[Rhodes22-list] Yellowstone Lake, Jackson Lake Sailing

[Caesar Paul]

Art,
 
I am not getting enough sailing.  Work is getting in the way!   For this season I sailed one weekend with the Lewis and Clark Sailing Club on the Clark River.  We tried to race one Saturday; the wind didn't cooperate, and the current was against us.  All sixteen of us were anchored at the starting line, socializing and admiring each others boat.  I missed the raced the next day, but had a wonderful afternoon of sailing the next day.
 
I hauled the boat and my family all the way to Eugene, OR for a few days of sailing.  Again I did not sail as much I would have liked, but Fern Ridge Lake is very pretty, with good winds, and I will do it again next season.
 
During the season my boat stays at Conk ling Park Marina on the south eastern shore line of lake Coeur d' Alene.  Its very beautiful, and after taking the boat to Puget Sound the Northwest Rhodes 22 Fleet Sail; it is back in its slip at the Marina.
 
I broke and have repaired my centerboard cap while retrieving the boat at the end of our Fleet Sail.  It appears to be a successful repair job.  After replacing the cap, which is an exercise in patience, I launched it, and kept it floating over the trailer. We torqued the few bolts where water was seeping in, and allowed watched it for about 30 minutes.  With a dry bilge we took it home.
 
Put it back in the water for 24 hours.  Actually it was an overnight trip.  We sailed from about 8.00pm to 11.30 that night, checking the bilge every hour on the hour.  After 24 hours on the water it was still dry.  I am feeling like a hero now, and I'm not sure why, because all I did was follow Stan's instructions.
 
The boat has been sitting in its slip for over a week now, and I have not heard from the marina, so either all is well, or its at the bottom of the slip.  My slip is 45 ft deep.
 
Art, there are so many lakes that are much closer that i would like to sail, that I am not sure if I would ever get to Jackson Lake.  Yellowstone has some appeal to me, and it may move up on my "to sail" list. 

If I can find a few days I would go back to Puget Sound.  I like the respect you have to pay to the ocean, the tides the current, and the planning you have to do to have them work in your favor.  
 
Coming out of Friday Harbor on our Fleet Sail, my GPS would not read beyond 1.9 Knots.  I thought it was malfunctioning, because it felt as though we were doing about 4 knots.  This went on for about 1/2 and hour, then suddenly it jumped to 3.5 and kept climbing.  It was only them we realized that we were fighting a strong current.  Now, I might not ever have that experience on a lake.
 
Thanks for checking in Art.
 
Caesar--- On Wed, 7/29/09, Arthur H. Czerwonky <czerwonky at earthlink.net> wrote:


From: Arthur H. Czerwonky <czerwonky at earthlink.net>
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Yellowstone Lake, Jackson Lake Sailing
To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 8:30 AM


Caesar,

How goes the sailing?  I have been told of the excellent sailing in the Wyoming area by a member of the Montgomery fleet, possibly not far from you at all.  Apparently Yellowstone Lake is excellent, with the only exception being a fixed bridge between the lake and marina.  The same skipper reported that Jackson Lake has no obstructions to contend with, and is much more favorable anyway, apparently even warm enough to swim in.  My Swedish cousins laugh at our caution about cold water and insist they usually break the Baltic ice to take a refreshing dip.

I am told the marinas on the south shore are impressive, and the only irritant is mosquitos in the shallow water areas of the lake.

Have you tried sailing here?  I camped there years ago, and it is awesome scenery.

Best to you,

Art
__________________________________________________
To subscribe/unsubscribe or for help with using the mailing list go to http://www.rhodes22.org/list
__________________________________________________