Lecture series, open house

The Tahoe Maritime Museums wraps its summer lecture series on Sept. 9 with “Preserving Tahoe History Through a Camera Lens” with Peter Goin, University of Nevada Regents and Foundation Professor of Arts. The lecture starts at 5:30 p.m. with light refreshments at 5 p.m. The cost is $8 for adults and free for children under 12.

The museum also will open the doors to its massive Truckee Annex on Sept. 11. The annex is only open a few times a year for public viewing of the museum’s extensive collection. David “Smitty” Smith will be leading tours. The annex will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 and free for children under 12. The annex is located at 10434 River Park Place in Truckee. For details, visit www.tahoemaritimemusuem.org or call (530) 525-9253.

TRPA fines boater $5,000

A Los Angeles resident was fined $5,000 by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency on Aug. 25 for evading Lake Tahoe boat inspectors in late-June, according to news reports.

In a unanimous decision, TRPA’s legal committee agreed to the fine and recommended that Mark Kanev of Los Angeles make a public apology for purposefully evading inspectors after his vessel was recommended for decontamination.

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency officials reported that Kanew tried to launch his vessel on June 28 at Cave Rock. Inspectors turned him away after he told inspectors that the boat had been in southern Utah's quagga-mussel-infested Sand Hollow Reservoir. After finding water in the boat, inspectors ordered a full decontamination scheduled for July 1.

Inspectors later learned that Kanew took the vessel to the Meyers inspection station on June 28 and gave different information about the boat's origin. Kanev then launched his boat at Meeks Bay. TRPA officials found the vessel moored in Rubicon Bay on July 1 and had it removed from Lake Tahoe.

The TRPA reported that the water in Meeks Bay Marina and the area the boat had been moored was tested for quagga and zebra mussel DNA. The tests indicated that no quagga or zebra mussels were present. The boater is the first to be sanctioned by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Roadside inspections to close

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency will close two of its roadside boat inspection stations in early to mid-September, according to community liaison Jeff Cowen. Roadside inspection and decontamination stations are been operating throughout the summer with four stations at Spooner Summit, Northstar, Alpine Meadows and Meyers.

The stations were set up for the mandatory inspections of quagga and zebra mussels for all vessels into Lake Tahoe. The invasive quagga and zebra species are miniscule, but can wreak havoc on the Lake if they are introduced. These mussels, which are hitching rides on boats and trailers and in ballast tanks, bladders and live wells, are spreading across the West. Quagga and zebra mussels will spread rapidly once they are introduced to a lake and will gorge on the food supply, kill fish and pollute the clarity of the lake.

The Spooner Summit station on Highway 50 will operate until Sept. 7, with the Alpine Meadows Road station off Highway 89 closing Sept. 15. Roadside stations at Northstar and in Meyers will operate until Sept. 30. The stations are open daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

However, mandatory inspections will continue through the winter at all open launch sites. The addition of roadside inspection stations to the Lake Tahoe AIS Program have been funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For details on the mandatory boat inspections, visit www.protecttahoe.org or call (888) 824-6267.

Staff changes at museum

The departure of Heather Leonard, director of operations, this month from the Tahoe Maritime Museum will bring some staff changes to the museum. Heather, who was been a valued addition to the museum and the community, will be relocating with her husband to Houston later this month.

While the museum looks for a permanent director, Richard Lashbrook, a long-time Friend of the Museum, volunteer and member since 2001 will take the helm as Interim Director.

Patty Williams has joined the staff as development associate, and Heather Laederich, a part-time summer staff associate, has accepted a full-time role as exhibits associate.

Water shuttle shutters

Get On Tahoe, the water shuttle started earlier this summer by the Tahoe Diver’s Conservancy, has shuttered its service due to lack of interest. The Tahoe Diver’s Conservancy reported that it had to stop service after low ticket sales and a lack of access to marinas and docks around the Lake. The shuttle offered service on the North and East shores.

Lake Tahoe clarity steady in 2009

Lake Tahoe clarity held steady in 2009 for the ninth year in a row, but remains significantly poorer than in previous decades, according to UC Davis scientists who have monitored the lake for more than 40 years.

The lake was clear to an average depth of 68.1 feet in 2009, the researchers found.
That’s down from 102.4 feet in 1968, when UC Davis researchers first measured the lake’s clarity.

Geoff Schladow, director of the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, said the latest test results may be cause for some optimism.

Even though precipitation was much higher in 2009 than in 2008 or 2007, the annual average clarity remained relatively stable, Schladow noted. Rainfall and snowmelt wash water-clouding particles into the lake.

Another hopeful finding: 2009 summer clarity readings were much better than 2008 summer readings. Overall, clarity during the summer months of 2009 was 10 feet better than in summer of 2008.

UC Davis researchers measure the lake's clarity throughout the year by lowering a white Secchi disk, named after its inventor, Italian scientist Angelo Secchi, at two fixed locations. The depth at which the disk, the size of a dinner plate, disappears from sight is referred to as the Secchi depth, a measurement of clarity. For more information, visit http://news.ucdavis.edu./

Invasive species forum

The Truckee Region Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Program is the topic of a Sept. 3 meeting to gather input for a draft strategic plan. The plan will recommend required mandatory inspections of all motorized watercraft on Donner Lake and Boca, Stampede and Prosser Creek reservoirs beginning as early as next summer.

The forum is at 7:30 p.m. at the Truckee Community Center. For more information, call Craig Threshie at (530) 550-5252 or e-mail cthreshie@tahoercd.org.

Lake Explorations lecture

Tahoe Maritime Museum hosts its next lecture series on Aug. 26 featuring Martin McClellan from New Millennium Dive Expeditions at 5:30 p.m. to discuss “Lake Explorations.”

On July 20, 2002, New Millennium Dive Expeditions reached the scuttled “S.S. Tahoe” in 400’ of water off Glenbrook in a record-setting high-altitude dive. New Millennium aided in the effort to have the site named to the National Register of Historic Places, the first such designation in the country.

Refreshments will be served at 5 p.m. The lecture series is $8 for adults and free for children under 12. For details, visit http://www.tahoemaritimemusuem.org/.

Ta-Hoe Nalu Paddle Festival

The Lake Tahoe Paddleboard Association hosts a number of events throughout the year, with the upcoming Ta-Hoe Nalu Paddle Festival on Aug. 21 and 22. The festival features six races starting in Kings Beach with $20,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs.

Races include prone, SUP and OC1 classes for a 10-mile distance race, 6-mile open class and Elite 14’ Class, 3-mile buoy race and a four-person SUP Team Relay for 6 miles. There also is a 1-mile race for ages 12 and under. Enjoy a luau and live concert from 5 to 10 p.m. on Aug. 21.

Entry fees range from $30 to $100, depending on the race. World Paddle Association and LTPA members receive a 10 percent discount for races. The luau and concert on Aug. 21 is $30 for adults and $15 for children 12 and under. For details or to register, visit www.ta-hoenalu.com or e-mail ernie@ta-hoenalu.com. E-mail to volunteer, as well.

The art of paddleboarding

OK, there’s really not an art to paddleboarding. It takes a little balance, some fineness and a love of being on the water. Give it a try and you’ll pick it up pretty quick.

What the sport does have is a legion of die-hard fans that are in love with Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, as it’s called.

The attraction is obvious, even if you haven’t tried it. Come on, you know you stare at paddleboarders when you see them. You yell questions to them from the beach and piers, from kayaks, boats and personal watercraft. Everyone is fascinated by the sport. So, what are you waiting for? Give it a try.

Here are the basics: You stand up on a paddleboard – a modified surf board at its roots – and you paddle across the water. Flat water or rolling, ocean, stream or lake, you can paddleboard.

On a busy weekend at any of the hot spots for beach-lovers, you’ll see every age, every physique and every ability level on a paddleboard.

Age isn’t a factor, either. If you can stand, you can paddleboard. Having trouble getting up? Try again. The trick is to balance on the board.

And, it doesn’t even have to be warm to paddleboard. You can paddleboard year-round, as many locals do. You also can have someone kneel on the front of your board, including your dog, if he/she listens better than my dogs.

Paddleboarding has its roots in the Hawaiian Islands and was born from surf instructors standing on their boards and using paddles while teaching large groups to surf. It eventually evolved into its own sport and started to become popular on the mainland about a decade ago. Now, there are competitions around the world, including many popular ones in Tahoe, with an industry of hybrid boards, gear and magazines devoted to the sport.

Getting started

Head to the beach – nearly any beach around – and rent a paddleboard. I recently made a stop at Tahoe Paddle & Oar in Kings Beach to rent two standup paddleboards for me and my pal Emily Sullivan. We signed up and headed to the beach across the street, where we were handed our paddles and personal flotation devices, PFDs. The length of the paddle is based on your height.

We walked down to the water where are paddleboards were waiting for us. A paddleboard looks much like a surfboard with a fin, and many rentals are outfitted with a bungee cord on one end to stash your PFD and shoes.

Here’s something I learned: The U.S. Coast Guard classifies a paddleboard as a vessel, and you are therefore required to carry a PFD. It also means that all paddleboarders 12 and under must wear a PFD (under 13 in Nevada).

The trickiest part is standing up on the board. The goal once you stand up is to have your feet shoulder’s width apart and centered on the board near the handle or slightly in front of it.

If the water is shallow enough, and with a little practice, you can just step onto the board. I have not mastered this technique yet. So, you want to kneel on your board with your knees over the handle and shoulder’s width apart. Hold the paddle in one hand, put one foot flat on the board while using your hands to balance. Then, put the other foot flat on the board and stand up. Don’t step forward, back or to the side. You’ll end up in the water.

Also, don’t plant your paddle in the sand and use it to push your body up to stand. It’s harder, you’ll probably fall and you really look silly doing it. Just plant your feet right where you’re kneeling, and, voila, you’re up.

It will feel a little strange at first as the movement of the water under your feet has you wobbling. But, you’re more steady than it feels your first time out.

If the water is too shallow for your fin to clear the sand, you’ll have to paddle out with your arms or the paddle. Get in the kneeling position and paddle until you’re clear.

You also can kneel or lie on your stomach to paddleboard – known as prone paddleboarding. Tahoe Paddle & Oar also rents prone boards and they’re made to lay or kneel on. There are even prone categories for competitors.

Now, that you’re up, it’s time to paddle. Wrap your hand over the grip of the paddle with your other hand on the shaft, no more than shoulder’s wide apart. Also, for stand-up paddleboarding, the curve of the blade is pointing toward the nose of the board. Then, you want a gentle vertical sweep of the paddle. If you reach out, you’ll fall. Use gentle strokes while you get the feel of the board.

You want to stay loose and go with the waves; don’t be stiff. You’ll want a slight bend in your knees and don’t bend over to paddle; you’ll get a sore back.

Switch your paddle from side to side to keep the board heading straight. You can turn by paddling at an angle, just like kayaking, or you can back paddle, a new trick Emily taught me.

Hold your paddle in the water to stop it from moving forward, then gently back paddle to pivot the front of the board in the direction you want. Then, resume paddling. Nice trick, Emily.

You can move pretty fast on the board, or go as slow as you want. We ventured from Kings Beach heading west passing the beaches and private homes, past North Tahoe Marina, Wild Goose Restaurant and the Holliday House before turning back. We answered questions from curious onlookers on piers and in kayaks, and enjoyed the beautiful sunny morning.

Mornings are the best time when the water is at its calmest on Lake Tahoe, but with a little practice, wind and waves won’t stop your paddle adventure.

Tahoe Paddle & Oar is located in Kings Beach at 8299 N. Lake Blvd. They offer daily rentals for stand-up and prone paddleboards, kayaks, surfboards and canoes. Stand Up Tahoe offers guided paddleboard tours through Tahoe Paddle & Oar, as well.

For rental information, call (530) 581-3029 or visit http://www.tahoepaddle.com./ Tahoe Paddle & Oar also offers a Women’s Stand-Up Paddleboarding clinic on Wednesdays and Saturdays. For paddleboard tours with Stand Up Tahoe, call (530) 318-0885.

The joy of sailing

I love to sail. There’s something about the wind in the sails and the quietness of the water around you, the feel of control (or lack of it) when you’re easing out or trimming the sails, the way the tiller feels in your hands, I love everything about sailing.

Years ago, my friend Leigh introduced me to sailing, and I fell in love with it. We would go out often, and he would show me a few things, but I never really understood how to sail.

So, I decided to take a class. I’ve put it off for years, letting other commitments take precedence over the sailing class. But, this year, I was determined to take a class. Luckily, Truckee Donner Parks and Rec had a recent opening in the adult sailing class and I joined two other would-be sailors – Lauri Wall of Truckee and Martin Bessolo of San Rafael – for a weekend learning to sail on Donner Lake.

We met at West End Beach with instructor James Foster, for some class time on the beach. But, the best way to learn to sail, is to do it.

We loaded onto a pedal boat (yes, a pedal boat) to head over to the district’s 21’ Macgregor sailboat for class. The parts of a sailboat are many and each with a unique name, we discovered as class got under way. Fortunately, most people in Tahoe have spent time on a boat, so the basics of bow vs. stern (front of the boat vs. the back of the boat), port (left) and starboard (right) and hull are familiar terms. But, jib, headstay, mainsheet, boom vang, tack, luff, padeye and halyard had us all stumped at the start. James was patient and will we learned the parts, then moved on to practicing knots we would need to sail – the figure 8, the bowline, a square knot (to tie two pieces of rope together), the cleat and clove hitch, along with coiling rope. I never thought knots could be so much fun.

With our knots ready to go, we started to rig the boat. First, the jib sail to the jib halyard (attaching it to the mast) and the jib sheet (the ropes we’ll use to sail with). Next, attaching the mainsail to the main halyard (again to the mast), feeding the sail into the boom. Now, we were ready to get under way.

We used the motor to clear the shoreline and raised the sails. James started at the tiller directing us when to trim (tighten) and when to ease out the sheets on the jib and main. We each practiced when and how to trim and eased out on the sheets.

The constantly shifting winds of our first day on Donner Lake had us tacking throughout the day – changing direction to find the wind. For a small lake like Donner, we spent a good portion of the day zigzagging across the lake, tacking to change our direction to follow the wind.

With those basics down, the three of each took turns rotating through the positions: tiller, mainsail and jib, while James coached us. It’s a delicate balance of easing out on the sails to find the wind and trimming them to maximize your position. At the tiller, you’re at the helm, keeping your eye out for the wind direction, while watching out for obstacles and overseeing a tack or jibe (changing direction depending on where the wind is coming from).

When you’re working the sheets or the tiller, something comes over you. A serene peace on the water, that also is a thrilling adventure as you try to marry wind and water using sails and ropes to carry the boat. You have to learn to sail, but you also have to feel it.

We learned to watch the water, the wind and the sails. But, it’s the indescribable feel of the tiller when the wind catches the sail in the perfect spot, or when the sails start to luff and you have to navigate back to catch the wind.

Over the course of the two-day class, we spent 90 percent of our time sailing. From practicing Man Overboard drills – using a Figure 8 sailing maneuver – to jibing (changing direction with the wind behind you), to experiencing the bliss we each felt as we took the tiller and the wind filled the sails, the class was amazing.

I felt confident of my new-found knowledge and abilities, and am ready to spend more time sailing this summer. Now, if I can only get Santa to bring me a sailboat this year.

(Photo: James Foster)

Tahoe Vista boat launch closing

The public boat launch at Tahoe Vista will be closing on Aug. 9, due to low water levels, according to NTPUD officials.

Water levels are extremely low outside the harbor, NTPUD said in a press realease, advising boaters to use other launches at Sand Harbor and Lake Forest.

The ramp is open from noon to 6:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday to Sunday, until it closes for the season on Aug. 9.

For details, visit www.northtahoeparks.com.