Cruising Areas

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Author Lake Tahoe
Paul McLaughlin
Walnut Creek, CA

Boat Name: Tiare

Model/Year: C22 Swing keel, 1982

Hull No. 10890

Hailing Port: SF Bay
12/20/2005 11:07 AM Pacific Time

Can anyone please relate their experiences with sailing a C22 on Lake Tahoe in the summer months? I am tentatively planning on a week long boat camping trip there this summer and I am curious about accommodations, places to stay (anchor), where to go, what the wind is like, etc.
Frank Nin
Grass Valley, CA

Boat Name: Hola!

Model/Year: C-22, Wing, 2000

Hull No. 15464

Hailing Port: Grass Valley, CA
12/21/2005 1:07 PM Pacific Time

First of all, one of the best resources for Lake Tahoe sailing information is http://www.boattahoe.com/index.htm

Best places to launch a keel boat include Lake Forest Boat Ramp (N39° 10.89’, W120° 07.17’) and Meek's Bay Marina (N39° 02.24’, W120° 07.29’). Either one is a good choice; both will provide you with a safe place to park your tow rig for an additional charge.

You can rent a slip from Meeks Bay or a mooring buoy from Camp Richardson’s (N38° 56.44’, W120° 02.58’) or from Timber Cove Marina (N38° 56.90’, W119° 58.03’) but you can anchor out almost anywhere for free. I’ve heard that starting this year there are new anchoring rules for Emerald Bay (Channel Entrance N39° 08.34', W120° 09.14'). Personally, I like staying at Sugar Pine Point (N39° 03.28', W120° 06.76') - Cave Rock (N39° 02.80', W119° 56.94') and Skunk Harbor (N39° 07.74', W119° 56.63'), they are all good places to anchor or you can mix it up. Bring a dinghy if you are planning to stay on the hook. The lake bottom is sandy so bring the appropriate anchor for sandy/rocky bottoms and take bearings when you first get there and check them frequently. Also, you may tie up the a pier for free after hours at Sunnyside Restaurant, Camp Richardson’s or Sugar Pine Point… just wait till it starts getting dark and pull in, tie up and don’t make a nuisance of yourself no-one will bother you. If they do… just politely say you are sorry and move your boat to an alternate place. If I use Sunnyside Restaurant or Camp Richardson’s I generally eat at their restaurant and by the time I get back to the boat from dinner there is no-one around…


You will find bathrooms in most locations all around the lake.

Note: Most two stroke outboard are banned from the lake, so be sure to bring a 4 stroke outboard or leave your 2-stroke home

Places to eat where you can just sail right up and eat include Camp Richardson’s & Sunnyside Restaurant (N39° 08.34', W120° 09.14'), Timber Cove Marina also has access to restaurant areas in South Lake Tahoe. There is a nice Saffeway just west of Lake Forest Boat Ramp or you can find another one near Timber Cove Marina for ice, additional food staples etcetera, Camp Richardson’s and Meeks Bay has ice and a idi-bitty expensive general store. Bring any spare parts you need with you.

Winds… You’ll probably will wake up to windless glass like conditions each morning. The prevailing winds come over the western side of the lake and sweep across the lake. It is not unusual to have 15 knot winds in the afternoon. Sometimes with 20-25 knot gusts. Whitecaps are normal in the afternoon. In a small boat like the C-22 you can easily sail with nothing more than the main of the jib. Sometimes the wind is up for 24 hrs or more. The lee side of the lake is not good for anchoring because of the chop created by the wind. You’ll be happier anchoring in the windward side. Thunderstorms are aboud during the summer months. So do what you do to protect yourself or do what Catalina suggests, bring a jumper cable (with #6 wire) and hook one side to the stays and throw the other overboard. Good luck either way.

Be sure to bring a nice set of binoculars to observe the night sky… it gets amazingly dark and clear at night. You can see the Milky Way easily and even observe distant galaxies with the naked eye.

Bring a chart of Lake Tahoe for navigation purposes and your GPS. Also a depth finder if you have one, it is very shallow near the shore…

Bring sleeping bags and clothing for layering, as it will be cold in the morning and evenings but perfect warm in the afternoon. In the middle of the summer the water is actually warm enough to swim in… but bring a wet suit just in case. Don’t forget your fishing gear. There are crawdads all over the lake so bring a trap and make yourself some pasta and langostinos for dinner one evening.

Enjoy the lake and please don’t litter! I bet you’ll fall in love with her this summer .
Paul McLaughlin
Walnut Creek, CA

Boat Name: Tiare

Model/Year: C22 Swing keel, 1982

Hull No. 10890

Hailing Port: SF Bay
12/22/2005 7:43 AM Pacific Time

Wow! Thanks, Frank! I feel like I just struck the motherlode of information!

Paul
Jay
Orangevale Ca.

Boat Name: Obsession

Model/Year: C25 Swing 1981

Hull No.

Hailing Port: Georgiana slough Calif. Delta
01/15/2009 10:25 AM Pacific Time

Paul did u ever sail lake Tahoe??i will be taking mine there this summer
Paul McLaughlin
Walnut Creek, CA

Boat Name: Tiare

Model/Year: C22 Swing keel, 1982

Hull No. 10890

Hailing Port: SF Bay
01/15/2009 11:44 AM Pacific Time

Yes. This past summer I took the boat up there for about 5 days last summer.
Jay
Orangevale Ca.

Boat Name: Obsession

Model/Year: C25 Swing 1981

Hull No.

Hailing Port: Georgiana slough Calif. Delta
06/08/2010 4:52 PM Pacific Time

Paul I never made it to Tahoe will try this summer, I see you are in the Bay area have you cruised the delta much??
Lynn Buchanan
Nevada City, CA

Boat Name: SAILYNN

Model/Year: SWING 1984

Hull No. 11994

Hailing Port: SCOTTS FLAT LAKE, CA
06/09/2010 10:08 AM Pacific Time

The new added twist to launching at Lake Tahoe is a mussell free inspection sticker is required to be on your boat. Don't remember who hands them out, maybe Boating and Waterways but there is a fee associatied with the inspection.
 
 
Cruising Areas
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