Over time I've heard from many of you with questions about Lake Mead, Nevada.You have all heard stories about it drying up and turning into a mud hole.......... not true
Yes, the lake has been a lot lower than in past years and yes it has been over a hundred feet lower than normal. However, it is still a great sailing venue and I encourage everyone to, at least, ad this lake to your sailing bucket list, even if you don't make it one of your regular sailing grounds.
I have gathered some picture for you all to look at, so you can get an Idea of the size of this lake. Most of these were taken in the Virgin Basin, in the area off "Middle Point" Island. This is only one of the basins of this great lake. There is a picture of several boats, sailing near a marker. This was the start of a race, down in the lower, "Boulder" basin.
The pictures with Mead 04 in their name were taken in '04 when the water was a little higher. The pics that start with "Img" in their file names are from '06-'07, when the lake was at the lowest I've seen it. It is up considerably from this lowest point now (I was there late last month). You may also notice that the '04 pics were taken from my 26X, before I sold it and in the later images, I'm sailing my 26 D.
To get an idea of the size of things, look for other sailboats in the background of these pictures. Most of these pics have other boats in them. Example: open img_0519.jpg full screen. Yes, you can easily see the other boat to the right, partially hidden by a bimini support. However, look closely along the waterline in the far background, just about centered between my backstay and the VHF antenna........ see it
Yep, there is a couple hours of sailing distance between us.There is a great shot of a boat sailing with a waterline marked cliff behind it. He is a ways from the shore, yet the waterline on the mountain towers over the boat.
The lake is big and it is different every time I go there. It is rarely boring.
We usually do Mead twice per year(April and October). There several of us..... Cptn Kimo and Newell are a couple of them from this site. We would love for any of you to join us for one of these adventures. The dates are usually posted in the calender, thanks to Kimo. Bring all your light air gear....... oh and bring all your heavy air sails too. Lake Mead is like a box of chocolates.
I wouldn't go there until weather is cooler (why we go in April and October), unless you really, really like the heat. I'm a desert rat and have been there in mid August. It was a little more than even I can take (112 to 118 degree days, which isn't too bad, but 96 at night is a pain, when trying to sleep. I wanted to crawl into the ice chest)
I'm sure if I wrong I'll be corrected, but I think it was the owner of "North Sails" (forgot his name) that said in his book that if you can sail Lake Mead, you can sail anywhere. It's true
........ The lake can be a real challenge, but can also be one of the most pleasurable sail experiences one could ask for.Here's the link:
https://www.box.com/s/6b0a80dcb61b60f9bb34
Best Breezes,
Steve K.
Mac 26D "Three Sheets" (and a breeze.... that's all I need)
