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FOLSOM LAKE CRUISE REPORT

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lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/01/2006 : 20:33:13

Catalina 22 Fleet 4's annual New Members/Past Captains Cruise 2006 was an unqualified success. We had almost perfect weather the entire weekend; bright sunny days in the low 80's and quite warm nights, with the low only about 68ï¿½F. In fact it was almost TOO perfect - the warmth and sunshine were a welcome relief from the last few months of unrelenting rain, but there was almost no wind. We were able to find a little breeze in South Fork on Sunday morning, allowing us to sail for an hour or so from New York Cove to the South Fork entrance, but out on the main lake it was dead calm. Saturday was similar: Folsom Lake Yacht Club had a race Saturday morning, and I noticed the Banshee's and Santana 20's were getting a little northwest wind on the Racing circle, but by the time I got away from the dock at 13:00, the breeze was dying down and I was only able to sail for about an hour - maybe halfway across the lake at 2.5 knots - before it was flat calm.

The cruise got underway with the 10:00am Skipper's Meeting attended by the crews of Slow Dancer (Catalina 25WK/SR/I-diesel #5832), Faux Play (Catalina 250WK/TR #256), and Quiet Time (Catalina 25WK/TR #5857). Slow Dancer and Quiet Time were both in need of some set-up work, to get sails out of winter storage and rigged up, so the "start" of the cruise was delayed until later in the day, with the raft-up scheduled for 17:00. The raft-up got underway a little earlier than planned due to the windless conditions, with Quiet Time setting the first anchor in New York Cove about 16:00, joined shortly thereafter by Windy Britches (Catalina 25SK/SR #1205) and Wingin' It (Catalina 25WK #5984, formerly Bruce Ebling's Selah). At about the appointed hour of 17:00, three more boats arrived, Slow Dancer, Faux Play, and Paragon (Chrysler 26 #779). With the raft-up completed, and the crews hot and sweaty from the warm afternoon sun and lack of breeze, it was "everyone in the pool" for the first Folsom Lake swim of the season. The water temperature in the main body of the lake is still only 62ÂºF, but at the narrow end of New York Cove where we anchored, the last few sunny days have warmed the water a little and it was 69Âº; still pretty cold for swimming but refreshing after the first shock. After our swim, it was time for Fleet 4's traditional Puu-Puu's (snacks shared between boats), and from the quantity and variety of the scrumptious snackables being passed around, you'd have thought there were 16 boats, not just 6, in the raft-up.

The overnighter was dead still and calm, as New York Cove usually is, and I assume everyone had a restful sleep (I sure did). Sunday morning brought the promise of some breeze, so the raft-up broke apart at 11:00, and we were off chasing the wind. Earlier in the day, I had made a trip up South Fork to the Salmon Falls Bridge to sightsee the beautiful fresh green grass on the hillsides. At the bridge, there was almost a full knot of current running in the middle of the river channel from all the snow melt coming down the American River watershed. The water temperature at the bridge was a bone-chilling 46ÂºF; I saw a fisherman on the bank dive in for a quick swim, then jump right back out with a scream audible all the way back to the marina, I think. For a little while, on a section of the river a little east of New York Cove, the breeze was fresh enough for me to sail the boat at 4.5 knots and 20ï¿½ heel angle, but this only lasted a half hour or so, and gradually died away, the closer I got to the entrance to South Fork. I finally dropped sails and motored back in to the Marina, then got Quiet Time back to her dry storage space and myself on the road home at 16:00.

Fleet 4's next Cruise activities will be in 4 weeks, May 27-29 (Memorial Day Weekend). There will be an "away" cruise to Clear Lake (about 90 miles from Sacramento), and I will lead the Fleet 4/San Jose Sailing Club joint cruise at Folsom Lake.

Quiet Time's first splash-down of 2006, Folsom Lake Marina:
I got the sails out of their bags and rigged up shortly after snapping this photo.

Rock formation, south fork of the American River near Salmon Falls Bridge.
When Folsom Lake fills to the brim, these rocks are covered and the water elevation will be right where the grass and shrubbery meets the top of the rock wall. The lake is 20' below full pond in this photo.

View west along the South Fork American River canyon from Salmon Falls Bridge. The mouth of South Fork, where it meets the main body of Folsom Lake, is about 3.5NM away.

View south, New York Cove, Fleet 4 Raft-Up Sunday morning.

Catalina 22 Fleet 4 2006 New Members/Past Captain's Cruise - Raftup in New York Cove
Left to Right: Paragon, Faux Play, Slow Dancer, Wingin' It, Windy Britches
(Quiet Time not shown as I am in her, taking the photos

)

Larry Charlot
Catalina 25WK/TR Mk. IV #5857 "Quiet Time"
Folsom Lake, CA

"You might get there faster in a powerboat, but in a sailboat, you're already there"

Edited by - lcharlot on 05/01/2006 20:44:33

Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1913 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2006 : 20:45:35

Nice pictures Larry, thanks for sharing them with us.

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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.