Ron and Cathryn, I sail my M-23 in the Delta. I have been sailing there for about 12 years and have really grown to love it. I sail out of Bethel Island which is a lake about 3 miles across. There are over 1000 miles of waterway to explore.
I once went out with my Catalina 25 and spent 8 days sailing with my wife and 2 daughters. We never crossed the same place twice. We camped on the boat in the evenings and had great fishing and swimming. The best months are April through June, and September and October. In between it can be good, but it also can be very hot. The sailing is great with good (sometimes too good 30+mph) winds and flat water. On occasions the combination of tide, current, and wind is too much and in the wrong directions and you must motor, but usually it is not a problem. On the big rivers, you can have long tacks of two or three miles. Herman and Helens can be a tough spot to get out of. The slough that affronts the place is very shallow and it is very easy to get grounded. Make sure you talk to them before leaving so you can find out where it is safe to go. There are lots of fun places to visit. Make sure to get a Delta Map that is available for a few dollars at most marinas. It will show all the sloughs and mention some interesting places to visit. You should also get a local tide table and pay close attention to the tides and depths to avoid grounding. I always leave the board down even when motoring so if I ground, I can pull it up and move off. Check out this site for more info: http://www.californiadelta.org/homepage.htm The book that Hal Schell wrote, "Dawdling on the Delta" Is a fun book to learn more about the area and places to visit. I think it is available on his site (the URL above). If you have any specific questions drop me an email and I will be glad to give you my advice (for what it is worth). Maybe we will see you out there sometime. ___ 73 de AC6KW <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Jeff Grudin, DVM Web Add: http://www.grudin.net Ocean Animal Clinic / Cat Clinic of Santa Cruz - Santa Cruz, California Montgomery 23 Hull #072 Norcal QRP * QRP-L * ARS * AR Qrp Release Date: 7/24/2002 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.380 / Virus Database: 213 - Release Date: 7/24/2002 _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
