Sailing Lake Powell (Arizona & Utah)

[Baha]

I haven't been up the Thames yet. We had a big plan to take the mast off, motor up to Tower Bridge, and watch the New Year's Eve fireworks. It fell through due to lack of access to shore power (read heat) after the show.

I like the Norfolk coast. It is less crowded than the south. There is a river off the Solent that has more boats moored in it than are in all of Germany. I have now ventured out of the rivers and onto the coast, which is much more fun.

Btw, I cannot figure out how to post photos here....you seem to have the mojo...care to share?

[Tomfoolery]

Upload to www.tinypic.com. It returns four lines of url. Use the line with the "[img]"%20and%20"[/img]" at the ends - just copy the entire line. Paste it directly into your post (don't use the Img button at the top of the 'post a reply' window), and for best appearance, leave a blank line before and after the link.

Hit 'preview' and you should see your image. It will be small-ish, and will open to full size when clicked on.

There is no sign-up or account, so it's good for a quick picture post. You can use another hosting site, like photobucket (and many others), but I'm finding photobucket is getting really slooooow, so I've stopped using it for the most part. Plus, with it's 'albums', if I delete a photo, it'll disappear from all sites it was used on. Tinypic has no account, so once you get the url and use it, you can't even find it again unless you save the address, or bookmark it. But that's ok with me.

[Doug W]

Here is Episode 6 from our Lake Powell sail. I couldn't video during the heavy parts of the two storms. I was hiking when the storm blew in--much faster than I expected. Angie saw me coming down the sandstone cliff with an accelerated purpose-- so she secured the cockpit and put Pepsi below.

The boat was heeled over in the wind with the windward line (a new one) stretching. So there I was outside Galactica standing on a submerged sandstone outcrop on the lee side with the boat heeled over and I was shin deep in water holding the boat from hitting the sandstone!

This was my "Sumner Moment" on Lake Powell! (read his anchoring woes)

We had a half hour between storms so we added two more anchor lines with webbed tiedowns to boulders and rode out the second storm in comfort! Well, except for the electrical issues!!!

Hope you enjoy it!

Episode 6 'Something Wicked This Way Comes': https://youtu.be/T2JpSPsC8_Y

Doug & Angie
Galactica

[BOAT]

Hey Doug, would it do any good to put a mat or something under the boat when beached? Is there nothing to be done about all the sandstone beaching? Is it a given that we will bang up our fiberglass?

[Tomfoolery]

What made you (Sumner, too) choose Lake Powell in the first place? I'd like to drag the boat out west at some point, and was thinking Havasu, though the annual conventions seem to have ceased. Or maybe Lake Mead, since we know folks who live in the LV area.

[BOAT]

I have done Havasu and Mead and the river and lots of places many times over there and I can say that Powell is a lot better for boating - it's really spectacular - I will do it - I just can't decide if I am going to go it alone or not. I also am still studying the best time of year. It really does not get much better than Powell for desert lake boating.

[Tomfoolery]

Good to know. Thanks.

Looking at ActiveCaptain, there's not a lot of marinas there. I don't know if I'll be able to talk the admiral into beaching or sleeping on the hook, assuming there's even bottoms suitable for anchoring. She's a Waldorf-Astoria type person (used to stay there for business all the time, when banking industry bennies were running fast and deep), and Hilton Gardens to her is slumming it. Me? I'm OK with a plastic boat and a sleeping bag. Like a Mac.

[Sumner]

Powell is much more spectacular than Havasu or Lake Mead. Also it is only 90 miles from our house so the closest large lake.

Beaching on the sand isn't going to do damage to the bottom or at least it hasn't for me. Hasn't even wore the ablative bottom paint off. It seems that pretty quickly there is a little groove in the sand at the bow and the boat just sits in the water in the "V".

Only marina will be at Page or Bull Frog/Halls Crossing. There is Dangling Rope on the way to Rainbow Bridge (Arch) from Waheep at Page but you can't stay there. Only go in for supplies.

You want to beach if at all possible as often where you can anchor you will find shrub trees (Tamarask) under the water and you anchor line can wrap around it. I have anchored though and tied to rocks and beached.

Best months in my opinion or Sept/Oct when it isn't scorching hot and the water is still warm (Sept). Only problem is that by then you can possibly get hit with a front that can produce steady/gusting winds in the 40/50+ mph range. That won't happen in the summer months but still as Doug found out you can get fast moving thunder storms.


http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... r-Mia.html

High winds and lightning buy they don't usually last long.

You can also have a great trip where nothing bad happens but it is wilderness camping and no cell phone coverage for a lot of it if you get to the middle part of the lake,

Sumner

============================
1300 miles to the Bahamas and back -- 2015

The MacGregor 26-S

The Endeavour 37

Trips to Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[BOAT]

Yeah, my info is that a normal anchor type of thing is not really the way to go because the bottom is really deep and made of rock.

I think all the moorings that will be done will be on a beach using ropes to hold the boat in place. I need to get my mind around the whole thing and study mooring Technics where there is no sand. I do have some rock climbing equipment - maybe that might be something to consider.

What about going back inside the narrow canyons? Our boats should be perfect for that - do those places offer a secure place to do a "rock-side" mooring? (Are those places protected from the wind?)

I noticed Doug was only paddling his kayak down those narrow canyons in his movie but my dad actually pulled his Aquarius down a lot of those narrow canyons - but I think back in those old days there was more water:



Can we dive into these canyons to get protection from the storms? I think my mom and dad used to do it but they are not around anymore so I can't ask them.




Really sorry Tom, but Powell is not a place for those looking for the Waldorf Astoria - the amenities are more like this:

[Doug W]

Hey Doug, would it do any good to put a mat or something under the boat when beached? Is there nothing to be done about all the sandstone beaching? Is it a given that we will bang up our fiberglass?

In early August while we were there, the best sailing usually occurred after lunch; however, we resigned ourselves to begin seriously looking for a soft sandy beach between 1 and 2pm. We were always able to find a soft beach but it could be nerve wracking with sandstone on both sides of the boat. As long as you have plenty of lines to spread out your anchors and prevent the boat from moving side to side. You'll be good. There are a lot of videos on Lake Powell anchoring techniques. We watched a lot of them! We have a couple extra 100 and 125' lines, a small grapple hook anchor and I had four web strapped tie downs.

That said, I seriously considered bringing a small 3'x3' scrap of carpet to put under the boat but didn't in the end. Galactica's fiberglass/gelcoat survived with just a few minor scuffs. Even the gelcoat patch we had to do after hitting a submerged floating tree trunk at high speed in high water a few years back survived!

If you have a car mat or scrap of carpet and have a place to store/transport it, it would be prudent insurance. I would not want to beach directly on sandstone; however, if conditions warranted it, we were prepared to sacrifice the rugs in the cabin or even a cockpit cushion! Whew! didn't have to!

We were able to find sand at every stop--although a couple times, the sand was only a dozen feet wide or so. The one time I was worried about the sand was on Antelope island where we beached on sand for lunch, swim and explore time only to find out the sand was about 3" deep over sandstone! I got out and found deeper sand and walked the boat over to the deeper sand for our short stay.

Doug

[Doug W]

I noticed Doug was only paddling his kayak down those narrow canyons in his movie but my dad actually pulled his Aquarius down a lot of those narrow canyons - but I think back in those old days there was more water:
]

I actually took Galactica back several times into some deep narrow canyons. Episode 2 shows me coming out of one in Galactica. I have some footage from that which I will plan on doing a random montage video. I had misplaced some of the go-pro footage until after I rendered a few of the episodes. Highly organized I am.

That said, on the two deep, narrow canyons we took our boat in, I did kayak them first to see if there were places to turn around and depth to clear the boat with fins down for maneuverability.

Note, the wet bikes like to come in those canyons at very high speeds. I was kayaking through one with the dog and heard the wet bikes coming. I moved to the side, secured the oar under my leg and waited. They slowed down about fifty feet from us as they came around the corner but the wave action was committed and fierce. it was less than a dozen feet wide so I rode the wild waves out with my feet hooked to each other under the kayak, the oar under a leg, one hand bracing the rock wall and the other hand holding the dog to my chest (she always has a life jacket on). At least the lady on the fourth kayak mouthed 'sorry' as she passed us.

Doug

[BOAT]

Yeah, I guess that's my only real complaint about Powell - the power craft. That's the main reason I do not sail on lakes - I just don't like mixing sail boats and skiboat/jetski on the same body of water and I feel confined when I am on a lake - I don't feel free. It's just not my cup of tea.

Still, Lake Powell is worth the trip. It is by far the most spectacular desert lake sailing you will ever do anywhere in the world. It's something I will do.




But first I need to deal with these rocks that are under the surface of the water:




I see how my predecessors dealt with this and it looks like I need to get some skills:

[Tomfoolery]

But first I need to deal with these rocks that are under the surface of the water:




I see how my predecessors dealt with this and it looks like I need to get some skills:

I wonder if it would be possible (or desirable) to loop the anchor chain around a submerged rock and hook it back to itself for anchoring. Probably one of several anchor rodes, as a looped chain wouldn't be great if the boat is anchor sailing, working the zinc off the chain, and maybe working its way off the rock. But somehow intentionally catching an anchor behind or around a rock looks like a possibility.

But then, I've never done it, so maybe not such a hot idea.

But the scenery sure looks great. The kind of stuff a boat like the Macs were built for.

[Doug W]

This is it! The final episode from our Lake Powell adventure! Hope you enjoy it and it helps inspire others to take their Macs and explore this world!

Episode 7 - Dungeon & Wahweap: https://youtu.be/FglPEJryJ6s



Fair Winds everyone! Looking forward to the 2017 Season!

Doug & Angie
Galactica

[Loala]

Hey Doug, what model kayaks are you towing? They look like they don't fill with water and cause resistance or sink!