Notes on Cruising Lake Powell

Ralph Aeschliman

Lake Powell is a fantastic, beautiful area with some two thousand miles of shoreline. The scenery is totally awesome. It is not a particularly good lake for sailing as the winds are unpredictable, varying from absolutely nothing to incredibly intense. I have spent a whole day hunkered down in a little cove rather than venture forth into gusts of 50 mph! Good sailing breezes are not real common, though they do happen, and of course in the narrow canyons the winds can swirl around a lot. If you are sailing Lake Powell be prepared to motor a lot, and when you settle in for the night it is good to secure your boat as if a gale will come up from the 'wrong' direction (even in narrow slot canyons!) because it very well might. There are incredibly calm, beautiful nights, too; I don't mean to frighten folks, but secure your boat well at night anyway. The wind almost always does a 180 degree shift as the sun goes down, so if your anchor is one of those fishing anchors, with the sliding shank, watch out that it doesn't slide. I used black electricians tape to tape mine so that it wouldn't. Anchoring can be tricky since much of the bottom is too deep, or is on a shelf next to a deep abyss. I use a portable fishfinder which gives an idea about what the bottom is like as well as its depth. The bottom is often sandstone so you need to search out a submerged dune and anchor in sand, plan to have your anchor drag a little if the wind should rise.

You can also find dunes that form beaches to beach your boat. With the P-15 this was more practical than for the P-19 which sloshes water into the cabin from the daggerboard trunk when the daggerboard is raised and a wake comes along or the wind whips up waves. It can be possible to find tiny highly sheltered embayments with little beaches that make great camping situations. These are good for 19's as well, in fact I've used the daggerboard as a "stick-in-the -mud" anchor to augment the tie down/anchoring arrangement. A boom tent for shade is practically a necessity. There are some places you can go in a 15 that just inaccessible to any other cruising vessel. By backing into narrow canyons (the Evinrude, being a twin, can idle VERY slowly) I could keep an eye on the bottom and get in to areas with mere inches of clearance on each side of the boat, sometimes finding a surprise beach or hike waiting. It is true that a kayak or even a (cough, cough) PWC could get in there, to do so with your cruising rig all set up is darned amazing. I can't do this with the 19.

The lake level fluctuates a lot, meaning that every time you go there it is a very different place. Places which provided good camping previously may now be fifty feet deep, or may be inland. There are new shoals and islands. Some major short cuts become available or unavailable.

I usually feed the fish around my boat and they become quite tame, there are many carp, bluegill, etc. and they will come take food from your hand. I haven't got the heart to fish for them, it would be like eating your pets, and most of them don't have enough meat to justify killing them. There are lizards ashore and coyotes and other critters. There are also prehistoric indian ruins and rock art in places, if you do explore Lake Powell a few guide books should be aboard.

The spring and fall are the best times, in my opinion, to explore Lake Powell. Early spring, though, means that the water will still be cold, and it can get cool in late fall, too. But this has the advantage of discouraging the PWCs and water skiers. The summers bring out all of those, plus it gets danged hot. The fall can be magical. I've thought about winter cruising on Lake Powell, you would have the lake all to yourself! But it does get cold there in winter, and the water is cold, too.

Ralph Aeschliman

"Mars-rise" over Lake Powell (where the evenings are more enchanted than you might believe!)

The "Hunky Dory" and Alan Motter's P-15 in Friendship Cove, Lake Powell.

The Hunky Dory and Alan Motter's Potter through Gunsight Pass with not an inch to spare. Passage is easier at high water. We probably couldn't have done it if it was one inch lower.

East side of Romana Mesa, with the Hunky Dory and Alan Motter's P-15.

The end of navagable water at West Canyon

further yet into West Canyon (on foot)

As far as we went into West Canyon. I understand that if you want to swim and squeeze your way through this passage there is more hikable canyon for about a mile.