MacGregorSailors.com

200 days a year is doable,

with a full enclosure, saltwater or fresh moorage radar, and nearby poker games......

But....... you will learn to enjoy Green/grey water............

but you will be wet 60 of those 200 days...... (we don't count that mist and fog stuff)

Come to the pacific northwest......... bring your sponges .......

I'm not a good enough sailor to come to the northwest - - - and the poker games aren't quite big enough. Besides, I hate rain AND I'd be too close to my brother in Portland. Thanks anyway.

And if I did come to the Northwest, I'd probably buy one of them there 43' Beneteaus or 44' Catalinas.

Rick

Hi Rick,
Welcome back. See you in Lake Mead one day.
Mike Inmon

About Tahoe...from close up. I don't consider Tahoe to be a year-round good sail. Past few seasons, many of the ramps are marginal due to low water. Also, many folks pull their boats in Nov-Mar or Apr....e.g. Camp Richardson (USFS leased mooring )requires all boats on mooring to be removed during this period. Snow limits access for winter day sails launches. Some folks in year-round slips do enjoy more sailing....but serious big $$$ Day sail launches are a problem from public docks mid summer due to tourists and heavy use by locals....got to get out early. Spring and Fall are my favorites. Damn beautiful place, but, I park the Mac, do mods, and dig out the snowshoes, Xcountry, and downhill ski gear in the winter. ot sure there are many perfect places...we like the four seasons. Tahoe Jack

Sorry i did not see your post sooner. Wellcome to Las Vegas. I am no expert on sailing and all i have learned has been trial and many a error. But i believe Lake Mead is one of the best places to learn to sail. With constantly shifting winds,eratice HIGH wind gusts,powerboaters ,seaplanes,jetskis, showgirls and yaahoos if you can calmly negotiate this place you can sail anywhere.(Allways one hand on tiller one hand on mainsheet) I would suggest comming by lake mead marina(Hemmingway Harbor) as that is where most of the sail fleet is.I have a 1988 26-D slipped here since October and everyone has been nothing but nice to me.They have 2 sail clubs that i know of and i have had the opertunaty to crew on a j-24 two sperate race's just by showing up at the pre-race meeting and looking ????Anyway this is the best time of year to sail Lake Mead.Come July and August trailor down to San Diego,New Port, Catalina ect ect You can allways trailor to San Felipe again when you crave a fish taco.. Mac 26-D "FEMME FATALE" hope to see you on the water

Epennewell;

I am famaliar with Mead as I spent a week here with my M in 2006 for Mead Madness. Unfortunately, I am not very enamored with Mead and it's problems. It's a great lake to cruise because of it's size, but I have a problem with the distance between the entrance and the Marinas. I would prefer Calville, but it is 15 miles from the entrance.

Rick

I seriously doubt that anyplace offers great sailing conditions on a year round basis. Birds migrate so they can have it best in both summer and winter, and Macs get put on trailers for the same reason. Sorry your experience at San Felipe was less than ideal. From what we learned, most cruisers on the Sea of Cortez hang out south of the Midriff Islands, where tides, winds and currents are more moderate. Most popular cruising season is from November until May. South end of the Sea is to be avoided during the rest of the year because of extreme heat and hurricane threat. Cruisers who stay on the Sea through the summer head north, and seem to favor Bahia Los Angeles as their summer anchorage. They report getting a temperature moderating breeze coming over from the Pacific side there, due to the low topography on that part of Baja. I would really recommend that you check out San Carlos on the mainland side, as a point of access to the Sea. It's a fairly easy 6 hour drive south of the border, and the facilities at San Carlos are excellent. They're very friendly and helpful toward Americans there. It's a fine jump off place for some excellent gunkholing to the north on the mainland side, and the crossing over to Baja side is very doable, with the right weather. As far as quality cruising options in the Las Vegas area, it's a bit of a drive, but I'd recommend checking out Lake Powell. The sailing isn't great, because of all the narrow canyons, but the scenery is spectacular.

Amen Chinook re Lake Powell.....ideal time to visit is fall....did a couple weeks there Sep-Oct a few years ago...after kids-families are back to school...and before winter weather. We just took the jib and used it rarely. Anchorage along our 200 plus mile trip are tricky. The main channel is about 300 feet deep and there is a gentle current. You need to find a side canyon to get the hook down. Fishing-hiking-scenery are great. Take a kayak too. We used the Reservation owned launch near Page AZ.
Re my previous comments on Tahoe...annual slip at a popular marina on south shore...$5620 per year...or $520/mo for summer season, and vacancy is hard to find. So that will buy a bit of gas and rigging hassle. Thanks for the Cortez insight. Anyone missing your trip log should seek it out...great read and informative. Jack

/Heck..I just get down here and Rick leaves....damn didn't even get to buy him a drink!


Rich

You're right, Jack, about the anchoring on Lake Powell being tricky. I can remember only anchoring in the traditional fashion, swinging on a set anchor, once. That was in a broad, sheltered bay that had a good silty sand bottom. Most of the time we dropped a stern anchor near an attractive beach and then set a pair of lines ashore, one to each side. Sometimes we could tie off on a rock or vegetation. Other times we had to bury an anchor in the sand. This is how the houseboats on Lake Powell tend to moor. We were there in April, which is also a very nice time to visit. We launched at the downlake ramp in the NRA, near Page. When we were there, the lake was down about 130 feet. I'd never before launched on a ramp that extended a half mile just to reach the water. I understand that the has lake come up quite a bit in the last year or two. That's a good thing.

richandlori wrote:/Heck..I just get down here and Rick leaves....damn didn't even get to buy him a drink!


Rich

Next time, Rich, - - - or - - - if you ever get to Vegas - - -

Rick

Ahoy Rick and welcome back.
Pencil in your calendar for Mead Madness 09 March 27-Apr3. Again we will be assembling at Callville Bay Marina. Some of the Los Angeles sailors come in on Thursday March 26 to avoid the LA to LV traffic on Friday. Saturday March 28 is the 11th Annual Las Vegas Bay Macgregor Founders' Day Cup Race open to all sailboats and skipper experience. We get underway for the Eastern Basins on Sunday AM March 29. If weather and wind cooperates, will try the "Sailing Rally" again between Navigation buoys/markers along the transit route. Usually beach the boats overnight at Middle Point (junction of Virgin Basin and Overton Arm) on Sunday. Will be monitoring VHF Channel 68 on the hour for fleet location information.

Water level up 7 feet from lowest point in October when at 1104 feet Above Sea Level (ASL) (now 1111 feet ASL). Still down from the datum mark of the 1210 feet ASL of the FISH•n•MAP CO chart. Recommend all to use the 90 foot contour as best approximation of shoreline on this chart. Hopefully we get some run off of the snow pack from our side of the Rocky Mountains.

Largest infestation of invading mussels is recorded in the Boulder Basin. They attach themselves to stationary objects (moored boats, docks and pipe inlets) and usually require some week to two week exposure to be affected. We don't plan to be in any one place long enough, especially in the power boat maze of Boulder Basin, to have a problem. A week on a trailer at the RV storage location in the desert sun kills them. I also drop a couple of KCl (water softener) pellets in the breather hole of the ballast tank just for good measure and tilt up my O/B at night.

Hope to see you there. Can't promise any poker games, but "Dakman" usually brings his guitar and sings sea chanties and pirate songs . I usually help out Shelly Corthell with her "famous" TURN AROUND PARTY (wine and cheese party mid way through the week before heading back to Callville Bay)