Which one of you was this?
Posted by trymypi@reddit | sailing | View on Reddit | 55 comments
And what's it like sailing behind the dam?
Posted by trymypi@reddit | sailing | View on Reddit | 55 comments
And what's it like sailing behind the dam?
eie5928@reddit
I can't identify the boat in the picture, but it's a lot of fun to sail up to the dam. If the wind is coming out of the south, you get to do a bunch of tacks to make it to the dam. Once your crew has gotten all their pictures and eaten their brats, you can turn and run downwind out of the canyon.
trymypi@reddit (OP)
Also much more helpful than the first comment I got from someone who didn't "know what this post is about"
Bulky-Internal8579@reddit
But... what is this post about? What is any post about? Why are we here? Where are we sailing??? ;)
ballsack-vinaigrette@reddit
That red hull is pretty distinctive! I haven't had boat in the Lake for over a decade but as I recall there were only a few dozen; is that still the case?
eie5928@reddit
I crew on one of the red sailboats for races, but our sails are currently black. I'm not sure who else has a red hull. There's a few really active sailors on Lake Mead, but it does seem to be a dying breed here. We're pretty isolated in that we don't have any sailboat specific services here. We recently just lost our West marine store, too.
ballsack-vinaigrette@reddit
That's the reason I sold mine; zebra mussels started showing up and just get a haul out was gonna cost $5000.
dalml@reddit
The yacht club is still pretty active so if you still want to do some sailing I'd suggest getting involved. There's a meeting this Thursday.
I bought into a trailer with two other members so we could do our own haul-outs and bottom work because the marina charges way too much. I'm currently working on mine and so far the blistering isn't too bad, just a lot of calcification to sand off. Speaking with people familiar with my boat, it probably hasn't been out in ten years.
ballsack-vinaigrette@reddit
How are the mussels? Are they showing up on hulls or was that issue overblown?
dalml@reddit
None on mine when I pulled it out in September, and I haven't been that regular with getting the bottom cleaned.
eie5928@reddit
It would take a kismet for me to haul my boat out......
dalml@reddit
I bet we could make it so
dalml@reddit
If this is recent then I remember seeing this boat last spring but couldn't tell you whose it was. It was a bit smaller than Blown Away.
eie5928@reddit
It might be the Soling 27 that was on the courtesy dock recently. I asked around and that's the only other red hull we could think of.
trymypi@reddit (OP)
Nice, thanks! I assume there's nothing better than combining dam and sailing puns.
eie5928@reddit
You dam right.
namocaw@reddit
Trying to think of another pun but I'm hitting a wall.
trymypi@reddit (OP)
Try a different tack
justinchina@reddit
These puns are sailing right over my head.
trymypi@reddit (OP)
Really? They're making me keel over
turkphot@reddit
Not quite sure what this is about, there are lots of reservoirs with sailing boats
trymypi@reddit (OP)
Did you figure out what this is about yet? Or are you just going to keep being negative?
trymypi@reddit (OP)
This is a pretty unique location. My best guess: 36.0198196, -114.7300613
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Dam
turkphot@reddit
Yeah there is a marina with ~1500 boats 3km from the dam
lizerdk@reddit
Must be kinda wild with the crazy fluctuations.
TinyTowel@reddit
Crazy fluctuations? That lake has been declining for 20 years or longer, my man. I grew up in Vegas and left in 2007. I keep telling my dad the time to move somewhere with water security is now, but he isn't budging.
ballsack-vinaigrette@reddit
Las Vegas gets 1.5% of that water.. and we don't even use the entire allocation.
TinyTowel@reddit
Sure, Vegas is great at water conservation on top of all that, too. But when the river has no water, 1.5% of 0 is still 0, no? Nevertheless, living in a barren wasteland in the depths of a mega drought that may just be the beginnings of a new status quo isn't a great plan. Survivable, probably. The Paiute lived there for eons before Vegas was founded, but aquafers will run dry, water rights won't be renegotiated, and we aren't going to pump in water from Northern Nevada or the Mississippi River. (Maybe Northern Nevada, but there will be a fight about that for sure.)
Or, my family can move somewhere with more water than we know what to do with... especially while Vegas property values are in the middle of a pump. The answer seems obvious to me.
tchitch@reddit
Water security isn't an existential threat to Las Vegas' growing population. The vast majority of Colorado River water goes to California and Arizona farms. The political power of city populations will dry up farms before city dwellers go thirsty. Las Vegas will continue with landscaping restrictions, but drinking water should endure for a while.
Ivebeenfurthereven@reddit
Also, the good news is that desalination of seawater has become dirt cheap. Israel has proven it in the last ten years or so.
Piping it inland from California would be more expensive than Mead for sure, and there might be more restrictions on using water carefully, but it'd be preferable to abandoning a city the size and importance of Vegas.
lizerdk@reddit
I guess the whole marina has extra-long spring lines
TinyTowel@reddit
I genuinely remember seeing, with my own eyes, the lake without the leached rocks exposed and the dam's overflows taking on water. Meanwhile the city's population has more than doubled to over 2 millions. It boggles the mind.
trymypi@reddit (OP)
Damn, wish I had gone to check it out!
Afitz93@reddit
I’m sure this fella is a total blast to sail with. I’d ignore him. This is a great photo, from not only a sailing perspective but a photography standpoint. Thank you for sharing it.
tiedyechicken@reddit
Are you sure? That art deco intake tower really looks like it could be anywhere 🤔
Afitz93@reddit
I think this is a really cool picture as someone who has really only sailed in the ocean. It’s a very unique setting for someone who isn’t used to seeing anything but relatively flat coast. Not to mention, it’s a sailboat in the middle of the American southwest. Try telling that to someone 100 years ago.
Also, purely from a photography standpoint, it’s a great juxtaposition of man and nature, especially with the sailboat being the only vessel. So, Mr poopy pants, others have different perspectives than you do, and can step back and appreciate the uniqueness of this image when they see it.
sailingallover@reddit
About 15 years ago it could have been me. I had a capital 21 on Lake Mead for a hot minute. Most unpredictable piece of water I've ever encountered.
FestinaLente747@reddit
Meade is still that low?
SarcasticLandShark@reddit
Lower every year 😔
tiedyechicken@reddit
I thought I'd heard that Meade at this point will never refill in our lifetime. Is this true?
ballsack-vinaigrette@reddit
That's impossible to predict, but almost certainly not. It'd take 10-15 consecutive years of really heavy snow in Colorado.
Ivebeenfurthereven@reddit
Climate is getting more unpredictable. Never say never
More practically, there's a campaign among watershed experts to #FillMeadFirst, with the long term goal of decommissioning Powell because it doesn't serve any large populations (and drowned Glen Canyon, which would otherwise be a national park).
trymypi@reddit (OP)
As of yesterday! I bought a bottle of Dasani and dumped it in to help.
Logan_Composer@reddit
Dude, you shouldn't do that! Living in Vegas, I have to drink that water, I don't want any of that Dasani crap in there!
trymypi@reddit (OP)
Haha I hate it too
FestinaLente747@reddit
I thought my coffee tasted better this morning. Thank you.
OneBeautifulPlanet@reddit
That’s a crazy picture. Shouldn’t the water level be much higher ?
sweating_teflon@reddit
Related reading suggestion: "The Water Knife"
Puzzled_Bath_984@reddit
California is thirsty.
Ivebeenfurthereven@reddit
Such is life on the Colorado River.
This has been a long time coming. Water rights in the American Southwest were allocated during a historically high period of precipitation, and now the debate is too intractable for anyone to agree to use less. Meanwhile, the reservoirs drop lower and lower.
LutefiskQMED@reddit
Looks like a Lido 14
LLCoolDave82@reddit
I learned how to sail on that lake!
honogica@reddit
Sorry, I forgot to jiggle the handle on the toilet.
trymypi@reddit (OP)
On a boat it's called a head, you forgot to jiggle the handle on the head.
steveos_space@reddit
I wanted to do that for years!
MountainCheesesteak@reddit
Were you at the Fallout convention?