Category Archives: Boating – Sailing

Boating - Sailing, Environment, Government

Sierra Nevada Snowpack Is Virtually Gone; Water Content Now Is Only 5 Percent of Historic Average, Lowest Since 1950

Scott’s Flat Reservoir Sept 25, 2014. Lowest I’ve seen the reservoir since I’ve lived in Cascade Shores. Picture taken by John J. O’Dell off my deck in Cascade Shores.
Scott’s Flat Reservoir Sept 25, 2014. Lowest I’ve seen the reservoir since I’ve lived in Cascade Shores. Picture taken by John J. O’Dell off my deck in Cascade Shores.

 April 1, 2015

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) found no snow whatsoever today during its manual survey for the media at 6,800 feet in the Sierra Nevada. This was the first time in 75 years of early-April measurements at the Phillips snow course that no snow was found there.

Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. observed the survey, which confirmed electronic readings showing the statewide snowpack with less water content today than any April 1st since 1950.

Attending the survey with Governor Brown was DWR Director Mark Cowin, who said Californians can expect to receive almost no water from the meager snowpack as it melts in the coming weeks.

“Today’s survey underscores the severity of California’s drought,” he said. “Water conservation must become a way of life during the worst drought in most Californians’ lifetimes.”

Today’s readings are historically significant, since the snowpack traditionally is at its peak by early April before it begins to melt. Electronic readings today found that the statewide snowpack holds only 1.4 inches of water content, just 5 percent of the historical average of 28.3 inches for April 1. The previous low for the date was 25 percent in 2014 and 1977.

The Phillips snow course, which has been surveyed since 1941, has averaged 66.5 inches in early-April measurements there. Four years ago today, the measured depth at Phillips was 124.4 inches. The deepest April 1st Phillips measurement was 150.7 inches in 1983, and the lowest previously was 1.04 inches in 1988. Photos of previous surveys at Phillips can be found here.Images from today’s survey will be posted at that link as soon as possible.

Electronic readings indicate the water content of the northern Sierra snowpack today is 1.4 inches, 5 percent of average for the date. The central and southern Sierra readings were 1.5 inches (5 percent of average) and 1.3 inches (5 percent) respectively.

Today’s manual survey was the fourth of the season conducted for the news media at the Phillips snow course just off Highway 50 near Sierra at Tahoe Road 90 miles east of Sacramento. When DWR conducted the first three manual surveys on December 30, January 29 and March 3, the statewide water content in the snowpack was 50 percent, 25 percent and 19 percent respectively of the historical averages for those dates. The decline reflects California’s significantly lower precipitation and the warming trend that made this winter the warmest in the state’s recorded history. What precipitation there was fell mostly as rain due to warmer temperatures.

In what were considered normal precipitation years, the snowpack supplied about 30 percent of California’s water needs as it melts in the spring and summer. The greater the snowpack water content, the greater the likelihood California’s reservoirs will receive ample runoff as the snowpack melts to meet the state’s water demand in the summer and fall.

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Boating - Sailing, Fishing, History of Nevada County, Lakes in nevada county, Nevada County Information

Nevada Irrigation Districts Lakes and Canals have Unusal Titles

Scotts Flat Reservoir. Picture taken from my deck. John J. O'Dell
Scotts Flat Reservoir. Picture taken from my deck. John J. O’Dell

How’s the water out there in Wiskey Diggins Canal? Was the Fiddler Green Canal titled after an early day musician? Did you ever wonder how the DSL Canal was named?

The names of water storage and distribution facilities throughout NID are colorful and unusual but, unfortunately, the origination of many of them has been lost through the years.

Many facilities are named for builders, such as Faucherie Reservoir, or for the geographic areas they serve, such as Bald Hill or Pet Hill canals.

Of course, many lakes and canals carry names that are rooted in the area’s rich mining history.

The DS Canal is the lowest elevation of the two NID canals crossed by Red Dog and Banner Lava Cap roads near Nevada City. It was built by NID in 1927-28 to carry water from Lower Scotts Flat into the Nevada City-Grass Valley area.  The DS Canal follows the south side of Deer Creek, hence DS for Deer Creek South. If NID had followed through with an initial plan for a canal on the north side, we would today have the DN Canal.

How Scott Flat was named is unclear, but it is widely understood that it was due to the Scottish miners who lived and worked there in the 1850’s and 1860’s.  Schools once stood near what is now the campground on the north side of the lake.

Rollins Reservoir was named for J.L. Rollins, manager of the Bear River Water and Power Co., the company from which NID acquired the land to build the reservoir.

NID’s first modern water treatment plan, the Elizabeth L. George plant on Banner Mountain, opened in 1969 and was named after the long time community leader who helped gain funding for its construction.

In the high country, Faucherie Reservoir, built prior to 1880, was named after a French engineer who worked for the Eureka Lake & Yuba Canal Co.  “The French must have had a strong influence because French Lake, located upstream of Faucherie and constructed in 1857-59 was originally called Eureka Lake and later changed to French Lake,” wrote NID retiree Terry Mayfield who documented much of the district’ history during his 34 years with the district.

One of NID’s most historic canals is reputed to be the first mining canal in the state.  The Rough & Ready Canal was begun in 1850 as the first effort to build a large-scale mining ditch in California.

According to the Thompson & West History of Nevada County, “a man named Moore commenced to dig one from Deer Creek above Nevada City to Rough and Ready. The magnitude of the undertaking astounded the miners and they thought Moore was a lunatic, but he persevered until he had completed one mile, and then abandoned the enterprise.”

Moore’s project was taken over by a company in 1851 and by 1854 the canal to Rough & Ready was complete. NID took over the canal in 1925 as part of a water system acquired from the old Excelsior Water & Power Co.  Portions of the 13-mile-long Rough and Ready & Ready Canal remain in use today.

Source: Nevada Irrigation District newsletter Volume 35 Number 4 Winter 2014/2015

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Boating - Sailing, Lakes in nevada county

Scotts Flat Reservoir Lake Level September 2014

Scotts Flat Reservoir

Scotts Flat Reservoir
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Picture 1 of 9

Scotts Flat Reservoir


Pictures  by John J. O’Dell from my deck.

The water level in the lake is down further than I’ve seen since I’ve lived in Cascade Shores, or at least it seems that way.  Scotts Flat Lake or should I say reservoir, what’s the difference?  A lake is a body of water but a  reservoir is different because it’s level is deepest at the dam and some other technicalities . Oh, well, I still like to call it a lake.  If you really want to know the difference between a lake and reservoir go to Lakes & Reservoirs.

If you want to see the projected water level for Scotts Flat Reservoir  that was prepared by Nevada Irrigation District, go to picture 5.  I’m guessing from my pictures and the graph for water levels for Scotts Flat Lake that the present elevation is around 3,036 foot elevation. The high appears to be 3,062  feet in elevation.  That’s a 26 foot drop which cuts the water storage in half, from 40,000 acre feet to 25,000 acre feet. An acre foot is one foot of water over one acre of land or 43,560 cubic feet of water.

Scott’s Flat is situated among the tall pines at the 3100-foot elevation nine miles east of Nevada City via Highway 20 and Scott’s Flat Road. It offers 169 campsites at two large campgrounds, plus a group camp. Across the lake, accessible via Red Dog and Quaker Hill Roads from Nevada City, is the Cascade Shores Day Use Area. As you can see from my pictures, there a lot of trees around the reservoirs, oops lake.

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Boating - Sailing, Fishing, History, Recreation, Winerys

Bill Wells Tour of the Delta

httpv://youtu.be/P_GLn8SKwGA

Join some Delta rats for a short tour of the fabulous California Delta.  Bill Wells the Executive Director of the California Delta Chambers & Visitor’s Bureau gives a tour of Georgiana Slough and Walnut Grove, Mark Wilson a professional fishing consultant gives some tips for fishing in the Rio Vista area, and finally visit the Old Sugar Mill in Clarksburg  to learn the history of the area and see an interview with John Carvalho of Carvalho Family Winery.  You can’t learn much about the Delta in a half hour but this should give you an idea of the fun and excitement awaits you in the region.

Author:  Bill Wells
Executive Director of the California Delta
Chamber & Visitor’s Bureau

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Boating - Sailing

Boating On The California Delta

San Joaquin Yacht Club at Bethel Island
San Joaquin Yacht Club at Bethel Island Photo Credit: Bill Wells

By Bill Wells

Every year in the spring when the weather turns warmer and the rains subside, thoughts turn to boating in the Delta. Certainly there are many diehard boaters about in the winter months too, but the advent of spring brings them out in force. Most resorts and restaurants that close for a winter vacation reopen in mid – April and opening day of yachting parades are scheduled all around the Delta and San Francisco Bay area.

The term “opening day” was coined in 1903 when the drawbridge in Belvedere was opened to let the “arcs” or houseboats travel from Belvedere Lagoon to their summer location in Belvedere Cove. Since then the various yacht clubs have called the beginning of yachting season in the area “opening day.”

Korths Pirates Lair & Delta Loop
Korths Pirates Lair & Delta Loop Photo Credit: Bill Wells

Opening day parades are held all over the Delta during April with major parades sponsored by the Stockton Yacht Club, Sacramento Yacht Club and the San Joaquin Yacht Club. You don?t need to be a club member to participate in a parade with your boat. You contact the sponsoring club to register beforehand and generally there is a small fee to cover administrative expenses.

No boat? No problem! There are many shore side venues where you can watch the parades as they pass by.After the opening day celebrations, boating season begins in earnest. By mid-May the weather is generally consistently warm and there are parties and events all over the Delta every weekend from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Barron Hilton has been sponsoring a fireworks display at Venice Island on the San Joaquin River for more than 50 years. Hilton explains that he originally started setting off fireworks for his children at his duck club. “I began shooting rockets and fountains on the levee for the benefit of my eight children,” he said. “I noticed that four or five boats stopped by to watch, then a dozen the next year, and about three times that number the third year. From there, it just seemed to grow like an amoeba.”

Today, Hilton produces a 30 minute show, choreographed to patriotic music, and fired by professional technicians from Pyro Spectaculars.

Bill Dutra of the Dutra Group provides a barge that serves as a floating launching pad for the fireworks. Even though the fireworks show itself only lasts a half hour, the boats start arriving for the event weeks beforehand. Many people anchor their yacht near the island and use their shore boats to commute to work at their area jobs. The thousands of boats are grouped so that there are pathways to travel between boats and many groups secure the same space year after year.

Later in July local folk head to Village West Marina in Stockton for the annual “Taste of the Delta” event. This is a strolling wine and food tasting showcasing Delta area wineries and restaurants. It is accessible by boat (or car) and is a very popular event, one of the many available to boaters in the Delta. With almost 60,000 acres of water and 1,000 miles of waterways, the Delta fun never ends.

Written by Bill Wells, Executive Director,
California Delta Chambers & Visitor’s Bureau

 

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Boating - Sailing

Steve Jobs Yacht “Venus” Unveiled in Aalsmeer, Netherland

httpv://youtu.be/0mUp1PP98uU

Steve Jobs’ yacht was unveiled in a Dutch shipyard on Sunday, where the unusual boat designed by Jobs and famed minimalist designer Philippe Starckwas christened “Venus,” after the Roman goddess of love, beauty, sex, fertility, prosperity and victory.

According to Dutch website OneMoreThing, the finished ship was launched at shipbuilder Koninklijke De Vries in Aalsmeer, The Netherlands. Jobs’ widow Laurene and three of their children, Reed, Erin and Eve, were at the ceremony.

Source:  CNN Tech News
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Boating - Sailing, Delta

Rambling around the California Delta

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By Bill Wells
Reprinted at the request of Bill, first published in Bay & Delta Yachtsman Magazine

Doug with a nice striper caught at Snug Harbor
Doug with a nice striper caught at Snug Harbor

Fishing is Great

I have to tell you the fishing in the Delta lately has been great.  I think it is because of all the rain this year keeping the rivers full.  I met Dillon Pitts, Alex Chatoian, and Andrew Chatoian at Vieira’s Resort.  They had just finished a day of fishing downstream on the Sacramento River.  They had four nice striped bass to show for their efforts.

The folks at Snug Harbor have likewise been seeing some large stripers caught just offshore from the resort on Steamboat Slough.  My man in Oakley, Chris Lauritzen of Lauritzen Yacht Harbor reports excellent fishing down that way too.

Diablo Sail & Power Squadron

Ox Bow Marina in Isleton was the destination for the Diablo Sail and Power Squadron on the weekend of May 14 & 15.  I had been emailing back and forth with member Geoff Goselin for a while and he invited Sue and I to join them.  Eight boats including a Hunter 340 sailboat made the trek from the Bethel Island area to enjoy the guest docks at Ox Bow.  On Saturday the 14th they held a barbecue and games on the marina grassy area near the office.  Sue and I arrived in the area just as things were winding down.  Yacht broker Nina Ankele attended the lunch and told us that we missed a great meal.

The Diablo Sail & Power Squadron is one of 450 local squadrons of the United States Power Squadron (USPS).  The organization started as a power boat squadron at the Boston Yacht Club about 1913.  Later the USPS split off as a separate organization and today has about 45,000 members nationwide.  Active members may fly the USPS flag in lieu of the yacht ensign or the U.S. flag in U.S. waters.  The flag has 13 alternating vertical blue and white stripes with a red canton containing a circle of 13 stars surrounding a fouled anchor.

We took a walk out on the dock and met several of the members and got to look at some of their boats as well as talk to the crews.  We met Ralph Price, Gary Smith, Pepper Wardle, and Les Johnson all Diablo members and former district officers of the USPS organization.  Later, at 1800 hours we were invited to join the club for dinner at the Ox Bow clubhouse.  After cocktails we enjoyed an excellent dinner prepared by squadron chef Mark Galbraith and his lovely wife Brenda.  They cooked a large amount of mouth watering ribs and chicken as well as salad, rolls, and potatoes.  For dessert we had cake and coffee.

We met Guy Schwartz the commander of the club.  I inquired and they said the power squadrons have commanders instead of commodores as most yacht clubs.  The Power Squadron is heavily involved in boater education and has many courses ranging from basic boat familiarity all the way to advanced navigation.  The Diablo Sail & Power Squadron has been around since 1958 and invites all sailors and power boaters in the San Francisco Bay and Delta areas to join and participate in their activities.

Many people believe as I do that you can never have enough education and are constantly honing their skills as mariners.  The USPS has courses and seminars covering almost every aspect of boating from reading a chart to weather forecasting and everything in between.  Here is a way to get more education and hang out with some great folks at the same time.    You can check out their website at: www.diablosquadron.org

Headed to Franks tract for the high speed run
Headed to Franks tract for the high speed run

A View to a Thrill

Hydro Dave Hernandez invited me to take a ride on his race boat.  Hydro is one of the coolest people in the Delta, just having a name like Hydro Dave makes you stand out from the crowd.  He was in Bethel Island for a few days helping his lady friend Cathy Whitlock do some work on her boat collection.  It had been fairly windy for a few days but when I met Dave on a Friday at noon there was just a light breeze that barely stirred the water surface in Frank’s Tract.

I walked down to the dock and Dave and Cathy had just returned from a ride.  I heard them coming from several hundred yards away thanks to the over the transom exhaust on Dave’s boat.  He pulled close to the dock and killed the engine a few feet away and coasted right up to the pier.  The boat has a Casile V-drive with a crash box type of transmission with forward and neutral and no clutch or reverse gear.  In a race the engine is revved up to a few thousand rpm in neutral and then shoved into gear, naturally this causes a lot of wear on the moving parts.  Dave leaves it in gear when he is not actually racing to save wear and tear on the unit.  Dave said he had originally built the boat from a Brendella hull in 1979 and built the motor in 1989.  The boat looks brand new and had a beautiful custom paint job that Dave created himself.  If you have seen a few of Dave’s paint jobs you will recognize his distinctive style with scallops and symbols that are meaningful to him.  Looking at one of Dave’s boats is like looking at a Van Gogh or Picasso painting.  They are all different but you instantly recognize the artist by the style of the work.

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