J.D.,
In some ways, lake sailing is harder than ocean or bay sailing. I don't
know about Lake Mead, but as a kid I did a lot of lake sailing on
smaller lakes and the winds on a lake tend to be far less consistent and
predictable. The can quickly change in both strength and direction.
This is not a bad thing and you'll get lots of practice trimming the
sails, thus learn even quicker.

Since I'm on the topic of the differences between lake, bay and ocean
sailing, bay sailing tends to have more consistent and predictable
winds, and you also get to deal with tides and currents. Depending on
the bay, you may also get to practice dodging huge tanker, freighters
and other comercial traffic. Ocean sailing has the most consistent and
predictble of winds, insignificant currents and less traffic, but you
get to deal with swells and waves.

Manmade lakes also tend to have very steep banks. Some of them even
also have old stumps down there. This can make anchoring difficult.
If, like one near here, there are also stumps, it ican also be a good
way to loose anchors.

I'm unfamiliar with the Gulf Star 23 (and Google came up empty on it),
but the size and cost is certainly right.

When I decided to get back into sailing, I bought a 25' trailerable
(http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/OurBoats.html) and this was the boat
I introduced my family to sailing with. It got 2 out of 3 of them
hooked on sailing (my daughter never did take to the sport). My wife
and son learned the basics of sailing and seamanship on that boat,
initially on fresh water lakes, then the SF Bay and short trips out the
gate. In a lot of ways, sailing that boat on SF Bay was a lot tricker
than sailing the larger boats. On summer afternoons, 20-25 knot winds
in "The Slot" are pretty common. These winds are no big deal on the
Tayana, but if you went out in them with all sail up in the MacGregor,
they would over-power you in a heartbeat. Suffice ti to say, we got a
lot of practice reef the main and changng jibs. The swing keel also
made it trivial to unstick it when we ran aground (I like to say that we
learned to sail the bay by the Braille method - an exageration, but not
an outrageous one).

Good luck - Dan

jds wrote:
thanks skip. checked out your website. very nicely done, VERY nice vessel!!.

on another note, the sailing gods may very well be smiling on me!!. seems
one of the local yacht clubs is giving a free 2 day sailing course if you
join the club. called the guy, still no answer back , on how much it costs
to join. what would be a fair price for a 2 day lesson??

another possibly good thing. i was looking in the paper this morning, and a
guy has a gulf star 23 for sale with trailer. has 3 sails, sleeps 2, i guess
for overnighting for $1800 bux. have not seen the boat, so dont know what
shape it is in. but for the money, if i can learn to sail it without killing
myself, if i had to give it away after it served its purpose, it may well be
worth it. after reading dan and gordons advice, i think this may be a good
idea.

another question. is sailing sailing?? i would be in lake mead, nevada.
pretty big lake, but not by any means an ocean. can get very windy sometimes
though. is sailing in fresh water that much different from sailing on salt
water?? are the skill learned transferable, so to speak?? i must admit, im
getting excited about the prospect. much more convenient to drive 20 miles
to go sailing than 300. more time on the water, etc. and at any rate, would
give me at least some experience when looking for a larger boat.

would really appreciate your input on this fellas. thanks again and best
regards. j.d.



--
Dan Best - (707) 431-1662, Healdsburg, CA 95448
B-2/75 1977-1979
Tayana 37 #192, "Tricia Jean"
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/TriciaJean.JPG