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Does any of this sound familiar?

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jaclasch
Navigator

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USA
104 Posts

Initially Posted - 06/14/2006 : 15:12:41

Lake Coeur d'Alene was once a beautiful place to sail and fish. Over the past ten or so years this has changed drastically. Please check out this article from the Coeur d'Alene Press.

javascript:ol('http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2006/06/13/news/news01.txt');

James
1983 FK/TR
Tiempo Dorado

Edited by - on

Gloss
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1916 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2006 : 15:50:47

I feel your pain. This weekend I almost had a collision with a jet skier who barely missed me. She was flying by while looking backwards.

Wouldn't some harpoon missles take care of those 700 hp monster boats, or whatever they are called?

Sorry, I'm normally a pretty peaceful guy.

Edited by - on

Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1913 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2006 : 16:13:00

The scary part is reading the comments made at the bottom of the article.

Some of those guys just don't get it.

and then there's Lake Lanier... they claim is the busy corps of engineers lake in the country. You talk about a zoo...

Edited by - Tom Potter on 06/14/2006 16:15:40

Gloss
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1916 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2006 : 16:34:24

Hey Tom
I used to live in Atlanta in the 80's. Back then I was into windsurfing out of Van Pugh park. The lake wasn't too bad then, except for the contamination from the runoff from the chicken plants in Gainesville causing infections.
I hear it is pretty bad now. Is it still as crowded with rising gas prices? Here in Knoxville Lake Louden seems to be not as busy as previous seasons, but then again the average income in Knoxville is not as high as Atlanta.

Edited by - on

Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1913 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2006 : 17:08:02

Frank,
Rumor has it the chicken run off still goes on, somehow I doubt it with the regulations today. As for boat traffic, I have to admit its not as bad as last year. I don't see as many of the average run abouts out. So yes, I think the gas prices have affected some of the boats. However I still see the high dollar boats running wide open from one end of the lake to the other. If you can afford a million dollar speed boat whats $4 or $5 marina gas?

Lets see; $4 x 240 gallon (million dollar speed boat gas tank size) = $960 for a day out on the lake.

Man... I need raise!

Edited by - on

stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2006 : 17:47:44

I feel your pain. I was on Shuswap Lake last summer, it was insane and dangerous. Thousands of powerboats, all going as fast as possible, regardless of the time of day or traffic conditions. The other factor is the large number of house boats, driven by people with no understanding of the rules or laws, and whose intentions revolve around drinking and making noise.
This summer at a different lake, there's stupidity and carelessness but not as many power boats. It does seem though, that because there are fewer of them, they are trying to make up for it by being doubly obnoxious.
We were awoken over the weekend by several powerboaters launching and retrieving in pitch dark. Up here, that's after 11PM. Boozed up, overpowered, under intelligent, launching powerboats with nothing more than a flashlight - as there are no lights on the ramp.
As soon as they've launched, they weave their way at full speed through all the sailboats tied up to mooring balls.
Its at times like this that I take some solace in the high cost of gas.

Edited by - on

lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2006 : 21:53:19

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by tompotter
 ...I don't see as many runabouts out. So yes, I think the gas prices have affected some of the boats...

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

In the period from 1997 to 2002, Folsom Lake would usually be a "sell out" by noon, on any Saturday between Memorial Day and Labor Day. By "sell out", I mean a full-to-overflowing parking lot at the boat ramp. This year, there seems to still be a fair number of waterski, cabin cruiser, and bass boats out on the lake, but noticeably fewer jet skis. I have not yet seen the parking lot more than about half full this summer. Sure looks to me like powerboaters are either going somewhere else or $3.50/gallon gas is keeping them home. Over Memorial Day weekend, the weather over the region was clear but the daytime high temperature was about 15ºF below normal; the assistant marina manager told me the weekend was a dead loss for them, the worst Memorial weekend for sales of gas, ice, supplies, and boat rental they had seen since the last big drought about 20 years ago.

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 06/15/2006 : 02:29:29

While my Kansas mud hole is less than glamorous we seldom have any issues with powerboaters. Our lake is usually too rough for pleasure powerboaters, we do get fishermen but they are generally slow and nice people. Our jet ski population gets worn out pretty quick from the beating they take. We are very lucky to have a lake that really is a sailing lake.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 06/15/2006 : 10:36:56

Yup--the Atlantic Ocean doesn't seem as crowded this year, either...

Edited by - on

JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 06/15/2006 : 10:37:30

I have to put up with that kind of stuff for about 15 minutes while I tack out the Mission Bay channel. After that its just the blue Pacific. Room enough for everyone!

Edited by - on

sailorman
1st Mate

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USA
69 Posts

Response Posted - 06/15/2006 : 22:02:47

That's why we rarely sail on weekends. I work Saturdays and have Mondays off, that's when we do most of our sailing. Even in past years, in the middle of the summer; we can sail Lake Lanier for 6 to 8 hours and never cross another boats wake. This year,so far, it seems like less power boaters than ever. Most power boaters are union supporting, red neck, "Bud" drinking, yee-haw party boys, so we stay away from weekends "in the blender". Two weeks ago Monday; 15 knot winds, 85 and sunny, I counted 10 sail boats, two houseboats, and one power job in the distance. We were on the water for almost six hours.

Edited by - on

reuben
Navigator

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USA
202 Posts

Response Posted - 06/16/2006 : 15:28:53

Stories like this make me count my blessings, including a large remote lake and a schedule that allows weekday sailing. Take Wednesday: one of the best days of this young season, sunny & SE winds 15-20. We were one of five sailboats on the lake, and we outnumbered the motorboats. There was one jetskier, but he looked pitiable and befuddled, zipping to and fro perhaps fifteen minutes until his attention span was exhausted and he vanished like the most disappointed of spirits. The truth is, even on weekends Leech Lake is very negotiable, with generally polite boaters and a paucity of overpowered crack monkeys. Maybe it's because Leech is a 4-hour drive from Minneapolis. In any case we rarely have cause even to sound our horn when entering the marina channel. We do it all the same, though, because I enjoy pushing the little button and hearing the lonely blast.

Of course it's not perfect (high slip fees, no ocean) but pretty nice all the same. And there's a fun regatta in August (http://www.angelfire.com/mn/leechlakeregatta/) if any of you would like to visit.

Edited by - on

farrison
Navigator

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USA
166 Posts

Response Posted - 06/16/2006 : 19:22:00

All;

I sometimes feel jealous when I read about the waters that you all sail on. lakeside restaurants and bars, other destination towns and marinas to overnight to, jumping in the water to cool off... I feel a little cheated that the lake I sail on has only two marinas, poor beaches, is very shallow (about 40 ft max lake depth) has two summer months with brine flies so thick they turn your boat black, but most of all, is too salty to swim in without a fresh water shower the instant you get out.

But then I read about your stink boat problems and I look out on my lake that is bigger than Rhode Island, is twenty minutes from my house (ten from downtown) never freezes, and no water skier or jet skier would ever dare to dip their toe in for fear of choking on a mouth full of water that is 10 times saltier than the ocean. Outboard stinkboats could handle it, but why would they want to? I/O stinks would die a slow, corrosive death, in spite of a freshwater flush. Jetskis would do ok, but the risk of hitting that salt water at 35mph and turning your eyeballs to raisins just doesn't appeal to them for some reason.

So I drive out after work to my forlorn inland sea, which is unloved and almost unknown by all of the residents of my state, save a few bird-watchers, skull rowers and the small, secret society of the other sailors. I meat up with my friends and we leave my slip and motor out of the marina. Traffic is light (it's a non-race night), and I see that we might have to share the lake with one or two other sailboats this night. Not like Saturday, when I saw twelve sailboats on the water (the yatch club was having another race and barbeque). But tonight the wind is out of the north, so it's steady and not shifting around. After an hour or so, it's time for the Tiller-Tamer and cheese and crackers and a beer. Later are sandwiches with something to wash them down with. Then the sun goes down and we watch the city lights come on. The moon comes up over the mountains (still some snow up high on the peaks) and flashes across the water. But now the wine is gone, the lake is quiet and the only motor we heard all evening was our own. We slip back into the marina, and tie up. Maybe this isn't such a bad place to sail afterall...

Paul
Great Salt Lake Marina.

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 06/16/2006 : 20:03:40

Beautifully said!

paul

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Gloss
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1916 Posts

Response Posted - 06/17/2006 : 08:34:05

Sounds good Paul,
I understand that Salt Lake is a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts.
Skiing, mountain biking, sailing, hiking, well, you live there so you know that.
I just love Snowbird and Alta.

Edited by - on

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