First Sailing Trip on Deer Creek Utah
Saturday we took our Hobie Getaway out on Deer Creek Reservoir, one of many great State Parks in Utah. We launched the boat at the Island Beach boat ramp and day use area.
Island Beach doesn't have a great beach, but it does have very nice shaded grassy area for picnicking and a sandy area above the breakwater.
Since we had our new born with us, this area made a great place for mom and baby to hang out while the older kids and I went out for a sail. The actual beach is a combination of mud and rocks. There where also nice bathrooms and a little store nearby.
The down side to this area is that there isn't much trailer parking. On Saturday there was a sign indicating that the parking lot was full. We lucked out when a parking spot was vacated just after we launched the boat. I'm not sure what we would have done otherwise.
There is no beach camping on Deer Creek (at least none that I have found) so we normally go to Deer Creek for day trips. This lake is only about an hour drive from our house so day trips work great. There are some great camping spots for RV's on the other side of the lake, but no place to beach a boat nearby.
There where a few sailboats out on Saturday which ended up being a great day for sailing. Aside from us there was a Prindle 16, a Hobie 16 as well as a couple of keel boats, a wind surfer and lots of kite boarders sailing around.
Wind on Saturday was consistent and strong measuring between 16 and 20 miles per hour all afternoon. The water was quite rough because of the wind and chop from the ski boats. My kids love smashing through the huge white caps created by circling boats.
The water was a warm 69 degrees near the shore. We would normally enjoy some swimming off of the boat in such warm water but the wind never died down enough to permit it. I brought our wet suits along, but with air temperatures in the high 80's we didn't need them.
We got some good practice in tacking in choppy water with good wind. My oldest son Ben, who is 11, got the feel for tacking in the wind and gained confidence sailing in rough water on a windy day. It was a great summer outing.
nIsland Beach doesn't have a great beach, but it does have very nice shaded grassy area for picnicking and a sandy area above the breakwater.
Since we had our new born with us, this area made a great place for mom and baby to hang out while the older kids and I went out for a sail. The actual beach is a combination of mud and rocks. There where also nice bathrooms and a little store nearby.
The down side to this area is that there isn't much trailer parking. On Saturday there was a sign indicating that the parking lot was full. We lucked out when a parking spot was vacated just after we launched the boat. I'm not sure what we would have done otherwise.
There is no beach camping on Deer Creek (at least none that I have found) so we normally go to Deer Creek for day trips. This lake is only about an hour drive from our house so day trips work great. There are some great camping spots for RV's on the other side of the lake, but no place to beach a boat nearby.
Wind on Saturday was consistent and strong measuring between 16 and 20 miles per hour all afternoon. The water was quite rough because of the wind and chop from the ski boats. My kids love smashing through the huge white caps created by circling boats.
The water was a warm 69 degrees near the shore. We would normally enjoy some swimming off of the boat in such warm water but the wind never died down enough to permit it. I brought our wet suits along, but with air temperatures in the high 80's we didn't need them.
We got some good practice in tacking in choppy water with good wind. My oldest son Ben, who is 11, got the feel for tacking in the wind and gained confidence sailing in rough water on a windy day. It was a great summer outing.
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