Bells Lake is between the St. Joe River and road NF-50, about 5 miles north of St. Maries, Idaho. Not really a good lake to go boating as there is no real way to get a boat into the lake. However the Idaho Fish & Game indicates fishing on this little lake that looks more like a pond. For fishing info visit this link... Fishing Bell Lake. Also a good place to bird watch.
ACCESSIBILITY: Difficult access... view lake from road. Could access lake over steep bank and then portage through marine vegetation. Certainly not accessible to wheeled mobility device.
RESULTS...Feb 18-19, 2025, Sydney Harbor Australia
With 2 days of racing team Australia was set to win it all with 2 wins on the first day of racing, and with a series of top finishes on day 2, however due to penalty at the start of the final, they did not recover, coming in 3rd out of 3 teams. Team Britian had great finishes on both days of racing, they won it all in the end, with Canada coming in second.
It appears to me that the new forward T-Foils that replaced the L-Foils used for the first time in this race series seemed to perform well in all conditions, particularly in the strong winds over previous racing all the teams seemed to have better control. The T-Foils also produced better tops speeds.
The bad news is team USA continues to underperform. They outdid their previous horrible performances by not even being able to race due to capsizing on a practice day while not sailing, that is right, they were not even racing or practice sailing in any capacity. They were being towed and one of their idiot crew members allowed the wing to power up and not only capsize but to significantly damage the wing. So, they are the first team to get the Darwin award. On top of that SailGP penalized them 8 points for their stupidity because the capsize was avoidable (read the full story here). If I sound annoyed, that is an understatement. My official position is to cancel this whole team and start new. There is no reason team USA cannot be a top team, but they need to get the right team, like get some sailors who know how to sail a high-performance multihull, not employ a bunch of so slow mo monohull sailors. So, stay tuned, who knows maybe they can get their act together, but at this point I do not have much hope. I should note they did place 3rd in the first racing series of the year, so maybe there is hope.
102 kph, watch the video
In San Fransico Bay on November 15, 2024 SailGP engineers and support crew tested the new T-Foils with the help of team Canada on their F50, they hit for the first time 100+ kph (101.98 or basically 102 kph / 55 knots / 63 mph). Previously Team New Zealand hit 97.2 / 52 knots / 60 mph on Jan 13 in Waitematā Harbour in Auckland. It will be curious to see which SailGP team hits 100 kph / 54 knots / 62 mph during actual racing. We will report it here when it happens.
It is with great excitement we announce that FunToSAIL.com is now the official producer of the Malbec18 sportboat. Learn more about the Malbec18 specifically by visiting its official page Click Here
We have made some changes to the boat to improve its user experience, such as…
1. New wireless navigation lights system.
2. New standard furling jib with no extrusion common with CDI furlers that make trailering and luff shape difficult. Has leach UV protection when furled.
3. New Mainsheet system.
4. New cabin seat hatches.
5. New Bimini option specifically designed for the Malabec18
6. And some improvements to the building process to improve build time and features.
7. No more blue or other colored hull boats. We have one blue hulled boat left to sell, going forward all boats will be white.
Centerboard work
Stay tuned on this site for updates about this boat and other topics.
Watch us race our Malbec18 in the upcoming distance race/regatta, the WA360, a race about the Puget Sound to the Canadian Border and back. Learn more by Clicking Here.
Skipper Miles Moore of FunToSAIL.com has officially signed up for the WA360 that starts June 28. A race around the Puget Sound from Port Townsend WA, past Seattle, to the Canadian border, through or by the San Juan Islands, across the Strait of Jaun De Fuca and back to Port Townsend. Approximately a 360-mile round trip adventure that does not allow gas or electric motors, only sail and/or muscle power.
With this race will be the start of the FunToSAIL.com video and article series about small boat adventure sailing, types of safety and general gear used, Float Plans, etc.
Miles WA360 Profile says he will also be doing the R2AK but that has changed with other adventures instead... stay tuned for those adventures on this site with associated videos, etc.
Click the donation button above if you would like to support FunToSAIL's efforts.
So as some of you know who have taken my sailing classes and others who know me outside of sailing, know how important I feel clean drinking water is. Not just clean drinking water but also using no disposable water bottles to keep our environment cleaner, particularly our oceans.
I am extremely happy to announce that I have found the perfect distiller. Yes, distilled water is king related to clean drinking water and is far better for one's health than any other water. When water is distilled it leaves behind all the impurities that would otherwise enter your body and has to work to get it out and/or may not be able to get it out creating all kinds of health problems, such as gallstones, reduced circulation, etc. I will write another article about this but for now I wanted to let you know about this distiller I discovered.
Pure & Secure LLC based in Lincoln NE builds its distillers all here in the USA, no foreign parts and then assembled in the USA, it's all built and assembled in the USA.
Besides being USA built the model I like the best is its countertop unit (they have many models). There are many countertops system offered on Amazon, etc. with biased reviews (inputted by the company plants). As many discover these systems are poorly made and sadly have poor results. Yes, they are cheap costing between $60 and $150's. The Pure & Secure system is $800 (some discounts offered). So even though you pay much more upfront, in the end it lasts forever (not like the cheap ones), produces a lot of water, and the company has the best customer support.
I have used my countertop system for a month now and will never drink tap water again. Also, I need to remind everyone that bottled water with its so-called spring water is typically nothing more that glorified and expensive tap water. And the water is put in BP toxic bottles that leach that chemical into the water in those bottles.
For me distilled is the only option for clean drinking water. In addition, I only use glass or metal (not aluminum) water bottles that are not plastic disposables bottles that get into our oceans killing marine life, etc.
ATTENTION USE CODE... FUNTOSAIL TO RECIEVE DISCOUNT
DuckWorks Boat Builder Supplies offer some great boat plans for small boats for various usage such as sailing of course and supplies. I love these two small sailboats in the following videos. Check them out and maybe you will get the boat building bug.
I have been asked the following several times by students of mine... Can a sailboat use a fan to make it sail forward? The answer is no, so why not? Because if you have two forces acting equally on each other, then you are going nowhere. The 2 forces, fan and sail, cancel each other out.
If you use the sail only via the wind, then of course you will sail forward. If you use the fan only against the air you get a fan boat and you move forward, stick the fan blade in the water like a propeller in the denser air called water and you have even more density to push against and again you move forward.
So, it's obvious use sail only or motor only with a fan in the air or propeller in the water to move forward.
Mark Rober talks about this in his video "Testing if you can blow your own sail (see video below)." He also talks about the density of the air that also plays into a sailboat sailing and other affects that are quite interesting.
In addition, Mark points out the importance air density, known as air pressure... On ground there is more air pressure because there are more air molecules, higher up like on the top of Mt Everest, there is much less air pressure, less air molecules. Air molecules weigh more down low than higher up. Gravity is pulling on the air molecules. A helium ballon will rise because its lighter than the air molecules around it. Thus, a sailboat will sail better with more air pressure versus less, but for us sailors the air pressure is always good as we mostly sail at sea level or on lakes that are higher up inland but still have more than enough air pressure.
Mark Rober full video is super interesting, so of course watch the full video below. He makes kits that you can buy to experiment on varies scientific and engineering topics. Well worth the cost for kids and the young at heart. Click this link to visit his website to purchase.
Watch the air pressure topic at the 3 minute and 8 second mark.
Watch just the fan and sail experiment at 5 minutes and 42 second mark.
The whole video is interesting to watch and learn from.
Heyburn State Park / 4 lakes area is one of the camping, boating, and fishing jewels of the state of Idaho. Heyburn S.P. consists of several large camping areas, cabins, numerous hiking trails, 3 boat launch facilities, beaches, and wilderness area. The bike trail called the Trail of the Coeur d'Alene is connected to this park. There are four lakes that were created/expanded by the Post Falls dam in this park area (and more beyond the park). These 4 lakes are on the southeast end of Lake Coeur d'Alene, some might thing these 4 lakes is just a continuation of Lake Coeur d'Alene as all the water is very much connected to each other and the St. Joe River. The largest of these 4 lakes (excluding Lake Coeur d'Alene) is Chatcolet Lake (off of St. Joe River, south). To the north of Chatcolet lake is Hidden Lake; to the east is Round Lake, and also to the east and south of Round Lake is Benewah Lake. The St. Joe River (see info below and in the St. Joe River section of this site) runs through these lakes in a unique channel system that boaters can use to access the city of St. Maries and beyond. Connected to the St. Joe River in the City of St. Maries, is the St. Maries River.
Lake Chatcolet is the largest of the four lakes. It consists of 600 acres and has more open water and boat launches than the other three lakes. Round Lake, the second largest lake, consists of 410 acres and is known for it's great fishing. However, due to all the aquatic vegetation and it's shallow depth, it isn't suited to high-speed boating. You can sail in this lake but by mid-summer there will be too much aquatic plant life fouling your rudders, etc. Benewah Lake is the 3rd largest; it consists of 400 acres and is another shallow lake with lots of aquatic plant life. This is another excellent fishing lake. The last and smallest of the 4 lakes is Hidden Lake, which consists of 90 acres, and is more like a bay connected to Lake Chatcolet and St. Joe River, than like a lake. Beyond the park and up river on the St. Joe River there is one large shallow lake (See Hepton Lake) and 3 smaller lakes next to the St. Joe River.
Lake Chatcolet is the only lake of the 4 I think are worth sailing on due to its lower level of weeds and deeper water. The other 3 lakes are perfect for fishing and kayaking/canoeing. And again, the St. Joe River would be great to either motor or kayak/paddle up. I have actually sailed and motored my sailboat up this river, a fun trip for sure. Regardless of what style of boat you use, experiencing where the river runs through is a credible experience.
Visit specific lakes via index for accessibility levels... Click Here!
ACCESSIBILITY: Difficult access... view lake from road. Could access lake over steep bank and then portage through marine vegetation. Certainly not accessible to wheeled mobility device.
