BAMA

BAMA San Francisco Bay Area Multihull Association

Lauching at Lake Tahoe
by Fred Cox F-24MkII Preshusss

General: Lake Tahoe is down from "normal" levels by about 5 feet this summer. This has impacted a number of launch ramps and will put additional strain on those remaining in operation. Once launched, no problem almost anywhere on the lake (after all, most of it is hundreds of feet deep immediately offshore). Most handheld VHF's are of very limited use on this lake; cell phones are effective in most areas. Think of Tahoe as coastal cruising with fluky winds: Come over-equipped, with two or more anchors, extra fenders, extra dockline, extra batteries, extra groceries, foul weather gear, cold weather gear, extra fuel, etc. etc. etc. This is what I call "Murphy-proofing": if you are over-prepared, you will have a lovely, warm, uneventful time with firm but tractable breezes that fill in like clockwork at noon and die away at sunset. The geese will serenade you at dawn and you will wake to look out over a sea of glass.
Launching & Rig Storage:   All around the lake, space is tight and parking is limited. Wherever you decide to launch, arrive EARLY, as in 6 or 7 AM. Alternately, arrive the previous evening & camp out (discretely - don't rub anyone's nose in it) on the street aboard the boat. Be in line, rigged and ready to go when the marina staff arrives - usually 8am - and you'll get launched easily and fuss-less. There is an inordinate number of bonehead powerboaters who arrive on these busy weeks complete with an "I'm special" attitude to compliment their boat handling skills. A little courtesy and humility at the ramps will endear you to the staff.
    Once launched and rigged and parked, you can slather on some sunscreen and stretch out on the nets to catch up on your sleep until the early afternoon breezes start to tickle your nose.
Sunscreen: SPF40 is strongly recommended. This is some serious sun, and a few unprotected hours can add up the next several days.
Fuel: I would suggest carrying extra fuel aboard. While there are several marinas which offer fueling services, they are not cheap and there may be lines at the fuel docks.

Where to Launch
Running CLOCKWISE from Camp Richardson at southwest Lake Tahoe, this is a list of known marina conditions. This is not a list of every marina and/or public ramp; more will be added as they can be contacted. However, these are the major players.
          Camp Richardson
        Meeks Bay
        Obexer's
             Sunnyside Marina
        Tahoe City Marina
        Tahoe City Boat Ramp
        North & Northeast Shore
        Sand Harbor State Park
        Cave Rock State Park
        Tahoe Keys Marina

Camp Richardson

Ramp closed - no launching or retrieval. Efficient fuel operation. Dock is busy, usually full. Good restaurant. No beaching within reasonable distance.

Meeks Bay

Meeks Bay Resort: 530.525.5588 manager: Ed.   No fuel. On-site setup, 2 launch ramps, small dock, inside protected harber with channel access to main lake. Best wind & wave protection on the lake. No restaurant, small store on resort grounds.   No buoys, probably no slips or end ties. Plan to launch/retrieve only. Resort access fee is $7.00. Launch fee is $25.00 round trip. Very limited rig parking @ $10/ day. Parking is legal on nearby highway 89. The bay itself is usually protected from prevailing weather. This is a good thing, except that the lakebed is not so well weathered (as in smooth/soft) as most other areas of the lake. The beaches immediately outside the channel are much less beachable than in previous years - more rocks are exposed, with sharper edges.

Obexer's

Homewood, CA: 530.525.7962. Manager: Jim Lane. Fuel dock. Pre-opening setup only. (If you can rig in the water and arrive ready to launch, they will accommodate you during the day.) Launch fee is $10 each way. Parking is legal on nearby highway 89, but very high density of other rigs &driveways means a long walk. There may (not yet determined) be per-day fee parking at Homewood Ski Resort (530.525.2992 - Collier Cook) across thehighway, or at Homewood High & Dry boat storage (530.525.5996), adjacent to Obexers. Small stores & restaurants nearby. No beaching within reasonable distance.

Sunnyside Marina

Sunnyside 530.583.7201. No launching, busy dock, but efficient fuel dock & super restaurant & deck - a de riguere "see & be seen" place on the lake. Guest buoys & shuttle. Call restaurant @ 530.583.7200 1/2 to 1 hour in advance. The "beach" here is smooth river rocks - previously beachable for cruiser types with no respect for their perfect polished bottoms. This year the bottom looks too rough - similar to Meeks Bay. General store & great breakfast restaurant are within a block. No beaching within reasonable distance.

Tahoe City Marina

Tahoe City: 530.583.1039. VHF channel 78. Sling launching only, no setup space; not recommended. Fuel dock. Tahoe Yacht Club is located here, along with a number of good restaurants, botiques, etc. (Fast Eddie's - a BBQ restaurant at the highway entrace to the facility, offers what may be the arguably finest smoked ribs on the planet). Safeway shopping center adjacent to the facility. A small public dock is available on a first-come, first-served basis. They have a few guest buoys & shuttle service, and may lend out an "owned" but unoccupied buoy on a short term basis.

Tahoe City Boat Ramp

Tahoe City (Parks Dept - 530.583.3796; auto-answer system - touch "7" when the menu starts to reach the right people). 2 miles east of Tahoe City, adjacent to the U.S.Coast Guard station, well-signed & easily located. Limited free parking on the highway. Opening day is July 1, 2002. Launch & 1-day rig parking = $10.00; season pass (best bet) = $50.00. Emerald Bay is 15 miles away but, hey - these are F-boats.

North & Northeast Shore

There may be some facilities here, but I have not investigated them: This is the opposite end of the lake from Emerald Bay, and it is the most exposed when the weather picks up. I will make inquiries if anyone has their heart set on basing out of here.

Sand Harbor State Park

Incline Village, Nevada. Nevada Parks Dept: 775.831.0494. Located about 5 miles east of Incline Village. $8 fee. Very heavy day use, no overnight parking. Highway parking is legal but distant and remote from supervision. Not recommended for this reason. Consider this as a fall-back option: Scope out a candidate parking area in the Kings Beach, CA or Incline Village, NV areas, then launch here at Sand Harbor & pick up your driver. Incline Village has virtually no roadside parking within reach of the very few public beaches. Kings Beach & adjacent communities are a little more laid back, more tourist oriented.

Cave Rock State Park

About 9 miles east of Stateline, Nevada. Nevada Parks Dept: 775.831.0494. $10 fee (total = $20 with separate in/out days). Actually a pretty good choice, except for the additional driving mileage through South Lake Tahoe. Very good dock, 2 deep ramps. Same rules & limitations as Sand Harbor (above). Consider this as a fall-back option, with Zephyr Cove (5 miles west) as a candidate parking/pickup site.

Tahoe Keys Marina

South Lake Tahoe, CA 530.541.2155: $25 round trip. Rig on Venice Street, just outside the marina, then enter & launch; no mast clearance problems. Slip rental = $2 per foot per day (ugh!) or $9 per foot per week. On-site rig storage = $20 plus $1 per axle per day. An F31 trailer & truck (4 axles) would run $24 for 1 day, $48 for a 7-day week, etc.. On-street parking is legal for 72 hours only. Highway (free) parking is unrealistically distant. Tahoe Keys is well protected and close to Camp Richardson & Emerald Bay.   They have a fuel dock, small chandlery & a pretty good restaurant. I have very little personal experience here. They sound very welcoming & happy for the business; however I have heard some mutterings in the past from other boaters. It could be prior management, bad karma, whatever. Seek additional opinions. This might be a very good choice.

Overall Launch/Storage Recommendations: Make a point of calling the day before or while in transit. And, in order of preference, I recommend:
1. Meeks Bay or Tahoe Keys.
2. Obexers.
3. Tahoe City Boat Ramp.
4. Cave Rock.

Other Useful Information
Local Provisioning: There are no doubt dozens of locations which I have neglected. For convenience and selection, my favorite is the Safeway complex at Tahoe City (see Tahoe City Marina, above). The Tahoe City Marina would be a good place to refuel your tank(s) for this reason.

Sail-Up Dining: The following link will identify most of the waterfront restaurants which cater to the boating crowd. http://www.boattahoe.com/restaurants.htm There is also a Tahoe map and GPS coordinates (wow!), along with phone numbers and VHF channels.
Pumpout Stations: The following link identifies the marinas that provide holding tank pumpout facilities:
http://www.tahoeboating.com/listings/pumpouts.htm   Porta-potties are a bit more problematic. I have one; it is my practice to disassemble it in the cockpit & carry only the holding tank ashore - briefcase style. My favorite is the state parks, with their sani-huts or fixed restroom buildings. I have never formally asked permission to dump, but have never been challenged either. Given the alternative (you will simply be murdered without warning by your fellow boaters if you dump overboard), the rangers seem to welcome the evidence of good poopy behavior.

Storing your Rig Once Launched
by Dale Paul   F-28CC   Sera Luna

Parking at the lake can be hard to come by... I like to launch at Sand Harbor or Cave Rock. Both are public facilities and its only $6 to launch. However, there is no overnight parking. At Sand Harbor you can leave your trailor in Incline along the highway but I wouldn't recommend it. Obexer's just north of Meeks has a nice deep ramp but not much parking that I know of. There is a free public ramp in Kings Beach but its small, shallow and parking is real difficult. There is a ramp in Tahoe City but I have never used it or seen it so I don't have any information on it.
If anyone gets in a bind and is having trouble finding a place to keep your trailor, if you want to launch from Sand Harbor or Cave Rock you can contact me and we can arrange to leave your trailor at my house (and/or vehicle), and I'll provide a ride back to your boat. Since I probably will not be "living aboard" during the event I can even tow a trailor down the hill to my house in the evening to save someone the trip. So if you end up needing help or more information, call me on my cell at (775) 720-6495.

Tahoe

For further information email Chris Harvey:
minzuki at prodigy.net

BAMA

Camp Richardson
	Ramp closed - no launching or retrieval. Efficient fuel operation. Dock is busy, usually full. Good restaurant. No beaching within reasonable distance.
Meeks Bay
	Meeks Bay Resort: 530.525.5588 manager: Ed. No fuel. On-site setup, 2 launch ramps, small dock, inside protected harber with channel access to main lake. Best wind & wave protection on the lake. No restaurant, small store on resort grounds. No buoys, probably no slips or end ties. Plan to launch/retrieve only. Resort access fee is $7.00. Launch fee is $25.00 round trip. Very limited rig parking @ $10/ day. Parking is legal on nearby highway 89. The bay itself is usually protected from prevailing weather. This is a good thing, except that the lakebed is not so well weathered (as in smooth/soft) as most other areas of the lake. The beaches immediately outside the channel are much less beachable than in previous years - more rocks are exposed, with sharper edges.
Obexer's
	Homewood, CA: 530.525.7962. Manager: Jim Lane. Fuel dock. Pre-opening setup only. (If you can rig in the water and arrive ready to launch, they will accommodate you during the day.) Launch fee is $10 each way. Parking is legal on nearby highway 89, but very high density of other rigs &driveways means a long walk. There may (not yet determined) be per-day fee parking at Homewood Ski Resort (530.525.2992 - Collier Cook) across thehighway, or at Homewood High & Dry boat storage (530.525.5996), adjacent to Obexers. Small stores & restaurants nearby. No beaching within reasonable distance.
Sunnyside Marina
	Sunnyside 530.583.7201. No launching, busy dock, but efficient fuel dock & super restaurant & deck - a de riguere "see & be seen" place on the lake. Guest buoys & shuttle. Call restaurant @ 530.583.7200 1/2 to 1 hour in advance. The "beach" here is smooth river rocks - previously beachable for cruiser types with no respect for their perfect polished bottoms. This year the bottom looks too rough - similar to Meeks Bay. General store & great breakfast restaurant are within a block. No beaching within reasonable distance.
Tahoe City Marina
	Tahoe City: 530.583.1039. VHF channel 78. Sling launching only, no setup space; not recommended. Fuel dock. Tahoe Yacht Club is located here, along with a number of good restaurants, botiques, etc. (Fast Eddie's - a BBQ restaurant at the highway entrace to the facility, offers what may be the arguably finest smoked ribs on the planet). Safeway shopping center adjacent to the facility. A small public dock is available on a first-come, first-served basis. They have a few guest buoys & shuttle service, and may lend out an "owned" but unoccupied buoy on a short term basis.
Tahoe City Boat Ramp
	Tahoe City (Parks Dept - 530.583.3796; auto-answer system - touch "7" when the menu starts to reach the right people). 2 miles east of Tahoe City, adjacent to the U.S.Coast Guard station, well-signed & easily located. Limited free parking on the highway. Opening day is July 1, 2002. Launch & 1-day rig parking = $10.00; season pass (best bet) = $50.00. Emerald Bay is 15 miles away but, hey - these are F-boats.
North & Northeast Shore
	There may be some facilities here, but I have not investigated them: This is the opposite end of the lake from Emerald Bay, and it is the most exposed when the weather picks up. I will make inquiries if anyone has their heart set on basing out of here.
Sand Harbor State Park
	Incline Village, Nevada. Nevada Parks Dept: 775.831.0494. Located about 5 miles east of Incline Village. $8 fee. Very heavy day use, no overnight parking. Highway parking is legal but distant and remote from supervision. Not recommended for this reason. Consider this as a fall-back option: Scope out a candidate parking area in the Kings Beach, CA or Incline Village, NV areas, then launch here at Sand Harbor & pick up your driver. Incline Village has virtually no roadside parking within reach of the very few public beaches. Kings Beach & adjacent communities are a little more laid back, more tourist oriented.
Cave Rock State Park
	About 9 miles east of Stateline, Nevada. Nevada Parks Dept: 775.831.0494. $10 fee (total = $20 with separate in/out days). Actually a pretty good choice, except for the additional driving mileage through South Lake Tahoe. Very good dock, 2 deep ramps. Same rules & limitations as Sand Harbor (above). Consider this as a fall-back option, with Zephyr Cove (5 miles west) as a candidate parking/pickup site.
Tahoe Keys Marina
	South Lake Tahoe, CA 530.541.2155: $25 round trip. Rig on Venice Street, just outside the marina, then enter & launch; no mast clearance problems. Slip rental = $2 per foot per day (ugh!) or $9 per foot per week. On-site rig storage = $20 plus $1 per axle per day. An F31 trailer & truck (4 axles) would run $24 for 1 day, $48 for a 7-day week, etc.. On-street parking is legal for 72 hours only. Highway (free) parking is unrealistically distant. Tahoe Keys is well protected and close to Camp Richardson & Emerald Bay. They have a fuel dock, small chandlery & a pretty good restaurant. I have very little personal experience here. They sound very welcoming & happy for the business; however I have heard some mutterings in the past from other boaters. It could be prior management, bad karma, whatever. Seek additional opinions. This might be a very good choice.