What is the worst Sailing State?

[shemandr]

Most of us think our state or local sailing area is tops. And I think we must have a member in just about every state. We can argue about what the best is but let's see if we can find a state where there is effectively no sailing. It could be because there isn't a suitable body of water. Or maybe no infrastructure for sailing. Or population with no interest in sailing. Or local waters are too choked up with pontoon boats and jet skis. Or the waters are not clean enough. Have any SBO posters ever lived somewhere that there was nowhere to sail? This has retirement/relocation implications.

 

[Jackdaw]

I hate to say it, but maybe Arkansas.

I’ve sailed there, on Lake DeGray for a season. Now the lake is actually amazing, and the marina is nice. But there is no facilities for sailboats. Any non-trailerable boat must be craned in. On the two lakes that can be sailed on, there are maybe 50 sailboats. Locals favor pontoons and bass boats. There are no places to buy sailboat hardware in the state. The nearest WM is in Dallas. The summer is hot and windless. The winter is cold and rainy. The shoulder seasons are when you can sail.

 

[Tally Ho]

My home state of Indiana is not known for great sailing, but we have 1 larger lake (Lake Monroe) central Indiana, and access to Lake Michigan (a very small sliver in Northwest Indiana -and my sailing grounds).

Unfortunately, Indiana is also known for its steel mills, which are located on the big lake so they can ship in ore.

So while I have access to one of our great natural resources, our view is often spoiled by industry...
My marina is in 2 of these images... but still thankful for a place to sail...

https://goo.gl/images/ZLUVwE
https://goo.gl/images/8inTmf
https://goo.gl/images/JKqtg7

Greg

 

[Terry Cox]

Pacific Northwest a terrible place to sail, so please do not come. For starters, it always rains, sun never shines, sailing wind forget it, friendly people nope, nothing to see. Just move on.

 

[DArcy]

My marina is in 2 of these images... but still thankful for a place to sail...

@Tally Ho what is the black sludge flowing out of the harbor? That doesn't look natural.

 

[Tally Ho]

@Tally Ho what is the black sludge flowing out of the harbor? That doesn't look natural.

I don’t know how old that photo is...my marina is in the lower right hand corner of the land that juts out into the lake. Fairly well protected from north winds down the lake. The ship harbor is Indiana Harbor. Big ore boats dock there. I can’t tell if that black stuff is smoke, or crud in the water. I will say the water is cleaner now than 20 years ago. But my boat is always covered with some silver ash from the blast furnaces. The map below shows more detail of my boat marina, the mill and the ship harbor.



Greg

 

[dlochner]

What's the worst sailing state? Hawai'i.

Yeah, it just sounds wrong, that's the reason why it is the worst. Hawai'i is blessed with warm weather, trade winds, and lots of water. What it doesn't have are good cruising grounds, protected bays, and easy sailing between islands.

Most harbors are roadsteads or commercial harbors. There are reefs blocking many of the "bays" which are really just broad indentations in the shore line. Wind and current rip between islands with big waves and high winds. Imagine a 20 knot trade wind being funneled between 2 13,000ft mountains and a 10,000 ft mountain, that's the channel between Maui and the Big Island. Even the short hop between Lahina and Lanai gets nasty every afternoon.

So, Hawai'i is the worst state, not because you can't sail there, it's the difference between the myths and reality that makes it the worst. No one seriously expects great sailing in Arkansas or Indiana, or Iowa, but people believe there is great sailing in Hawaii, and it just ain't so.

 

[shemandr]

This is the kind of input I was looking for. That was worth a like.

 

[PotomacDaysailer]

I would assume that a mountainous, inland state would have the fewest opportunities for sailing. Low population density (less exposure to imported sailors) and higher latitude (shorter season) could also be factors. I'm thinking Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas. But I don't know how many lakes they have and how big.
Of course, the worst sailing state(s) will get few or no mentions on a site called Sailboat Owners...

 

[MrEd]

Sorry you’ve never made it south to Patoka Lake. It’s only a tad smaller than Monroe and is pristine, deep, and has an active sailing club. As with beauty, it may all be in the eye of the beholder.

 

[LeslieTroyer]

The worst sailing state is either being in a state of disrepair with good sailing weather or a state of inebriation while boating.

Les

 

[shemandr]

I know from someone who sails there that Flathead Lake in Montana has active sailing fleets. North and South Dakota I'm less sure about but they have large reservoirs according to maps. Can anyone chime in from these places?

 

[justsomeguy]

@LeslieTroyer , was wonderin' when someone would take that tack.

 

[Waandderer]

I sail Texas, And I know it is by far not the worst, and that I shouldn't complain But I am going to anyway. We have miles and miles of coast with few destinations. the bays are shallow with uncountable spoilage areas full of rocks and shell, also shifting sand bars. A lot of the coast is covered with oil and chemical plants and there is oil industry infrastructure to deal with most everywhere you sail. unless your at south Padre the water is brown.
We are blessed with many Lakes with Marinas and good sailing communities, but unless your boat is trailer-able you are stuck sailing the same one, or paying a lot to move around anyway. I don't know about most of you , but for me it is about what is over the horizon and the trip getting there, back and forth across a lake doesn't cut it for long...
Ahaahhh, I feel better now! Cheap therapy...

 

[JimInPB]

When I lived in the Sonora desert in AZ, my sailing habit came to a complete standstill.
...but the hunting was surprisingly good.

 

[Will Gilmore]

I was going to put my vote in for Arizona. I have never tried to sail there, but have toured the state several times and I can't think of any large body of water that wasn't dried up due to drought. Drove up to a, supposedly big, reservoir to do some fishing and, standing on the top of the levy, we looked down into a broad valley with a small pond and a trickling stream surrounded by cows.

Hawaii may be tough sailing, but it has a strong sailing community and marine supplies.

- Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Kermit]

I would imagine every state has its worst spots for sailing. I’ve sailed an incredibly good sailing lake and an incredibly bad sailing lake in South Carolina. Neither really makes the state good or bad. It’s just the lake I happened to be on at the time. A coastal sailor friend of mine says all lakes are bad. A lake sailor friend who spent many years sailing San Francisco Bay says he’s happiest on Lake Murray here in SC. Every dawg to his on bone I suppose. (Or every frog to his own fly.)

 

[dlochner]

Perhaps a positive approach will be more fruitful, i.e., where are good sailing areas to spend one's retirement days?

Taking that approach, the south shore of Lake Ontario is worthy of consideration. The sailing is good and mostly free of annoying boat traffic. The Lake is deep and easy to navigate. The eastern end of the lake has good cruising grounds: the Thousand Islands, the Golden Crescent, the Kingston Ontario area. Dockage and winter storage is very affordable. The world is accessible through the Erie Canal or the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Upper Great Lakes are accessible. The cost of living is low. Retirement is income is treated favorably, with large exemptions.

The downside is the short sailing season.

 

[DougM]

Worst sailing state has to be New Mexico. There is supposedly an S2 7.9 fleet on Elephant Butte lake, but other than that its pretty dry.

 

[smokey73]

Any place you can sail is good sailing place. It is just a a matter of what you are sailing. I imagine one of those new Wasp's (sp) would be a blast to sail on just about a postage stamp if you could get some wind and there are no floating logs . A Hobie or Laser is fun to sail in a lot of different settings. Heck, even years back my little San Juan 21 could be sailed just about anywhere there was some water as long as there was some wind and was fun to sail.

Its all comparative. We moved from Tennessee so I could be closer to sailing grounds for a bigger boat. As for my boat, there are a lot of limitations where you can sail and I suppose that the sailing on Port Royal Sound is more limited than, say the Chesapeake of course. But still, I can be on the main sound in about 1 hour and to the ocean bouys in 2 hours if the wind is right. Its hot and humid in the summer but I can sail fairly comfortably in January on a particularly nice day. From my mooring it is only a "dream" away to just about anywhere if you have the time, and if you're trying get some where sailing fast, sailing isn't the mode I'd choose.

But then again "Beaufort SC is a terrible place". Don't move here!" Its laid back, no hustle and bustle and limited shopping for the wife. There is pluff mud to softly catch you if you decide to run aground. There's a laid back Yacht and Sailing Club,, (BYSC), a pretty active sailing fleet and those "dang young wippersnappers" from high school racing everywhere on their sailing regatta's. YUK! Stay where you are or I'm sure you can find a better place to relocate that Beaufort. Oh, by the way, it is a great place to stop and visit though on your way down the coast or along the ICW. Just watch out for the McTeer bridge that is well below 65 feet when the tide is above 5ft at the Beaufort Tide Station! If you don't and have a 65 foot mast you'll be giving my neighbor, the owner of the local boatworks some of your hard earned boat $.