"Keith Nuttle" wrote in message
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Frogwatch wrote:
Several posters here seem really down on lake boating as if it isnt
"Real" boating. What a bizarre idea. Lake boating is different and
often better than on salt water, often the scenery is much better. We
learned to sail on Lake Guntersville in Alabama and although there
were never big swells, there were countless beautiful little coves to
anchor in. Yes, one can go offshore in salt water but there's nothing
interesting to see out there, all the interesting stuff is near
shore. Lake Lanier in the GA mountains looks really nice to drive
past and would probably be great for quiet coves. After being in salt
water for awhile, boating on fresh water is infinitely more refreshing.

I agree that lake boating can be more fun than ocean sailing. The average
sailboat travels about 4 to 5 mph so in a given 3 to 4 hours you are not
going to travel very far. While the ocean sailor is traveling from the
marina to the ocean you can have several hours of nice sailing on the
lake.

I am aware there are lakes and then there are lakes. When we were in
eastern North Carolina, we had Lake Jordan (about 10000 acres) and Lake
Kerr about (30000) you could spend a lot of time on one tack or reach. One
good days sail was going up the lake about 5 miles and back.

Now we living in Indianapolis, the lake we have to sail is about two miles
long and a half mile wide, it give you lots of practice in tacking and
reading the wind.

You did not mention the wildlife that you see on the shores of the lakes.
We have seen bobcats (the animal), deers, eagles, etc.

We see lots of interesting stuff on the salt pond. And depending where you
boat, the trip from the launch to the Ocean can be as short as 5 minutes.
We have whales, dolphins, Mola Mola, as well as sharks and bird life to
watch. Plus the sea lions that follow the boats around to steal fish. Hand
feed pelicans at times, as well as watching the Sea Otters if in Monterey
Bay. Plus the lakes and river are nice to boat and fish in also. It's all
good boating.