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SailGP Racing

SailGP F50 foiling catamaran racing happens this December 9-10, 2023 in Dubai. Watch live on Youtube.com or later.

Alkali Lake, Adams County, Washington

 Pictures Coming Soon

Alkali Lake (80 acre)

Alkali Lake in Adam Washington is a very shallow lake just a mile below (South) Fourth of July Lake. If you hike right off the southeast end of Fourth of July Lake going south for about a mile you will come upon the very unknown Alkali Lake that is about half the size of Fourth of July Lake in surface area. No idea if the lake has fish as I doubt it due to its shallow depth and having no water in it if there is two years of very hot summers, dry winter, drought weather. Honestly there is no real reason to visit this lake due to no fish and its very shallow depth, and no significant features that make it stand out. There are railroad tracks on the south side of this lake. There are two another lakes with the same names that one could potentially confuse with, on is Spokane County this is a private lake that is private (small and shallow), and the other is a very popular for fishing in Grant County, south of Banks Lake in eastern WA (among the series of Sun Lakes). Alkali is defined as an ionic salt of an alkali metal.

Directions: To access Alkali Lake via Fourth of July Lake trails, take exit 245 off of HWY 95 and turn south on HWY 23, go about 2 miles and on your right you will see a gravel road with access sign. The gravel road is 0.8 mile to the large level gravel parking lot. The access sign sits a ways off the main road, so this access road is easy to miss. As noted this lake is a winter fishery only so the gate to the lake is locked in warm season. Gate is open Friday after Thanksgiving weekend and closed in late March. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) manages the fishing on this lake and leases the land from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). From the large gravel parking lot access the primitive gravel single track trail that runs along the southern shore of Fourth of July Lake, for about 7 miles. Once at the southeastern end of the lake, hike south and you will arrive at the lake. Retrace your steps to return to the parking lot.

ACCESSIBILITY: PARKING... Level gravel/rocky and dirt parking area near Fourth of July Lake, can accommodate about 30 vehicles; PATHS/TRAILS... No paved paths. Primitive single track rocky dirt trails along the southern shore of Fourth of July Lake and toward Alkali Lake;   RESTROOMS/FACILITIES… None;   SENSORY... No sensory tactile markers for those with visual and other impairments. DOCKS/LAUNCHES/PLATFORMS… None; DIRECT WATER ACCESS… No access for wheeled mobility devices; TRANSFER SYSTEMS... None; CAMPING... Not allowed. Camping nearby at Downs or Williams Lakes; O.T.H.E.R… Oddities/Barriers: Very rocky, sand, and mud; Terrain: Level to very steep. Lots of sand, rocks, mud, and cow dung at different areas; Environmental Conditions: Cold and windy in the winter and hot during the summer (no summer access allowed); Resources: Food, drinks, and gas at town of Sprague off of I90.

Slide the google map downward to see this lake

Make a comment here about your experience at this lake or other questions...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Learn the truth about the history of Thanksgiving in this video or read below...

Meet the American who gave the nation our Thanksgiving origin story: Pilgrim Edward Winslow

Young Mayflower passenger shaped image of Pilgrims and offered only contemporary account of first Thanksgiving

This American told us all about the first Thanksgiving — here's his amazing story

Mayflower passenger Edward Winslow was the only Pilgrim to record the settlers' first year in the New World — including an account of the very first Thanksgiving.

By Kerry J. Byrne

It is the first and greatest American adventure story. 

A small band of Christian devotees, persecuted in their homeland, sought refuge in a forbidden wilderness across the vast ocean aboard a leaky ship in the autumn of 1620. 

Against all odds, following near death at sea, amid privation, disease and frightening loss of life, they planted the seeds of a daring new society. 

Within a few generations their descendants brazenly challenged the world monarchial order with the revolutionary statement that "all men are created equal" and fought to establish the first great constitutional republic.

Click on pic to enlarge

Portrait illustration of Plymouth Colony leader and Pilgrim Edward Winslow (1595-1655), Massachusetts, 17th century. Winslow had sailed on the Mayflower. This portrait, painted in London, is the only contemporary image we have of a Mayflower Pilgrim. (Photo by Interim Archives/Getty Images).

Most everything we know about their first year in what's now Plymouth, Massachusetts, from a contemporary, boots-on-the-ground, first-person source comes from one man.

His name is Edward Winslow. 

"He's a major figure in the Pilgrim story," Tom Begley, director of collections at Plimoth Patuxet Museums (known until 2020 as Plimoth Plantation).

"He had the foresight to write down their story and share it with others."

Winslow wrote a lengthy letter to a friend back in England that has gone down in history as "Mourt’s Relation."

It is the only account, written as it happened, of the Pilgrims’ first year in Plymouth. It is still in print, available on Amazon or at your local bookstore.

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A depiction of early settlers of the Plymouth Colony sharing a harvest Thanksgiving meal with members of the local Wampanoag tribe at the Plymouth Plantation, Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1621. (Photo by Frederic Lewis/Archive Photos/Getty Images).

"Mourt's Relation" includes Winslow's brief, undated description of a three-day celebration in the autumn of 1621, after "our harvest being gotten in," during which the English settlers and a much larger group of Wampanoag friends feast on fowl and deer.

It is the first Thanksgiving. 

Winslow’s account is the only version of the origin story of our national holiday written by Somebody Who Was There.

Winslow made many other contributions to the Pilgrim narrative. 

He signed the Mayflower Compact, the first self-governing covenant among New World settlers, as the ship floated in Cape Cod Bay on Nov. 11, 1620.

He was the first Pilgrim to meet Wampanoag chief Ousamequin, better known in history as Massasoit.

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The signatures on the Mayflower Compact of passengers on board the Mayflower in November 1620. The compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. Included are the signatures of William Brewster, William Bradford, Myles Standish and top left, Edward Winslow.  (Photo by Three Lions/Hulton Archive/Getty Images).

"Winslow informed Massasoit that his people desired to have peace with him and engage in trading," James and Patricia Scott Deetz wrote in their 2000 history, "The Times of Their Lives: Life, Love and Death in Plymouth Colony."

The two men bridged a cross-cultural relationship that benefited both sides for several decades before the outbreak of King Phillip's War in 1675.

Winslow also gives us our only look at the face of an actual Pilgrim.

He sat for a portrait in London in 1651 after returning to England to serve its government under Protestant Parliamentarian Oliver Cromwell following the English Civil War. 

All other Pilgrim paintings and portraits were imagined after their time on Earth.

"History records no nobler venture for faith and freedom than that of this Pilgrim band," reads the tomb on a hill overlooking Plymouth Harbor today.

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A monument overlooking the harbor in Plymouth, Massachusetts, marks the site where the Pilgrims buried their dead the first winter of 1620-21, when nearly half of the 100 settlers died. "In hunger and cold they laid the foundations of a state wherein every man through countless ages should have liberty to worship God in his own way," reads the monument.  (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital).

It's the site where the settlers buried their many dead that first winter in the New World.

Winslow gave future generations our eyewitness account of that noble venture.

A frigid New World

Edward Winslow was born on Oct. 18, 1595 to Edward Sr. and Magdalene (Oliver) Winslow in Droitwich Spa, a town in western England that traces its history to Roman settlement.

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The Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts, 1620. Painting by William Halsall, 1882.  (Photo by Barney Burstein/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images).

He moved to Leiden, Holland, in 1617 to live among the English separatist colony that produced the Pilgrims. 

He worked as a printer.

He was just 24 when he departed Plymouth, England aboard the Mayflower with his wife Elizabeth (Barker) and younger brother Gilbert on Sept. 16, 1620. 

After a harrowing trip across the ocean and a month spent exploring Cape Cod, the Pilgrims anchored in Plymouth Harbor in late December. They began the seemingly impossible work of carving a new society out of the frozen earth.

Winter on the New England coast is dark, windy and unforgiving even today, with the benefit of modern clothing, home heating systems, electricity and indoor plumbing.

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Plymouth, Massachusetts, January 22: Ice-covered rocks frame the Mayflower ll at its berth in Plymouth Harbor, frozen in place by ice-covered waters as the wind was blowing over 25 mph over the water, with the temperature in the low teens. The Pilgrims landed in Plymouth in late December 1620, at the start of a typically brutal Massachusetts winter. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images).

Yet the Pilgrims landed in the middle of what's known as The Little Ice Age — a 500-year period of unusually cold weather.

England and Holland are north of Plymouth, but also far more temperate. The Pilgrims had never experienced anything as cold as a New England winter.

Death soon gripped the colony. 

"They were probably suffering from scurvy and pneumonia caused by a lack of shelter in the cold, wet weather," writes Plimoth Patuxet Museums.

"As many as two or three people died each day during their first two months on land."

Only 52 of 102 people survived the first year in Plymouth. The Mayflower sailed back to England with only half its crew alive in April 1621.

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People visit the 1627 Pilgrim Village at Plimoth Plantation where role-players portray Pilgrims seven years after the arrival of the Mayflower. The 17th century replica village was the site of the first Thanksgiving in 1621. Thanksgiving Day was established as a national holiday by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863; it's celebrated on the last Thursday of November. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images).

Elizabeth Winslow was among the first winter’s victims. She died on March 24 at age 27 or 28. Pilgrim Susanna White lost her husband, William, in February.

But new life, activity and hope emerged in the spring.

Edward and Susanna married on May 12, the first wedding in the Plymouth Colony. They began having children the following year. 

The Pilgrims in March met English-speaking Wampanoags Samoset and Squanto, who had learned the language from fishing boat captains seeking cod off the New England coast. Through Squanto, Winslow met chief Ousamequin.

The Pilgrims began planting spring crops with the help of the Natives. They enjoyed an abundant harvest that autumn. The relationship appeared to blossom.

"We have found the Indians very faithful in their covenant of peace with us," reports "Mourt’s Relation."

"We often go with them, and they come to us; some of us have been 50 miles by land in the country with them … We entertain them familiarly in our houses, and they as friendly bestowing their venison on us."

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Engraving depicting American colonial leader Edward Winslow visiting Massasoit, leader of the Wampanoag Native Americans, circa 1641. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images).

The Natives were also overcoming shocking tragedy, notes Begley. Plague was unknowingly carried upon the ships of European explorers. The people of the Americas had no immunity. 

Up to 90% of the Native population of southern New England, according to expert estimates, was wiped out by disease from 1616 to 1619 — an apocalyptic tragedy. 

The Wampanoags were likely seeking hope and a reason to give thanks for their survival, too, in the autumn of 1621.

The first Thanksgiving

The two sides cemented their friendly relations with a grand feast after the autumn harvest.

Winslow described the first Thanksgiving in just 115 words of an extended sentence.

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A modern recreation of the first Thanksgiving in the autumn of 1621 at Plimoth Patuxet Museums (formerly Plimoth Plantation) in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Only half the Mayflower passengers, about 50, survived the first winter in Plymouth, while at least 90 Wampanoags attended the feast, according to Pilgrim Edward Winslow. (Courtesy of Kathy Tarantola/Plimoth Patuxet Museums).

Winslow wrote, "Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after have a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside, served the company almost a week, at which time amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest King Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain, and others."

The celebrants ate fowl — plentiful in the area — and venison. The "harvest" certainly included corn, among other fruits and vegetables.

We learn of Pilgrims eating turkey — later on — only from William Bradford’s history, "Of Plymouth Plantation." The first governor of Plymouth began writing his history in 1630. 

Hidden away for more than two centuries, Bradford's account was not published until 1856. He does not mention the feast. 

The entire Thanksgiving origin story comes from the one passage in "Mourt's Relation."

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The first Thanksgiving at Plymouth in 1621, painting from 1914. Private Collection. Artist Brownscombe, Jennie Augusta (1850-1936).  (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images).

Winslow's account indicates that the Wampanoags vastly outnumbered the Pilgrims. Massasoit brought 90 men and, historians assume, perhaps an equal number of women and children.  

There were barely more than 50 English settlers in Plymouth at the time.

Winslow, most prophetically, offers the passage that turns the harvest feast into a celebration of Thanksgiving.

"And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

The Pilgrims had gone from the brink of perishing to an abundance "far from want" in one growing season.

Click on pic to enlarge

Pilgrim Edward Winslow, portrayed by Michael Hall, reads a passage from the Bible with Leah Pearl, 8, of Nantucket, as she visited his home at the Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images).

It must have felt like a miracle. 

"The first Thanksgiving marked the conclusion of a remarkable year," writes historian Nathaniel Philbrick in his gripping 2006 book, "Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War."

"By all rights, none of the Pilgrims should have emerged from the first winter alive."

'God-fearing Pilgrim at heart'

Edward Winslow lived a life of more adventure after settling Plymouth and recording its dramatic story for posterity.

He died at sea in the Caribbean reportedly of yellow fever, on May 7, 1655. 

Oliver Cromwell, the victorious Parliamentarian of the English Civil War, reportedly intended to have Winslow serve as governor of the colony in Jamaica.

Click on pic to enlarge

(Engraved portrait of separatist author Edward Winslow, with his signature, 1651.  (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images).

Before his death, Winslow gifted the American people with the miraculous story of the first Thanksgiving.

The survival of the story is itself something of a miracle.

The local governor confiscated anything of value on board, including the clothing of the passengers, "not leaving some of them a hat to their heads, nor a shoe to their feet," according to an account of the drama in the Public Records Office in London.

He also "sent for all their letters; opened and kept what he pleased." 

He did not please, apparently, of Winslow's account of the first year in Plymouth. It made its way to London and was printed as "Mourt's Relation" in 1622.

Mayflower 400, an organization convened to celebrate the quadricentennial of the Pilgrim journey, paid homage to Winslow in 2020: "He died a God-fearing Pilgrim at heart and with him went a very special set of skills that built friendships, won negotiations and established a new way of life in a new land."

This article was originally posted on Fox News.

Mast friendly reminder

Hello follow sailors... Just a friendly reminder. If you are going to leave your mast up
(vertical) this winter be sure no water can get into the mast. If water does get into the mast it will of course travel down to the bottom/base of the mast and accumulate. If the water can leak slowly out it can still accumulate as the water slowly freezes. When the water freezes it will expand and crack the mast like the soda can even if there is space above to expand upward.

If you must leave your mast outside in the freezing weather and are not sure if water is getting into the mast then lower the mast and store it perfectly level. If stored perfectly level then the water will spread out over the full length of the mast and when it the water freezes the expansion will push upward because their is room to do so over a large area (of course if the mast is not totally full of water).

If you want to leave your mast up then one needs to make sure the water can not get in. You do this best by removing the mast head and base, applying marine sealant as you put the masthead and base back in place. Sealing other fittings like rivets, bolts, etc. is important.

There are mast that have the ability to drain at the bottom, which is usually on boats that can not capsize or have very light weight masts that drain easily. On small capsizable boats if it capsizes and the mast is not sealed it can fill up with water resulting in a vey heavy mast that will eliminate that ability to right the boat.

I hope this reminder is helpful. 

Boating Fails

 I know its winter and some of us who stop boating during this time need a little joy at others expense. This video will do the trick.

 

So a few comments because the person who put this video together seems to not know much about boating so I want to comment on a few of the clips in this video.

- The guy who is the skipper but puts the boats on auto pilot and gets on a wake board while another is skiing is so illresponsioble. The skipper falls and the skier tries to climb back to the boat while via the tow line but also falls. Now there is no one on the boat and now the boat is a deadly craft that will end up hitting the shore or worse hit others resulting in injuries or worse. I might add ski/wake boats are suppose to have 3 persons, a skipper (driver), a lookout/watcher on the boat, and then the one skiing. This boat in the video only had two on board, skipper and skier. Crazy to see how totally illresponsioble people can be.

- Throwing furniture off a boat creates boating hazards.

- The red SUV spinning its wheels at a launch is common and happens to the best of us. Algae or other growth on the launch pad is common and makes it tough to gain traction. To avoid slipping only back down the launch far enough just to slightly float the boat and hopefully your front tires are not on the wet launch pad. Bringing a sand bag can help by applying a little by your tires. 4x4 does help. Just be aware that you can get super stuck on slippery launches.

- Securing your boat to the trailer is always a good idea or you will end up like the guy in the video clip.

- Not sure why the guy was sitting so far aft in his boat that he falls off. The lanyard was not used (lanyard hooks to the skipper and motor kill switch) as the motor kept on running with him not onboard.

- Video commentator is right a bailer like a bucket and/or pump is always a good idea.

- Never seen a heavy powerboat being launch via a dolly. Not a great idea.

- Yes low bridges are always a common problem with unaware boaters. If in doubt of clearance do not do it.

- And freak slow the Freak down when your in rough water instead of losing passengers overboard, and creating damages to the boat and passengers. I never get why powerboaters seem like slowing down is a bad idea. The girl headbanging in the video has to have a sore neck. Freak slow down in the marina, near shore, and by other boats. Its the law by the way!

- The clip of the boat on a trailer rolling down the road solo is interesting as it appears the tongue jack is down and obviously the trailer was not secured properly. If you not sure of how to hook a trailer to your vehicle go to a trailer place to learn. Leaving the tongue jack down will certainly put pressure on the hitch to push if off hitch ball even if secured properly. Not all videos on online teach this properly.

- If you see a powerboat filling with water while its being launch its likely the stern is secured to the trailer so when one backs in, the stern will scoop water. Also while on the water this can happen when the stern is direct into the waves. Note to self, pointy end goes into the waves.

- Not sure why the commentator says "this boat is as useful as a surfboard." Actually surfboards are very useful. The small boat in the clip is having a hard time starting the motor but is no real danger other than its a little rough along the non beach/soft shoreline, that can be a problem.

- One of the most dangerous clips is of the two guys in the very small inflatable boat in a super raging river. The shoreline is covered in bushes and low hanging trees. These are called sweepers and they will grab you, pulling you under, and drown you. Really hard for me to believe either of these guys got out of the water alive, hope they did. Can not express enough how dangerous sweepers are.

- Lots of the issues in this video is people simply being unwise or just downright unsafe for their own good.

- Falling overboard has all kinds of issues especially if you fall off at the bow and then get hit by the prop that can maim or kill you. I had a friend who lost is leg to a prop. I know of a grandpa who was pulling his grandkid in from the stern, he did not turn off the motor and the kid was killed by the prop.

- Common in the clips is boats being overloaded by two many people onboard, and their gear adds even more weight causing the boats to swamp/sink. Learn the limits of your boat.

- I hear people laughing in many of the video clips when they should be concerned, they have no clue of the dangers.

The point of this video to me is if you are new to boating take a safe boating class and in addition an on-the-water skills class.

I should do my own videos. Fun boating fails that are not too unsafe and ones that are dangerous boating fails.

Not trying to spoil the fun. Some of the video is certainly fun to watch and some of the clips should make us gasp with concern.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanks Giving!

Veterans Day

 

Bring them Home!

Hamas needs to surrender and release all hostages. Also all Hamas terrorists must be tried and held accountable. If this does not happen then Israel as they are doing MUST totally destroy Hamas.

Start of Transat Oct 29, 2023

Amazing Atlantic Ocean racing in the Transat. Great video. Just turn off the sound (keep the sound on the first time you watch so you know what's going on) and put it on your big screen TV and let it play over and over. Relaxing's to watch.

2024 Hobie Cat Wave's

We are taking orders now for Hobie Wave's for delivery in spring 2024, If you wait until next year, we cannot guarantee boats will be available. It's the reality of our current times, products are still delayed and/or in limited supply.

Contact us to secure your boat via sail@funtosail.com or text at 209-704-4454

In 2024 we are having a big Hobie Wave event (more info coming soon). Join our Inland NW Wave Club or if you are not in our area join the Formula Hobie Wave Class to connect with Wave sailors in your area. Actually, join the Formula Wave Class regardless to support Wave sailing and racing everywhere.