Lake George, FL

[nial]

Is it possible to take a sailboat with a 39" draft and a 33 ft. air draft from Jacksonville to Lake George and anchor there for a month or so during Winter?
nial

[Tingum]

Yes, be sure to get up into the springs on the NW end of the Lake.

[HopCar]

If you have a good fast dinghy you can explore a lot of the St. Johns from there. Be sure to go up river to Blue Springs State Park. The spring run will be full of Manatees in winter. There were over 200 in the spring run when I was there last February.

[SailLakeGeorge]

It's nice to know that you may be headed our way this winter. I sail a Catalina 22 on Lake George regularly. (Keep the boat docked on a canal on the southeast side of the lake-Shell Harbor.) It is extremely rare to see other sailboats on the lake. In the four years I have had sailed there, I have seen three other sailboats. Mainly have a bunch of airboats cruising the shallows and pontoon party boats.

There are a number of challenges with Lake George...submerged pilings and other oblects, a bombing range with three groups of visible pilings in circles, very shallow water throughout, etc.

If you do indeed make the trek, let me know and I will fill you in on where to go, what to watch for, etc.

[Cogitonc]

Hello Saillakegeorge. Are you still on this forum? I am planning to bring my 23' Macgregor Venture Newport to lake george in a few weeks for the winter. Would love to ask you some questions.... Thinking of a slip at a marina so curious about that and also advice on sailing the lake. Hope to hear from you.

Scott

scott.brockmeier (at) gmail.com

[SailLakeGeorge]

Hi Scott:

Glad you are headed our way. Yes, still on the forum...Was just up at the lake yesterday. Now have a Hunter 26 water ballast but all else is the same.

The lake has it's quirks for boaters/sailers. There are a number of submerged pilings in various places. Some are marked on GPS maps, but many are not. Since we are on the SE side of the lake, that's where we see most of them. A bit spooky. Seem to be mainly on the east side of the lake.

We also have a large target range along the east side of the lake. It's marked on GPS maps. Have never seen any jets actually using it, though we have been within the range with several fighters doing fly-bys. I understand they send boats out to clear the area before using it.

The lake is primarily a fishing lake. There is a marina on the northeast side of the lake, may have a Georgetown mailing address. Pumpout, gas, small store, beer and bait, etc. Nice folks but caters to fishermen. (Just north of this marina about a quater mile is a restaurant/bar, but the food side was closed that last time we were there.) That's the only public marina that I know of on the lake. There are several marinas north of the lake along the St. Johns and several south of the lake also on the river. I think they may be your best bet.

We have a couple of nice springs to visit along the west side of the lake. To the north, Salt Springs. A good little run to get back there (maybe a couple of miles) but worth the motoring. Nice protected place to anchor for the night, though not beg enough to sail in really.

The most popular party spot on the lake is Silver Glen. It's usually crazy on the weekends so we avoid it unless the kids are with us and want to swim/snorkle. Much tamer and even kind of nice during the week.

Let me know when you will be here and we can try to meet somewhere in the middle to compare notes and enjoy a beverage of choice.

Mike

[Cogitonc]

Hi Mike. Got the boat down to Deland. Had a great day two weeks ago on Lake George! A very windy Sunday.... Tried to work out a marina slip but have decided on trailering from Deland. Will try to do 3-4 day outings to reduce setup/teardown time. Next trip first week in December.

My email is scott (dot) brockmeier at gmail. Shoot me an email and I will let you know when I will be on the water. Look forward to seeing you.

Scott

PS-photo is of my brother-in-law at the helm two weeks ago.