Sailing Lake Tahoe

Dave, Sandi, Norbert, and I spent last weekend at Tahoe-Donner and had a great time... except for Norbert's car accident, that is. On his way there Friday night, there was a terrible rain storm with high winds, and Norbert hydroplaned, spun out, hit a tree, and flipped over his car. Amazingly, he walked away with only a cracked rib where the seatbelt caught him. Phew! His car was totalled and towed away, so Dave, Sandi, and I drove back to Colfax (about 50 miles) to pick him up. The rest of the weekend was really nice, though.

On Saturday, when we were exploring Lake Tahoe by car and foot, we discovered a place that had a 50' Santa Cruz taking passengers out on the lake a couple of times a day. So, on Sunday, we headed back to the lake for the noon-time cruise.

The cruise was fun, but everything on the boat except for the wheel was automated. Just push a button and the mainsail goes up. Push a button and the jib comes out. No trimming, no telltales, no work to do. It was very weird to be on a sailboat for two hours and not do anything. Dave and Norbert each took a turn at the wheel, though, so they had some fun. It was bitter cold out there (around 40 degrees F), but we were all dressed warmly, so it wasn't so bad. It was fun to watch the other passengers freak out a little when we were heeled way over close hauled in about 25 knots of wind. Heh, heh, heh...

I've used some of Sandi Crane's pictures here. Thanks for getting some great ones, Sandi!

To see more of my pictures from the weekend, click here.