Sailing Lake Powell (Arizona & Utah)

[Doug W]

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

Loala, The Blueberry is a Walmart Lifetime 'Lotus' 8' sit on top kayak which we bought online and had delivered to a local Walmart. It holds my weight.
Last year, we added Melon (teal one) which is a Sam's Club Lifetime 'Hydro' 8.5' sit on top kayak. It's bigger than the blueberry but holds less weight by 25lbs.

Both are Lifetime brand kayaks.

They tow really well and don't sink. Over the course of a two week vacation, they may take on a 1/2 to 1 gallon of water but are easily drained.

The do act as sea anchors. I seem to loose about 1 to 1.5 mph speed under sail depending on conditions. The bigger loss is under power. Without them, even with Galactica fully provisioned (which she typically is) I normally can cruise W.O.T around 19 mph with full ballast. It's closer to 15.5 W.O.T towing the kayaks.

They are easy enough to tow or lift onto the foredeck. You get good at even shortening the lines so that you can maneuver marinas, slips and fuel docks with them in tow.

Doug

[NiceAft]

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

I asked Sumner if he minded if I try to capture his lightning photograph in a watercolor. He was nice, and said yes. Each time I thought I was finished, I sent an image to him, and then made more corrections Well now I think I am done. This one was tough. I don't know if I really did it justice.

The photograph does not show shades of grey. Thus the whites are pure, instead of muted. The lightning bolt is that bright a white though. At least something reproduced correctly.

Ray

[Jimmyt]

Very impressive. Looks great Ray!

[Newell]

4 Macs at last count will be sailing the lower Powell area together and apart beginning 9/10/17. Boats are from CA, ID, UT and members of the VYC of SD. Join us if you can or or just hail us on CH 68.

[Sumner]

Dottie and I hope to put in at Halls Crossing/Bull Frog, Lake Powell, on maybe the 23rd of Sept. for 10-14 days to try and finish my sailing the length of Lake Powell deal. Sailing only for each of the remainder of the legs to Hite like Ruth and I did from Page to Halls Crossing.

Some things depend on Irma though. Right now the projected storm path is only 6 miles east of the yard and the hurricane should be there in a couple hours. The path over the last 12 hours has been right over the yard to a few miles to the west of it and now a few miles to the east of it.

3 of our friends that are at the yard were planning on weathering the storm at the yard in their boats as of last night, even though the yard is in an area of mandatory evacuations. I'm not thinking it is a good move on their part with 5-10 feet storm surges projected even though the yard is 4 miles miles from the gulf or from Charlotte Harbor. The yard is only 7 feet above sea level. Our potential problems though are small, compared to those that live in the area and those that have already had to live through Irma,

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