Konocti Bay Sailing Club

For the last 35 years the last Saturday of April has been a special day on Clear Lake. The biggest sailing regatta of the year is conducted, at first by the Lakeport Yacht Club and now by the Konocti Bay Sailing Club. While the participation has waned over the years due to lack of sponsors and fewer that come out on the waters of the lake these days, our club still expected as many as twenty boats to sail the 26 mile race this year. Obviously things have changed and the club ...has adapted. We moved early to curtail our on-shore activities and the social facilities are shuttered, but it was easy to still go out on the water with our home partners and enjoy the activity and outdoors safely. After the lake closed, we prepared patiently for the worst to pass and advocated diligently for when we could responsibly return to the water, even proposing only solo boating. When the easing of the regulations were released this week, many of the recommendations were quite liberal but the one that endures is that the lake is off limits to boating. There is a claim of legal justification but it is, in my opinion, weak in the light of other more obvious examples evident by intent or by practice. In my frustration and as a representative of 60 sailors, I composed a list of recommendations and rules for responsible boating but have since found similar rules at multiple locations including lovely graphics and flyers. I support and empathize with our policy, first responder, and enforcement personnel. My son is a Cal Fire paramedic / engineer and this year I am concerned for his safety months before the fire season. I’ve lived in Lake County for close to 40 years and love so much that we have in our hidden gem. Only in the CA state parks / reservoirs is boating prohibited, and no one lives on the reservoirs. Elsewhere, while there are some restrictions, one can boat on the coast, in the Bay, on the Delta, and on Lake Tahoe. My wife and I have diligently sheltered for over a month and can share a home, a walk, and a drive in a car, but can not go out in a boat on a 65 square mile lake. I would be nice to see some sanity these days, before we lose ours. Brad King Commodore KBSC

Two in a kayak, canoe, pedal boat=Bueno! One in a sailboat = No Bueno. Sailing is not a crime! (at least in San Francisco Bay, The Delta, Tahoe)

I continue to advocate for the reopening of the lake. Similar measures are not being enacted or are being rescinded in most areas of CA, both in lakes and ocean. More risky activities continue with some measure of awareness but acceptance. Is it because water activities are so visible? Being on the water is naturally isolating - if practiced responsibly - and many do not have comparable options. The club has cancelled all social activities including racing. This will be th...e first time in 36 years the the Konocti Cup will not occur. If you see us on the water, understand it is likely our best outdoor option for exercise and mental health. Many of our group are 70+ years old and not going up Mt. Konocti anymore.

While we wait (and advocate) for the SAFE re-opening of the lake, there's good information, from SCIENTISTS, that you need to play responsibly. It's just that, playing, and we can keep the great start that CA and Lake Co have on this emergency and build safely on our successes. Soon we can start on the road to recovery AND have our lake back. PATIENCE!

From about a week ago. Offshore near "Sulpher Bank" but filming elevation and opposite shore look like somewhere near Rattlesnake Isle / CLO. The lake continues to amaze.

https://sailuniverse.com//15-sailing-movies-to-watch-if-/

Apparently the Health Dept is going to issue a NO BOATING order. I empathize with the Sheriff trying to keep up with the different and somewhat arbitrary restrictions they are asked to enforce. Understand I believe this is very serious, especially as I talk with my First Responder son. I also believe we are in for a long haul. Still, the idea that boaters are unable to self regulate but other activities might does not help water folk weather this crisis. The only time I wa...s within 30' of another boater was in in the harbor. Of the 5 boats sailing out yesterday were two solo skippers, two boating couples, each pair is married and sharing the same household (me @ 40 years, the other @ 50+). One other boat, not a club member but a regular sailor sailed the Hwy 20 shore away from any other contact. Only a couple of Bass boats were out and like all fishermen, worked separate sides of the boat. There we solo paddle cats fishing. Only the runabouts MIGHT have had folks "out of compliance" and that could happen anywhere. There seems to be acceptable activities like walking are OK, but kayaking won't be? Single person boats like dinghies? Solo sailing is probably the least risky behavior we engage in, at least as far as catching a bug. The club has curtailed all regattas, all socializing before and after sails, we are supporting our own and our community, as clubs do and have done previously during the myriad and repetitive county emergencies. If the Health Dept could say "immediate family" or at least solo activities on the water I would feel this is an appropriate compromise. That or set a curfew and get everyone to stay home.

Saturday morning was still not too cold at the harbor, but I was still glad to have left the boat rigged from Friday night’s sail to Dorn Bay and back. The bright Hunter’s Moon was still well off the Western horizon and the time still was on PDT for one more day, perfect for pretending it wasn’t that early at 6:30 in spite of the darkness over an hour before sunrise. I’d come down early to make sure my running lights we solid and to rig the spinnaker since wind would likely...Continue reading

Maybe it's my confirmation bias but I like this study:

It is already as busy as I've seen here in Lake County since the '08 cluster-f, and not just on the water. PLEASE be smart people! This stuff is patient and waiting for the weak moment. This from a guy that not only surfed years in the CA "red triangle" but had my kids learn to surf at the site of the most recent fatal attack. I know what a calculated risk is bit I never put on a pork chop suit before paddling out either. This is real and if you think you'll just have a sni...ffle or two, think of your best friend and how you'll remember the day you thought what would be just a fun weekend turned into a funeral. Memorial Day irony. This is on US. The government is not failing you, they've said pretty clearly they can't hold the line and YOU (eye contact font here) are the responsible party. Let's play the long game here. I know Corona sure as hell is.

Our lake was reopened yesterday May 10th on what was used to be a scheduled race day. The winds were light for the first day in weeks, and it was a hit of the coming Summer heat. I was able to see Lakota off a trailer and floating for the first time in months. I motored her home to Braito’s and saw mostly fisherfolk with a few paddlecraft. In the time it took to clean her the water got busier as folks launched or took out boats from their slips, including a few members of our... club. In general the boats seemed to be solo or couples, with a few that, from their ages, might have been family members. This is great as if the County gets any indications this is getting out of control we may be back to square one. I will be the first to admit I’ve not been perfect in my SiP compliance, but we can all try to do our best. Guidance and results are all over the map and many early assumptions have been refuted yet others are upheld. but public actions will still be held to account by those with the responsibility and the authority to act. With regard to sailing, I hope we can prevent that from happening if we can show that our club in particular, and sailing in general, practices appropriate behaviors. I’m still angry and confused why sailing was, in particular, excluded in the first relaxation decree and am of the opinion that the unequal exclusion reasoning was a smokescreen for other problems in enforcement. I want to continue to fight for our access with the logical idea that sailboats of any size large enough to create a vector are unlikely to leave their current location, particularly since they can probably sail there. If they feel the need to close the lake to large vessels, at minimum solo sailing and small craft should still be allowed. But I want to encourage our members to sail responsibly and DOCUMENT your activity with your SiP partners, and other sailors doing the same with pictures. Bring pets, smile, have a good time. And try to caution those impatient with not having everything as it once was how fragile our access -now one day old- is. If they don’t think their health (and that of their neighbors) is at risk, our access to the lake most certainly is. With a cool week ahead, demand should ease somewhat. Go out and enjoy our lake, see old friends, at a distance and let’s keep our lake. Brad King Commodore KBSC