Marina News
Great Salt Lake
Marina
June 18, 2008
Current Conditions
Lake Level
4195.9
Trend
Steady
Water Temperature 78
degrees
Current
Flows Low
to Moderate
GSL Snowpack
106%
SAILFEST 2008
Sail fest was incredible. Kudo's
to Christie Simpson, her volunteers, sponsors, and contributors! And
thanks to everyone who helped our parking situation. By Saturday afternoon
we only had a couple parking stalls left. Almost all the gravel overflow
was taken up with camping vehicles. With all of that, we only had two
vehicles that created a traffic flow problem and that was worked out by midday
Saturday. We had significantly more vehicles and campers this year yet had
much less traffic flow problems than last year.
Fire Restrictions: Antelope Island
State Park
Due to dry conditions, Antelope Island
State Park managers have implemented a fire restriction beginning Friday, June
20 until further notice. Only charcoal fires in designated fire pits and
gas grills are allowed. No open wood fires allowed.
Water Level Prediction and Current
Status
Unfortunately it looks like my Water
Assessment prediction was correct. The Bear River has stopped flowing into
Great Salt Lake with any significant water. So has the the Ogden and Weber
Rivers. The snowpack for those three rivers has also dropped significantly
below normal. The only hope is the Jordan/Provo flow. This river is
still flowing into the lake and the snowpack for this area is still well above
normal. Yet this river system only contributes 10% of the water for Great
Salt Lake.
Our hope is that scenario number one
(in my prior Water Assessment report) will play out. That is that the
temperatures will stay moderate causing little evaporation and that the rivers
continue to contribute water to keep the lake level stable as long as
possible. Otherwise we could see lake levels lower than they have been
since the 1960's.
The current charts show that the Bear
River peaked at 1910cfs (average is 1610) on May 21st. Weber/Ogden peaked
below normal on May 20th. Jordan/Provo may not have peaked yet but the
flow on May 21st was well above normal. What this all means is the lake
peaked on March 31st at 4196.1 and has now stabilized at 4195.85. The
latest we have ever maintained a level before dropping was June 22nd. That
is next week. Hopefully we can stretch that out.
Spider Spraying
Well, the "Lotion Spiders" are now out
in force. We will continue to keep active with the spider spraying.
This could even mean evening spraying to keep them knocked down. You can
make a difference too. Spraying underneath your slips with a hose will
knock the spider egg sacks in the water. Raid Ant and Roack (Green Can)
killer works well on these Orb Weavers.
Brine Flies
They have hatched. Remember that,
although they are nuisances, they are completely harmless. They do not
carry diseases and are partly responsible why Great Salt Lake is the cleanest
water in the state of Utah.
Mosquito's and West Nile
VIrus
Yes, the mosquito's have hatched
too. West Nile Virus has already shown up in some dead birds in
Utah. Human cases usually do not show up until late summer or early
fall.
Although West Nile Virus is now
established in Utah, an important thing to remember is that less than 1% of
people who become infected with the virus will develop severe illness.
Most people who get infectded do not develop any disease at all. Of those
who do develope severe symptoms the fatality rate is from 3% to 15% and are
highest among the elderly. Dogs and cats seem to not develop any
symptons.
We have two common types of mosquito's
here at the GSL marina. The mosquito seen up by the restrooms and
near the common lawn is brown in color and will bite at any time of the
day. This mosquito does not appear to carry the disease. The other
common mosquito is darker in color (dark grey) and appears on large swarms near
sunset and sunrise. This mosquito is a potential carrier of West Nile
Virus:
Ways to prevent mosquito
bites:
1. Stay indoors during sunset and
sunrise
2. wear long, dark clothing (I don't
know why this works but it does)
3. Use a repellant carrying
deet.
Avoiding the Reef.
Boy, that reef over by the old Saltair
site and running up to the south tip of Antelope Island sure has been a popular
cruising destination this spring. Surprisingly even some very experienced
sailors have tried their skills at running aground on this reef. For those
that want do avoid this popular grounding area, here are three secrets.
1st, Draw a line from the Marina mouth to the tallest peak
(Frary Peak) on Antelope Island. Stay west of that, 2nd.
Never venture east of 112d 11m on your GPS. 3rd, Don't leave
the marina. For those that still want to cruise over the reef, be
patient. We will come and pull you off after we can't find anything else
to do.
Summer Solstice
Summer is nearly upon us. It
officially starts this Friday at 5:59pm mdt.
White Rock Cruise hosted by the
Great Salt Lake Yacht Club
For those interested from the Great
Salt Lake Marina or the Antelope Island Marina, here is the information that
Rock Simpson provided about the cruise this weekend:
"Ahoy cruisers, hopefully you've
got the White Rock Cruse circled on your calendar. It's this Saturday and
Sunday, June 21st and 22nd. I know the GSLYC website indecates the
skippers meeting is at 10am, but I just can't wait to get started so I'm
changing the skippers meeting to 9am. The water's warming up and we'll
have temperatures in the 90's so floating in the brine should be great.
Bring some of your favorite nibbles to share at the raft up, and I'll see you
this weekend. Should you have any questions call me (Rock Simpson) at
258-1238"
Upcoming Events
June is going to be a very busy month
of activities and oportunities for our marina users. Here is the list of
upcoming events
Tonight:
Wednesday night race #5 hosted by GSLYC
June 20:
Junior Sailing Night hosted by GSLYC
June 20:
Concert at Saltair (This could clog traffic along SR 202 and I-80 making it
difficult to get to the marina)
June 21st:
Hawaiian Canoe Club
Blessing of the Boats at Sunrise
June
21st:
Utah Summer Games hosted by GSLR
June 21st:
White Rock Cruise
hosted by GSLYC (see notice above)
June 21st:
Private event
retirement party at the marina pavillion (pavillion will not be available in the
afternoon for any other event)
June
22nd: White
Rock Cruise returns to GSL Marina
June 25th:
Wednesday Night
Race #6 hosted by GSLYC
June
27th: Junior
Sailing Night hosted by GSLYC
June 28th
Mystery Cola Cup hosted
by the GSLYC
June 28th
Wine (Whine) and Cheese
Social hosted by the GSLYC
July 2nd
Wednesday Night Race #7 hosted by GSLYC
July 4th
Independence Day (cruising on the lake is a great way to watch several fireworks
shows throughout Davis, Tooele and Salt Lake County
July
5th
Movie Night hosted by the GSLYC
July 9th
Wednesday Night Race #8 hosted by the GSLYC
July 12th
Partner's Cup hosted by
the GSLYC
July 12th
Luau Social hosted
by the GSLYC
July 16th
Wednesday Night Race #9
hosted by the GSLYC
July
16t
Concert at Saltair (this could clog traffic along SR 202 and I-80 making it
difficult to get to the marina)
July 19th
Summer Regatta #1
hosted by the GSLYC
July 19th
Concert at Saltair
(this could clog traffic along SR 202 and I-80 making it difficult to get to the
marina)
July
20th
Summer Regatta #1 hosted by the GSLYC
July 21st
Concert at Saltair
(this could clog traffic along SR 202 and I-80 making it difficult to get to the
marina)
July 23rd
Special Wednesday Night
Race hosted by the GSLYC
July
30th
Wednesday Night Race #10 hosted by the GSLYC
Aug
23rd-24th Camp-Around-The-Lake Road
Tour (more information to follow)
More Information on Clubs and
Organizations using the Great Salt Lake Marina
Hawaiiian Canoe
Club
Information to follow
Dave Shearer
Harbormaster
Great Salt Lake
Marina
Have you checked your docklines
lately?