Boom and Bust On Lake Mead

A detour off the racecourse on Lake Mead leads the team to the north side of the Hoover Dam. (Michael Hanson/)

“Anyone got the time?” says Jim Rosaschi as we maneuver his Capri 30, Blue By You, toward the northern side of the Hoover Damn on Lake Mead. It’s only 9:56 a.m., but Jim’s boat partner, Glenn Frank, doesn’t hesitate with a reply.

“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” he says.

Out on the main lake, a grand total of three boats bob around waiting for wind on day two of Nevada YC’s season championship. The previous day saw no races completed due to lack of wind, and with an equally dismal forecast for today, we decided to forgo racing and take a tour of the Hoover Dam instead. As we sail down the channel toward the damn, a strange canyon-effect generates the only wind on the lake. We cruise along in 6 knots of breeze and marvel at the 1.7-billion-year-old rockfaces towering above our mainsail. About 120 feet up, the high-water mark for Lake Mead has washed the rockfaces clean of their sediments. The reservoir hasn’t been at full capacity since 1983, and like the lake itself, the racing scene here also has its highs and lows…

Read more on Sailing World