By Gary W. Taylor
The Adirondacks have 2,800 lakes and ponds. Many of them are great for sailing!
My wife and I have a 22′ O’Day sailboat that we keep on Lake George. “Dream Maker”, is now 14 years old, and still gets comments from everyone on how great she looks.
I first started sailing on a small lake in New Jersey when I was still in high school. The sailboat was a friend’s 14′ SUNFISH. They are great little “wet” boats that let you get a good idea of what sailing is all about. I call them “wet” boats because, while learning, you can easily tip them over. But that’s all part of the fun!
The next sailboats I graduated to were 14′Lasers and 16′Hobies. We used to rent them at one of the reservoirs in NJ. They are a lot of fun! The Lasers are much like the sunfish and the Hobies have a small foresail called a jib to learn to handle, as well as a mainsail. You still can get plenty “wet” in these boats!
In the early 80’s we bought a 17′ Siren for $4,000. It had a large cockpit and a small v-berth cabin with a table that lowered to make a bed. The Siren also had a 150 % jib, mainsail, lead swing keel (so it could be beached), a small 6hp outboard motor, and a trailer. This type of boat is commonly called a “Day Sailor”. I could not find a web-site for Siren, but it was much like a West Wight Potter This size boat is not the type you want to get “wet” in!
In 1986 we traded the Siren in on our 222 O’Day. I actually wrote this article while sitting aboard, at a mooring in Sandy Bay on Lake George.
Many of our friends have sailboats. There are many different makes, models, and layouts.While in New Jersey a friend of ours had a Rhodes 19 at the Perth Amboy Yatch Club.
Another couple has a 1976 35′ Pearson named “Liberty”, that they have in Essex, Conn. on the Connecticut River and sail on Long Island Sound. They sail it down to South Carolina for the winter months. This couple taught me about the importance of reading the up-coming winds and knowing when to “Reef”!
Other friends of ours just gave their Pearson 26 to their son to sail off the Boston coastline. Page 2
Some of the other sailboats that are at the marina where we keep our boat are;S 2’s, J24, Cal, Catalina, Com-Pac, Hunter, MacGregor, andBeneteau.
If you are interested in learning to sailyou can find many different programs. Yankee Yatch located on Lake George offers different levels of learning to sail.
YMCA Camp Chingachgook offers a program for people with disabilities called Y Knot.
You can also charter a sailboat with or without captain and crew. A few years ago my wife and I along with another couple chartered a 50′ sailboat in the Virgin Islands for 10 days, just the four of us. It was a great experience and lots of fun!
So go out on the water and get “wet”! Have fun and be safe.
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