 | Vanguard 15 West Coast Fleet 53 |
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| High Sierra Regatta at Huntington Lake, Fresno Yacht Club | July 10 - 11 |
| Story |
| Huntington Lake is, arguably, the #1 adventure destination for the Vanguard 15 fleet!
Only 3 participants this year, and we are fired up to improve the event next year!! Here are some ideas for a killer Huntington Lake, 2005: v Commitment: Much earlier in the year, we will schedule and reserve some commitment from the fleet. v Make it count: I think we’ll be lobbying for this to be a counter next year! v Road series: Perhaps we can get a travel series going with separate scoring and end-of-year trophies. v PCC’s: Maybe we can head up there a couple days early and have a short-course PCC’s then stay for the long-course High Sierra… v I’ll bring a keg! Here are some details from this year to tempt / guide you for next year: From San Francisco, the drive can be as short as 4 hours and shouldn’t take more than 6. It is just long enough (and steep enough!) to feel like a real trip, but it is certainly short enough that you don’t feel exhausted (as after driving to Santa Barbara or LA). This year’s participants found that the 580 à 205 à 99 route was the fastest. Of course if you’re coming from the South Bay, you’re pretty committed to the 152. From the 99, south of the 152, you can take a significant shortcut through Madera on Highway 145. The directions are tricky, but worth it: http://www.shaverlakechamber.com/north.html The lake is such a beautiful and exotic location that the regatta is a true adventure! At 7000 feet of elevation, the mix of pine trees, mountains, and crisp air seem to heighten the senses and amplify the fun on the water. The crystal-clear water feels amazing when you get drenched on those tight reaches, and your boat will love the hose-free bath! At this time of year, the water and air temperatures are at the perfect balance for a feel-good wetsuit session followed by shorts and T-shirt. The air is dry, so your gear dries super fast; so does your body… bring plenty of drinking water! The wind can be ideal (as it was this year) with pooffs of 12-14; and at 7000 feet of elevation, it is a very interesting 12-14 (i.e. pooffs not puffs). On the long course at Huntington, you’re never a mile ahead, and you’re never out of the race! The High Sierra races are classic long-course lake-cruisers. I think Sunday’s race was nearly 10 miles! You get many chances to explore all kinds of gains at every point of sail: First, the long beat down the lake past the dam… playing the dam was fun! The wind seems to funnel up the face and splash onto the lake. Second, the tactical run up to the North shore and the awesome blast reach across to the South shore. A final, choppy run to the head of the lake and a short, breezy, find-out-how-tired-you-are-after-10-miles beat finish out a very thorough race. My favorite part was race 3, when after 5+ miles of very shifty upwind and downwind legs we found all 3 Vanguards side-by-side… I take that back, my favorite part was seeing Madhavan blasting around on an International 14… nicely done Mad-dog!! Camping was excellent too – unbelievable stars! At this altitude, the clarity is stunning. It gets cold, and two sleeping bags (one inside the other) are recommended; however, it is not so cold that you can’t, in an induced state, decide to curl up on a catamaran trampoline to fall asleep with the stars; however, you better be super “induced” to explain that one! Campsite check-in is done at the ranger station on the right when you cross the creek after “Rancheria” campground. There were many non-reservation occupants, and we were only able to secure one of our campsites; good thing only 6 of us showed up or we would have had to get physical! Next year I’ll be getting there early to stake out our space. If you are looking for small campgrounds and proximity to the launch ramp, “College” campground was OK; however it is pretty close to the road. “Deer Creek” is similar, but I don’t remember being so close to the road (I stayed there a few years ago and would recommend it over “College”) “Rancheria” is like the suburbs - big sites and 150 of them with miles of road, but further from the launch ramp. We noticed a few boats launching from the beach at “Rancheria”… could be an option next year! Check out the few photos we took on the Vanguard site under High Sierra: http://www.vanguard15.net/photos/?gallery=10 Notice the lonely guitar player… if you play something bring your instrument next year! We hope to have many more pictures from High Sierra 2005!! See you up there. |
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