BYYB Forums

Third attempt to get the Pearl out on the Great Salt Lake, others thwarted by weather. The original launch time was 1:00pm. At that time, winds were between 25-30 mph. It seemed then that our third trip out would end the same as the others. So much so, that I packed up and left.

About three o'clock, the winds died down some. Since the boat was still loaded and ready to go, we did. (The lake is only ten minutes from the house). The wind had died down to almost nothing by the time we got the boat wet, so we motored out. Many other sailboats were headed in. Just as we got out past the buoys, the wind came back, about 5-8 mph. It was enough to produce some MODERATE heel, and was fun, other than the brine fly hatch....At least the wind kept most of them down on the water.

And Phil Gowans was right. You cannot tell the wind speed by the looks of the water. The lake was almost glass smooth the whole time we were out.

Brit, first off the boat looks fantastic.

You might be interested in learning more about the weather, I really got into it when I started learning to sail as it tells so much about what the wind is going to do.

You can easily track high and low pressure systems by keeping an eye on the barometric pressure. Winds flow outward from the center of a high in a clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere..... hence they flow inward toward the center of a low in a counter clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere. Thus you will know in which direction the wind will shift as the front passes you.

It helps to know the clouds so you can gauge the front.... interested? I love this stuff....

Thanks, Angie

I have been a weather nut since I was about 9 years old, and built a weather station on my parents roof. I usually was better at forecasting than the local news guys, and way more accurate than the airport guys I got my maps from.

The Great Salt Lake, much like the Great Lakes, produces its own weather systems quite often. To make matters worse, the Oquirrh (pronounced OH ker) mountain range ends right at the marina, causing fronts to split as they pass, making all kinds of vortexes and swirlies and such. It more often causes wind shadows, like last weekend. At my house, 12 miles away, winds were steady at 25-30 mph. However, at the marina, winds died after about 2:00 or so, due to the "shadow" effect. Winds remained steady on both east and west sides of the mountain, but died north of the mountain, all the way out to the center of the lake, where the shadow ended, and winds picked back up. If you could look at a good topo map of the area, you would see the variance in elevations is extreme, creating updrafts and downdrafts and thermal winds that are very difficult to predict. Even the best meteorlogists have difficulty with Utah weather around the lake. Talking to veteran sailors who have many years experience sailing the GSL, there are a couple of weather rules to follow. NEVER go out in a south wind, and ALWAYS head for the marina at the first sign of a thunderhead. South winds come over the mountains, and the swirling winds dump several boats each year. And the microbursts from thunderheads send high winds out for many miles in front of them.

Weather is WAY cool....

Now I just need to learn how to judge WHERE the wind is coming from while I'm sailing. Guess I'll put on some telltales until I can build a masthead fly

Brit,
You must have been out on Saturday. Glad to hear it worked well and finally made it.

I had a bit of an adventure on the GSL Friday night. I told you I was going to try the moonlight cruise to the other marina. Well I launched about 8 pm and started north. The winds were really light, by 10 pm all the boats were gone and it was me against the dark. The moon didn't come up 'till almost midnight and it didn't do much good for quite a while. Nevertheless, sailing at night was a real joy.

Turns out I was being overly optimistic, the 20-25 miles was a long way. I didn't get there 'till about 7:30 am. All night sailing, and motoring when the wind stopped. No sleep all night, boy was I beat Saturday. I didn't even sail back. I got a lift to the trailer and pulled the boat home. There were a couple of scary parts - had to reef at one point as I was getting grounded off the island. The worst was the brine flies. They are even a nusince at night!

Welcome to the Great Salt Lake!

She does look great Brit! i am surely copying you on the vacationer...which is only 3 and a half weeks away from being tackled.

that GSL is sure weird. The salt content makes for bizarre water action. - but the weekenders look good on the GSL. Tiller looks good too. I need to set up a way on mine to tie it down incase i need to move around the boat etc.

the other thing we all seem to have in common is fascination with weather. Its good to hear you know the rules for messing around on that lake. -

Your daughter looks like she really enjoys the boat! I think that is great! I hope your back recovers for Navajo! I would sure like to sail with the Pearl again.

Phil - Sailing at NIGHT! You amaze me. Sailing all night! You exhaust me just reading about it. You must be busy - I see your page is still on 2005. I can't help it...some of us really love the aloha. My dad and I sailed on 4th of July and I really underestimated the distance to the Arizona side of the lake - it took nearly the whole morning to get there but a little less time to get back - with a nice breeze (and I let the reef out)....

Great STory Brit!!! Great photos!

a.