Lake Hopatcong

[Scott On Eagles Wings]

Fellow Lake Hopatcong sailers, they are pulling the plug on Tuesday, Yes this Tuesday. I knew it was a draw down year but September 2nd is nuts.

Spent the last two weeks on the coast of Maine admiring all the sailboats off of MDI and Acadia NP. The only thing that made it tolarable was the fact we would be comming home to the best sailing time of the year. WRONG. We have a wedding tommorow and Sunday afternoon and Monday to deal with the stink pots. Looks like we will be hauling on Tuesday. Sorry folks, just an unhappy soul today. I will get over it next spring.

 

[Ross]

Scott they can't pull the plug down here. ;D

Of course we do have some other problems. but none to regret.

 

[Scott]

Hi Scott!

You won't be missing anything today! I spoke with the folks at Lee's Park and they tell me that the plan is to start Tuesday by draining just a half inch per day. Beats me how they have that figured out. The lake is down about a foot now though because it has been pretty dry over the last month. I've seen you over at Windlass. Where do you pull your boat out from? You may have a little more time than you think.

We have to go over to Barnes to get lifted out and I am going to go over and talk to them this weekend just to make sure they will have room for us this early in the year. Usually they wait until virtually the last boat is out before they put ours on blocks. The upside of being out early will be the extra time to do some boat projects. Last year, I was in the water until Thanksgiving and there was snow on the decks before they pulled us out!

If you see us out on Monday, you'll have to wave ... we don't have VHF!

 

[Scott On Eagles Wings]

State Park

Scott I usually haul the boat at the state park. The ramp is step and I can easily get the boat on and off the trailer. The problem is a sand bar about 50' out. When the lake is too low I cannot get over the sand bar. I will have about 6" under the keel at the current level. Tuesday will have to be the day. The stress of figuring out how to haul it with the lake level dropping so rapidily will far outweigh the extra week or perhaps two we may be able to sail. I also have the wife and kids starting school this week and all the new year junk that goes along with that. We will look for you Monday.

Ross thanks for the perspective. A huricane hitting us up here in NJ over fifty miles inland with enough force to destroy our boats is a bit remote. Every area has its pros and cons. Be well all.

 

[oldiesrocker2001]

Only september?...

The last Time I was able to sail at Spruce run was 2 weeks ago. I was back there last week but cross breezes were about 22mph and I could see the color change in the water of the first 'large' sailing area, so by this week there should be an island the size of Australia in there-at least a 10ft drop in level. Since the dock had been pulled by the first week of august I had to literally stand neck deep in water to wrestle the stern of my modest 21 footer onto the trailer while all 4 van tires were on gravel in at least a foot of water! Anyone that already has a mooring at Hopatcong? I get different answers there every time I ask the caretakers at Lees specific questions(perhaps an Airecept prescription shortage?) about mooring there.
While signing up for the waiting list, I was originally only asking them about boat parking lot space(called "field and launch" there)but I was told that sailboats could ONLY get mooring - despite spotting a couple of sloops in the lot and at the docks. I know I'll need my own line; I also need to purchase my own mooring ball? Assuming I actually GET a mooring-the answer changes each time i ask-what date will I need it by? Any regulations about marking my own ball to make sure I get my own each time(they all look alike, but if I pay $$ for my own why should I use someone else's old one?)and maybe spot it easier at the end of the day? I should be interesting next year with any confirmation from Lees coming 2 weeks after the last spot at spruce run will be taken!

 

[Scott On Eagles Wings]

Slips at the Windless

The other Scott should be able to answer some of these questions. He keeps his boat at Lee's. I had put our name on the list three years ago but never heard from them again. I live in Sussex Co. and I think they through out our names.
There were five slips open at the Windless this year, absolutely unheard of. We are one of four sail boats at the Windless. It is a bit rough from boat wakes and particullarly winds from the NNW. But with snubbers and allot of fenders we have not had any problems. If you are looking to get on the lake let me know I will give you the owners name and phone number. Most of the marinas are on the far side of Brady's bridge thus severly limiting the amount of slips available to sail boats.

 

[Scott]

The shame of it is at Lee's ...

they keep the price low so there are too many people who pay for their mooring or slip and NEVER use their boat! It is frustrating and my wife and I have become more agitated recently when we can't find any space to pick-up and drop off passengers and equipment. The Lake Hopatcong Commission purchased a very expensive boat, supposedly for work or supervison, I suppose, but in the four years they have kept the boat at the end of the pier, it has NEVER been used! They bought this boat when they were flush with cash from a State grant, but now they don't have any money left and the boat sits there taking a beating at the end of the pier when the northwest wind blows and slams it against the concrete wall. I'm sure they don't pay for their space.

I hardly ever see any of the other sailboats being used, and a few of them, I have NEVER seen off their mooring. There have been one or two moorings vacant all summer, too. Keep trying, they seem a little dis-organized and it is difficult to get answers from them, but once you are in, they are basically a friendly and helpful group of people. I had the same frustration, though, when I was first inquiring. I don't understand the answer about the "field and launch". There are numerous sailboats in the lot as you noticed.

When I got in four years ago, I had to buy the mooring ball, the chain and the fittings. This year, they replaced my chain on them, which surprised me. You can take your mooring ball home with you at the end of the year if you like. I just write my name on ours and leave it with them to make sure it doesn't get separated from the block that I need to use. They provide the block.

Scott, I know the fellow who is rebuilding the pier on the other side of Windlass and I have been meaning to talk with him about building slips large enough to accomodate my boat. I am not sure if that is feasible and I think he has hit a regulatory snag during construction. He is the same fellow that built the Main Lake Market on Prospect Point and he owns the beautiful home that I am sure you have noticed just north of Windlass. He is also rebuilding the restaraunt just above Windlass. When he is finished, there will be a nice improvement to the area. I would like to keep my boat there since I live right up the road. I don't think that I could keep my boat at Windlass as it is now because the slips are too narrow and I feel like they are too flimsy to protect my boat in a blow (she weighs in at 5,500 pounds and I think the wave action could cause a total collapse if she was tied up there!), and you now how rough it can get at that location!

BTW, they were telling me this morning that they won't start lowering this week because we are already down a foot.

 

[Maine Sail]

Scott..

As you know the plug gets pulled up here twice per day and we lose 10+ feet, of course the faucet gets turned on twice per day too, and we gain back our 10+ feet!!!

Were you sailing off MDI?

 

[Scott On Eagles Wings]

A few wide ones

I was wondering what happened next door to us. They were going like gang busters and than just suddenly stopped. He did a nice job at prospect point, we have stopped there many times this summer for coffee and ice cream.

At the Windless he does have a few wide slips. Ours is 12' wide less the tires. I would not put our boat in anything less in that location due to the constant boat wakes. In addition we have some rediculously large fenders one snubber on each bow and stern line and two spring lines. I also added real deck cleats and through bolted them into the finger slips. It is quite safe from the boat wakes, but last year we got hit twice by other boats. One was a pontoon boat, never left his name and the second was a fellow slip holder, no insurance and would not make good on the repairs. This year has been uneventful thank goodness.

We are itching for larger waters, the only thing keeping us on the lake is the proximity to home and the fact we have two teenage drivers and a thrid on his way. We spent a week on the Hudson this year attending the O'day RonDayVou sailed from Jersey City to Chelsea NY and back and than through the V. Narrows across the Raritan bay to Sandy Hook, Lake Hopatcong hasent been the same.

One last question are the draw down years always this early?
Good talking with you Scott we will look for you on the lake tomorrow.

 

[Scott On Eagles Wings]

Not this Time

Mainesail we spent two weeks on the carriage roads and hiking trails on MDI. We were camping on the Eastern side of the Island; Seawall to be specific just above the Bass Harbor light. Our ultimate dream is to sail all around MDI, Frenchmen's Bay and Blue Hill Bay. I spent this trip taking bearings on land and finding my position on the chart as practice.

What's stopping us, well my inexperiance as a sailor and navigator etc. Our 23' is not made for those waters and I will not charter a boat untill I feel confident that I could navigate in the fog. This ends our fourth season sailing, have learned much, been scared a few times, but I have learned humility and tremendous respect for not sailing to certain places before my ability is up to the challanges that could be there.

One night we walked to the Pier in Bar Harbor; tied to the pier was one of the most beautiful sailboats I have ever seen a Hinkley of course, it just re-enforced the dream. Some day and it will be sooner not later.

Enjoy your wonderful state Mainesail and be well.

 

[sinnettc]

Sailing MDI

I think a 23 footer is fine for the waters around MDI - don't let all those Hinckley's Morris' and Friendship Sloops fool you. We lived in Bass Harbor, just around the corner and down the hill from Seawall, for 4 years and spent the first month or so living on Dad's old 24' Bristol in Southwest Harbor while my folks bought the house in Bass Harbor and made it habitable. We used to day sail around the Island and cruise up/down the coast every summer in that boat. Dad and a family friend sailed it up from New York to Southwest Harbor in early June 1973 - it definitely wasn't trailerable at 5-6000 lbs. He only upgraded to a 34' Pearson (I think) when they decided to do run to Florida every winter and back every spring.

If there's one great thing about sailing in Maine it's the 3000 miles or so of coastline squeezed into the 500 miles between New Hampshire and New Brunswick. If the weather comes up there's almost always a harbor you can pop into or an island to hide behind - maybe even an island with a protected harbor! The only problem we every really had was the fog. That was a pain until Dad got radar and GPS in 1999.

I only wish I had that kind of sailing here in Oregon. Once you cross the bar at the end of the jetty here you're out of luck if the weather comes up. It's a long way to the next harbor (actually river) and you probably can't cross the bar there either.

BTW, I feel your pain on the lake draw down. The Corps of Engineers was slow to fill this year and now we're less than a foot from having to pull the boat out of our little 3x7 mile lake (Fern Ridge Reservoir). Come October 1st you better be out as they pull the plug and you've got a big problem!

Chris - wishing I was sailing in Maine

 

[Lou 14643]

Agree with Sinnettc - a smaller boat is just fine

We vacation at Acadia about every other year (wife and I met in school at UM - Orono in 75). We generally camp at Blackwoods. We've occasionally rented a Rhodes 19 from a place called Mansell right in Hinckley's backyard. The Rhodes is plenty of boat for coasting around MDI and visiting the neighboring islands. A usual trip is to Great Cranberry Island for lunch in the chowder house there. Does not get much more beautiful than that area.

 

[Scott On Eagles Wings]

Thanks Lou and Chris

Thanks for the encouragement. The truth is as we were hiking around the island we were looking at many areas and saying you know we could safely sail here in our 23'er. And on the same token we were saying we could hide here if the weather was bad. Than we were out at Scodic Point on a beutiful clear and sunny day. Two sailboats were off shore about a mile or so and than suddely dissapeared. Well we knew what was comming. It could not have been ten minutes later the fog hit us on land and visibility was no more than 100 yards, brought us back to reality, we need more experiance before we will be sailing around MDI.
We do have GPS on our boat and have been forcing myself to learn it and use it even though we are on lake Hopatcong. I do not forsee installing radar unless the come up with a portable unit I could rent for the trip. Radar will be for the next boat. Next boat is after I get my three teenagers through school. Again Lou and Chris thanks for the encouragement and be well.

 

[sinnettc]

Cranberry Island

Lou,

How pathetic is it that in the 4 years we lived there I never set foot on any of the other islands, including the Cranberry's or Swan's Island? Went to school with kids from the islands, sailed by them, but we never visited any of them.

Chris

 

[sinnettc]

Sailing on MDI

Scott,

If you go back you should follow up on Lou's idea of renting from the Mansell folks. Might do that myself next time we're back there if Dad's sold his boat.

If nothing else a trip to the Mansell place will get you down by the Hinckley yard and you can drool a lot. I bet you can even afford one of the baseball caps in the company store. Hmmmm . . . swear I used to have one, I wonder where it went? Dad worked there winters for a few years as a finish carpenter after he retired from the USCG and went to wooden boat building school on the GI Bill. I'm pretty sure the old Bristol 24 has a Hinckley cabin sole he put together from leftover scraps. That's as close as we'll ever come to owning one.

Chris

 

[Scott On Eagles Wings]

Mansell

Chris we did see Mansell two years ago when we drove into Hinkley's Yard. We bought the Hinkley lid leashes for our hats. So we own two Hinkley's thank you; yea right! Hopefully next year we will be going back to MDI and we will look them up. Thanks for the tip.

Scott we hauled the boat yesterday at the state park. As of noon time they had not opened the dam. The web site still says they were on plan ( 5" over the next 13 days) despite the delay rumors. Enjoy what time you have left. In the meantime lets pray for a wet winter and spring so the lake recovers.

"On Eagles Wings" may be in the back yard but she is far from decomissioned for the season. We will try for a weekend trip before the season is out. Once the fall winds start there is no way we are going to avoid the pain of not sailing them.

 

[Lou 14643]

Island culture is very different

Chris,
Not pathetic at all. I'm sure you got to know MDI in ways that most of us would envy!
A short island story:
When I was in school in Orono (74-76) I was a member of the university flying club (was a new private pilot then - have since let it go "dormant" in favor of slower and less expensive pursuits). I spent lots of time hanging out at the Bangor airport. One day I offered help loading a plane with many bags of groceries that a fellow was transferring from his pickup to a small amphibian. Turns out he was a psychiatrist who ran a gestalt therapist who ran a retreat-type of "community" on Great Duck Island, several miles east of MDI. When I told him I was a pilot, he casually invited me to fly out to his island some time and visit. I told him I had the club plane reserved the next day, and would love to come. I went with a buddy and had an absolutely amzaing experience on this little, pristeen island. His patients lived in yurts and cabins, and he had sheep and one deer on the island. he told me that he had brought over a pair of deer, but that one swam away to "greener pastures." My understanding is that it has since been deeded to the Nature Conservancy. Coast Guard operates a lighthouse on one end of the Island.

 

[Maine Sail]

Scott..

You boat is more than adequate for gunkholing MDI and even the Stonington archipelago. Fog is fog whether on a big boat or small...

 

[Scott On Eagles Wings]

How do I best train for the fog

Mainesail I know that is a big question, but to you have a few bear minumum basics that one should know prior to venturing off with the fog as a possibility.

I have been learning GPS but do not fully trust it or my abilities on it. My friend and I lay out orineteering courses for our District Boy Scout events, so I am competant enough on using the compass, taking bearings and plotting our location and verifiying that with the GPS and the Charts. But that does us no good in the fog. Radar I have no experiance with nor can a see installing it on my 23'. Thanks