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Unmanned boat crashes into sailboat

   

A news report from 3 years ago reported that an unmanned inflatable boat crashes into a sailboat In Mission Bay, CA. USA, injuring 1 on the sailboat. "Officials from the San Diego Lifeguard Service said they heard reports just after 6 p.m. of an unmanned vessel crashing. The boat's operators somehow lost control of it and ended up in the water, lifeguards say."

So what really happened, if you watch the video it is obvious the person operating the boat fell overboard while under way (as reported). The operator did not have the ignition safety lanyard connect to their life jacket/clothing. This means this when the operator fell overboard the lanyard was hanging from the motor safety ignition switch allowing the motor to continue running. If the operator had it connected to their clothing the motor would have shut off immediately and prevented the accident.

Sadly this is an all to common boating mishap. The safety shut off switch and lanyard are their for a reason but many boaters ignore it much to the determent of their and others safety.

Falling over and having the boat continue far beyond you is only one of many issues. The boat leaving you of course can be a problem, particularly if one does not have a life jacket on. Many times the boat motor will kick to one side of the boat make the boat go in a circle, call the spiral of death because the boat can come back and run you over. The other issue is the boat continuing on without you can result in the boat running into others.

So freaking put your darn lanyard on, weather you driving a small fishing boat, or a ski or wake boat, or outboard motor on a sailboat, etc. connect the lanyard clip to you!

 

Entitled Boater

Those of us who boat a lot know entitled boaters all to well, add on top of it when a person feels they are better than others because they are financially rich it just adds another layer of annoyance. We all have seen it way to many times. Such a person is Ace Rogers, a rich businessmen (digital marketing firm in University City CA called Doctor Multimedia). He tried to dock (his hired skipper under his orders) his ridiculously priced 4.5m Lamborghini yacht at a private dock and when the dock hand said you can not dock here because its a private dock this entitled man started yelling at him, to the point that he said he would kill him. Hate speech is bad but not a crime, but threats of violence is a whole other level. He did apologize after being called out online. The dock worker should get a raise for being so composed.

Post Falls Dam Construction

The Post Falls Dam is going through some renovations in Spring 2024. None of the work is going to affect boating on the river or the lake. Dam was finished in 1906 and now needs some updates. It is amazing how this dam was built so well and has lasted so long.

To learn more about the dams construction schedule and details visit these links...

https://www.myavista.com/about-us/about-our-energy-mix/post-falls-ncd

https://investor.avistacorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/avistas-post-falls-hydroelectric-dam-selected-us-department

See the past construction work done on the dam

 

SailGP Racing

Next Racing series at Bermuda, May 4-5, 2024.

Watch SailGP F50 foiling catamaran racing live or via replay on Youtube.com/sailgp

Recent racing in New Zealand happened on March 23, 2024 (First days racing on 22nd was cancelled due to marine mammals on the race course). Race day results... Team New Zealand won by beating Canada and Spain in the final. By winning they take the overall points lead from Australia for this season. Australia did not make it into the finals. Didn't help that Australia rain into a mark buoy. How did team USA do? Typical middle to the back of the pack, they SUCKED!

Race Day 1 Highlights

First days racing cancelled due to prolonged dolphin activity.

Race Day 2 Highlights

Full Race Day Video

Winter Lakes Closures

Just a reminder that all lakes open to winter fishing in Inland NW (E WA., N ID, NW MT) will officially close this March 31 to fishing and boat launches (fishing and gates opens again the day after Black Friday on Sat.). Winter lakes for example in E WA. like Fourth of July Lake, Hog Lake, etc. It means again the lakes are closed to fishing and the gates to the access roads to the launches are locked.

However one can go over or through the gate or fence (cannot cause damage to the gate or fence of course) when fishing is closed and gates locked. The lands are public and access is allowed unless posted otherwise on the gate or fence. Always follow all rules as posted.

My wife and I like to access these lakes via hiking into them with our inflatable SUP's. Its nice for paddleboarding because there are no powerboats to deal with. Its quite and beautiful.

Powerboater problem with sailboats

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I thought this video was a perfect example of why powerboaters should never make a video about the problems with sailboats as it devolves into silly arguments against sailboats because the lack of any real knowledge on this topic. I think if one does a video about the pros and cons of powerboats versus sailboats its better to drop the pros and cons and simply note each boats characteristics, usage, etc. Let the reader or listener make the choice of what is best for their needs.

However here is my evaluation of this powerboater, Wayne the Boat Guy video called "Sailing: The Problem With Sailboats." See his video below.

I do not want my comments to be negative but its obvious Wayne has never sailed. His comments are what I find typical of power-boater mentality. Seriously why even make a video about a thing you know nothing about. I would never do a video on racing cars because I know nothing about it.

I am going to comment related to each of his 5 points on his video about the problem with sailboats.

1. Steep Learning Curve: This depends on what you are going to sail. I run a sailing school, teaching on small boats up to 18', small catamarans and sportboats (what some may call trailer-able keelboat). I teach basic small boat (capsize-able boats) and big boat (non capsize-able boat with cabin) classes, that includes safe boating. Both of these classes are one day classes starting at 7am and ending at 6pm. I teach the required safe boating stuff and basic sailing, by the end of the day all my students sail well, mainly because I keep it simple. So in a day with any excellent instructor one can learn to sail. After this class one can build on their knowledge and base skills layer by layer until one is highly proficient. The fact you can motor your powerboat out and back to the dock with no or little skill is nothing to brag about, all boaters no matter a sailor and powerboater should all take classes. There are far more powerboat accidents than with sailboats, why because sailors have to be knowledgeable, they can't just turn the key on and go. Wayne says driving a boat is similar to a car in spite of having no brakes, etc. Really, like a car? No brakes, hull moving through the water, etc. is just like driving a car. Sorry that is quite a stretch.

2.The Weather has to be just right:  Well he obviously does not understand weather. No, the weather does not have to be perfect as he states. Are you kidding, have you seen all the variable weather that sailors sail in. I think he is talking about no wind or little wind. My students have learned to say “there is always wind.” Now I am joking kind of, however the air is rarely not moving, if the air is moving, there is wind. The boats I sail can sail in a whisper of wind. None of my boats have motors. I have oars, paddles, or other human powered options. I grew up in Westport WA sailing on Grays and Willapa Harbors, and the Pacific Ocean and never used a motor, not once. Now I know I am the extreme example even with sailors. What I have learned is to watch the weather and tides/currents. New powerboaters and those who are not very educated would be wise to learn a lot more about the weather, as the weather can significantly impact ones boating. The weather can kills you! Does not matter if your a sailor or powerboater. Sailors are known to work well with weather, most powerboaters not so much. 

3. Going Solo: He says its not easy to sail solo. Actually its so so easy to solo sail. If a sailor solos a lot he will own a sailboat that is easy to do that with. Heck I had a 33' racing catamaran with a 16' beam, 54' tall mast, and sailed it solo all the time. love to solo sail it. I still regularly solo sail. Sure it takes skill to sail solo, but once your an experienced sailor one can easily solo sail. I am solo sailing a small sailboat to Alaska in 2025. There are a lot of weekend warrior sailors, or martini sailors as they are called that simply do not take the time to learn to sail solo, they are the ones you see always motoring their sailboat, with the sails never up. That is fine if one wants to do that but do not judge the ease or not of solo sailing from them.

4. They Are Slow: Oh boy this guy has no clue on speed. Sure most keelboats and big house boat like catamarans are slow, however there are many sailboats that are much faster. I had my 33' cat up to 26 knots. I could regularly sail her at 15-18 knots. Under motor power it was easy to have her at 10 knots. So there is a lot of variability in sailboat designed related to speed. I should note all the around the world speed records on water are by sailboats, none by powerboats. If you watch SailGP racing, those foiling catamarans reach speeds up to 60 miles per hour.

5. More Work: "More work? More Preparation?" No matter a powerboater or sailor one should be prepared. Before I go sailing I supply a float plan to someone that will notice if I do not get back in a reasonable time (if you do not know what a float plan is, that is a big problem). When I go to sailing it does not take hardly any work, because my boat is always prepared for any trip. All I really need to do is check the weather and pull up my sails and off I go. Pretty simple. Rigging, if your boat is at a dock it takes little work to do and go. Sure you have to take the covers off the sails (extends the life of the sails), about a 5-15 minute process. If you trailer your boat, sure rigging takes more time, but again it depends on the sailboat. The rigging as he calls it is already set up, what is there to do really. My Hobie Wave literally takes about 15 minutes to rig and launch. If you are driving a powerboat are you really going to just tie to the dock and turn off the motor(s), and go. Really, your not going to do anything else with your motor? If your on salt water are you not going to clean out your system? Not going to lock up, check the boat, etc. He notes if it is hot putting the sails away is difficult? Boy I never knew sailing was so hard before listening to him. I have sailed for 57 years. Nope, not hard to me. I see all the work my friends have to put into their motors (repairs, etc.) and cost of gas and oil, etc., which always makes me thankful to be a sailor. I especially love when I sail by them when their motors die (as long as I know their ok I will sail by). I am being funny but Wayne may want to start exercising if he thinks such low effort requires so much work.

On the topic of hating power-boaters, the reason some sailors dislike power-boaters is simply what Wayne's attitude is. He says "I can take my boat out with no training and boat." This is the problem! Most power-boaters are uneducated. You take training to drive a car, yet they think no training is needed to drive a boat, and that is just not true and its also a dangerous way to think. Powerboaters are not suppose to create a wake within 100 feet of a sailboat, boats not moving or anchored, or other non motorized watercraft, yet they do it all the time, why because they have no clue. I could make a very long list of what I see powerboaters do wrong almost every time I boat, not so with sailors. The good news is at least safe boating certifications are now required in all but 4 states. Hopefully those 4 states will be on board soon. You might notice these certifications are for powerboats of 10-15 hp or more. No such requirement for sailors. Food for thought, hint its because 99.9% of all boating accidents are by powerboaters. I suggest all powerboaters take a sailing class also. When you get caught in a big wind storm, etc. you will be better able to handle it because you will be much more aware as a sailor, much more aware of their environment and how windage affects the boat, etc.

I am not trying to be negative but seriously this video did not really teach the truth about sailing because its from the perspective of a powerboater with no sailing experience. So I was not surprised he got almost all of it wrong. Hopefully some day someone can make a factual video about the skills needed for powerboats and sailboats, without the biases. I am going to do such a video, so stay tuned.

 

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Historical Lake Ceour d'alene

Amelia Wheaton... First steamboat on Lake Coeur d'Alene Idaho, launched 1880. In this picture she is docked in the big pool on the Coeur d'Alene River in Cataldo, Idaho. Notice the Sacred Heart Old Mission in the background. This was typically the furthest these large steamboats would go up the river but sometimes during high water they would go a few more miles up the river to kingston, Idaho. Information, pictures, etc. like this will soon be posted on our new Lake Coeur d'Alene history site.

It is with great anticipation that we are announcing that our 2nd edition Historical Lake Coeur d'Alene chart will be coming out this May 2024, to be shown for the first time at the first annual Northwest Hunt Fest at the Kootenai County Fair grounds. This show is for hunters but is also an outdoor show in general as well.

This new chart, called Historical Lake Coeur d'Alene chart will include as before the Steamboat history but with new features, Native history, depth lines, navigation aids, kayak routs, and other new info. The chart will continue to show boat launches and access points.

Our chart will of course be available in printed form but also in artistic form, such as light up chart, wood, and metal. And we will also include clothing, with designs on hats, shirts, and hoodies, etc.

We will continue to have lake information on our site, FunToSAIL.com but our new chart and products will have its own new site at historicallakecda.com or historicallakecoeurdalene.com . For now these 2 web address our pointed at our funtosail.com lake cda page, but again as soon as our new site is up and running it will be directed to the new site.

Our new website will have extensive lake history not seen on our current funtosail page or anywhere else online. We will also include current day info, such as restaurants, resorts, and services.

So stay tuned, its all coming very soon!

If you never saw our old 1st edition chart here it is. Click here to visit our current Lake CdA page.

boatingtheinlandnw.com website noted on this chart is no longer in operation.

Hunt Fest Outdoor Show

I want to yell from the tops my lungs, FINALLY!!!!!! We finally have a North Idaho outdoor show. This show as is noted in its name, has a big focus on Hunting but again you will find other outdoor info and stuff at this show.

This show takes place this May 10-11, 2024 at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, North Idaho.

Some say its best to have big shows in Spokane due to their population but now that N Idaho has grown so much, we have a new larger population. In addition Spokane is not that far from where this show is taking place, at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, so its a short driver for them as it is for us to go to Spokane.

In addition Gun shows have died in Spokane due to WA state government anti gun stance. Eastern WA is very pro gun area but their governments sadly not. I must add most Eastern WA sheriff departments are pro gun and uphold the 2nd Amendment. It makes sense a show with a big gun and hunting focus would be in Idaho versus WA.

Visit the Northwest Hunt Fest website at https://northwesthuntfest.com . Please come and support our first N Idaho Gun, Hunting, and Outdoor show.

We, FunToSAIL and Historical Lake Coeur d'Alene will be there. Come visit out booth at this event. We will show and sell for the first time our new 2nd edition Historical Lake Coeur d'Alene chart at this show.

 

Malbec18 Sportboat keelboat

  
Malbec18 Sportboat/Keelboat

We currently have a sale on our Melbac18 at $44,000 with $2500 off of options. This is an amazing dealer offered rarely.

Saturday, June 25 of 2022 was the second time I have sailed my Malbec 18, and first time in the summer. I had 1-5 knots of wind during my sailing class I was teaching from noon to about 3, but then after the class the wind piped up to 7-10 knots while sailing with my wife. I cannot express enough just how well this boat sails in very light to stronger winds. The boat will sail with a whisper of wind and handle stronger winds as well.

The boat is easy to rig, taking my time it only takes 20 minutes are so. Less rigging time means more sailing time.

Part of the plan is to use my boat for our sailing classes and use as a RV for camping, a Recreational Vessel (RV). Stay tuned for more.