did I certainly couldn't read the charts without some sort of giant magnifier. No ipad either and no plan to buy one. Just laptops which we live by. But I do plan to get a Raymarine chartplotter to mount on the cockpit bulkhead and then install Navionics charts. Not cheap, but a lot cheaper than a big hole in the hull and a ruined trip. And much easier than trying to procure physical charts for every lake we stumble on to. Since this is going to be a full time venture, the cost will easily amortize over time.

They also have a version of the app for PC and Macs, HiRez viewing just no GPS positioning. But you can browse the map. And depending on the version of your Raymarine, you can copy routes from PC to plotter. The app is a bit hard to find; you have to download the Navionics Store app first. I have it and its a great reference tool. I think 20 bucks??

 

[Tom J]

That is indeed, a very neat rig you have there. The best of both worlds. Fantastic way to see this great country of ours. We use our 19' Roadtrek RV when we have to navigate on land. Great for parking at my kid's houses when we visit. Otherwise, we live aboard our 31' Catalina in the summer. Kind of the reverse of the way you are doing it. As they say, the journey is the thing, so enjoy and be safe.

 

[Andy1237]

You might try Active Captain:
https://activecaptain.com/
I would search the internet for local yacht clubs and get first hand info. I love your mission. I hope you make it to Arkansas where there are several large lakes to sail-Beaver Lake, Greers Ferry Lake, Ouachita, and DeGray would all be nice. Maybe even Table Rock (Mo) and Grand Lake (Ok) too.

 

[Freedom77]

Contact National Park Service, Park services for each state, etc. Fair winds and full sails...

 

[Sumner]

....Kootenay Lake sounds more interesting. Birch Grove RV Park & Marina in Balfour sounds like a pretty nice option. I'll be checking that out, and perhaps making some reservations to try it out. Long and narrow but a mile wide making diagonal tacks should mean 2 mile reaches for the most part... maybe a lot longer if you can head up or down the long narrow lake. ....　

Great rig, but after seeing it I wonder if going to Kootenay is good or not. The roads over there are pretty narrow and twisty and the stretch of Highway 3 going on east of Nelson is the highest pass on 3 in Canada. Also I'd check on the spaces at that trailer park to see if you would fit there. It think it is one that we checked out as a possible place to launch.

Another possibility is use the ramp where we did at the park and stay there with the RV and see if you can get a slip at the marina that is right next to the park. It is a short walk from the ramp to the marina, but further to the campgrounds. The park is very nice. Also we anchored (details in the trip report) very close to the ramp some nights. If you have a dinghy you might be able to leave the boat there on an anchor and come and go. The only thing I would worry about that and not staying with the boat is that they can have some big wind there and if the anchor drug you would have a mess or worst.

If you do go there and then head on east go down the arm of the lake and see about taking the ferry over to the other side. They are free we found out and they haul semi's. They....

...are big. If you do that then you avoid the mountain pass east of Nelson on 3, but we didn't go that way so don't know what the road is like south down the east side of Kootenay towards Idaho and back to 3.

Lake Powell up at Bull Frog/Halls crossing is quite large there and there might be to possibility of slips and staying in the motorhome there. A phone call to the park service would let you know. The same down at Wahweap, but I'd rather be up at Bull Frog/Halls as the lake is large there and then you could go up or down the lake in the canyons.

I don't think there is enough to McPhee in Colo. to make the trip there.

I would think that some ramps are out of the question as it would be hard for you to back down to them if turns are involved with your overall length. Of course most ramps also have people with pickups at them that might help out.

Good luck and be sure and write your trip up,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

 

[Ray Bowles]

jb, Take a look at Lake Roosevelt behind Grand Coulee Dam. 135 miles long with 3 other rivers running into it and vertually no current. Park Service land borders most of the shoreline and you can beach or anchor anywhere. Very little use for its size and stunning landscape on all of it.
Ray

 

[shanker]

I purchased my boat in Boise Idaho and on the trip back to Canada I stopped at Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho. Fantastic week. reliable weather, beautiful scenery and man is that lake deep. I would highly recomend it. Beautiful campground in the south corner that was extreemly affordable. Left my truck and trailer parked there all week and it is patrolled each night and day. Your rig would fit and easily dock and retrieve your boat. Lots of info on the net. If you want some more specifics let me know. I'm considering Lake Kootenay for next summers trip but I'm seriuosly thinking of going back to Lake Pend Oreille. South end has better winds and generally more quiet as traffic goes. Sandpoint area is VERY touristy and busy (NW). lots of marinas, retaurants etc...

 

[capshroud]

If you make it to the Midwest, there are two nice sailing lakes in northeast Kansas. Clinton Lake is close to Lawrence, home of the University of Kansas. It's about 7000 acres and has campgrounds and a marina. Perry Lake is in the same general part of the state. It's 12,500 acres with two Marinas and a yacht club as well as camping.

We tend to have good winds except late summer can go light. Windy days can be 25 knots or more, so you need to know how to reef when needed. I keep my boat at Perry Marina.

Jeff
Con Brio, C36