Monday at Lake Dillon

Black Magic in her slip at the Dillon Marina on a rainy Monday afternoon next to a big Italian speedboat and in front of Just Maryied, a classic wooden motor cruiser.

Near head of Snake River arm, looking northwest toward main body of Dillon Lake.
Approaching Blue River arm on south side of Dillon Lake.
View from southwestern Dillon Lake, near head of Blue River arm and Breckenridge.

Dillon update

Dillon Update: 60 boats are now registered so far for the open, including about
11 Lasers
10 J22s
7 J24s
7 Ultimate 20s
5 Pearson Ensigns
3 J80s
3 Stars
2 Melges 24s
and boats such as the Santana 20, Santana 22, Santana 29, J29, Catalinna 22, S2 7.9, Wavelength 24, etc.

We have our PHRF certificate, have sailed the lake, and are working on replacing the broken trailer jack.

Lake conditions way down south New Mexico way,

Heron Lake: 7153.17 feet elev., 192,188 acre feet. Down 4 inches and 1200 a.f. in 72 hours; it appears that the Conservancy is taking water. Rio Chama flows are 68 c.f.s. (25 minimum, 7u5 maximum in the past 72 hours), Azotea Tnell 14 c.f.s. (9 min. 23 max.), Willow Creeek 27 c.f.s. (10 min., anomalous high maximum reading).

Elephant Butte Lake: 4308.98 feet above benchmark elevation, 187,361 a.f., up 7 inches and 2,745 a.f. in 72 hours. Despite discharge of 1350 c.f.s., recent rains and thunderstorms have helped out quite a lot.

El Vado, 56,418 a.f., down 397 a.f., 89 c.f.s. outflow
Abiiquiu 154,825 a.f., up 1,538 a.f. (from Heron, no doubt), 194 c.f.s. outflow
Cochiti, 48,529 a.f. down 794 a.f., 528 c.f.s. outflow

Rio Grande at San Acacia, 768 c.f.s., San Marcial Conveyance 354 c.f.s., San Marcial Floodway 1,310 c.f.s.

Sunday bath morning at Dillon Lake

Sunday morning at Dillon Lake, Colorado with Black Magic between a large powerboat and a MacGregor X. Some sailors actually recognized Black Magic as an Etchells.

After lots of rain at Heron Lake, mud tracked aboard, debris caused by repair work, and highway grit from the long trip across the roof of the mountain west, USA 125 and a couple of sails that had been stowed below needed a bit of a bath. Although the docks had electricity, there wasn't running water. Not to worry; we had about 280,000 acre feet of fresh, chilled water immediately to hand.


Carol Anne and the mainsail of USA 125 get ready for a shower of clean, refreshing, 52-degree water from Dillon Lake.

Snipe Start!

Second day's start of the Colorado district Snipe regatta on Sunday, July 30, 2006.
Snipes rush out with other boat crews watching the show.

Pictures from our Sunday sail at Lake Dillon, CO

Boat in front of Round Mountain

Boat on south side of Dillon Lake


Crew of J 24 enjoying a great day.

A beautiful day 9017 feet above sea level.

Arrival in Dillon

We made it to the Spinnaker condos at Dillon, CO. The unit is nice with all the facilities we need and room for extra crew. Now we need to drop the boat off at the marina and then rig it tomorroww.

Preparations and Conditions

We have a condo for next week just about a block from the Dillon Marina, a slip for Black Magic, and have registered for the regatta. Carol Anne has painted the boat trailer and is busy shopping and packing. After tonight's sailing club social, Tadpole and I will join her. If all goes well, by this time tomorrow we'll be surrounded by 14,000-foot mountain peaks and well on our way. With luck, we'll be doing our bit to contribute to the madness that is the largest sailing regatta/party in the Rockies. Dillon's 3800 surface acres will see up to a 120 keelboats and who knows how many dinghies milling about in the chilly mountain waters.

Carol Anne will in all likelihood be sailing the only Etchells at Dillon; it's even possible that hers might be the first Etchells to sail in Colorado, either ever or at least in recent memory. So, her sleek boat may get at least its share of attention.

Dillon Lake is nearly full to the brim, which is good. However, lake conditions in New Mexico are a bit different.

Elephant Butte Lake in southern New Mexico is in an area hard-hit by drought. At elevation of 4309.02 feet above benchmark and with 187,653 acre-feet of water, the Butte has lost 8,124 a.f. in 13.2 inches of elevation in the past 72 hours. Water is flowing out at 1930 cubic feet per second but inflow is less; the San Marcial Conveyance is at 90 c.f.s. (34 minimum, 133 maximum in past 72 hours), the San Marcial Floodway is at 43 c.f.s. (32, 62). Perhaps one good bit of news is that, with the lake lowering, customers of the Rock Canyon Marina (now near the dam) will soon be able to use the gangway and lower parking lot, instead of a shuttle boat.

At capacity, the Butte holds close to 2,000,000 a.f. and is New Mexico's largest lake. This spring, the lake had 400 - 500 k.a.f. and sailors could go all the way up to the Monticello ramp. Probably about half the remaining water will go out before the lake begins to rise again early in the fall. The Monticello ramp is closed. The Rock Canyon ramp was nominally open as of 7/17 but not usable by keel boats; the concrete ramp extended 20 feet into the water as of last Saturday but as of today is out of the water entirely (update courtesy of Sailor Stan).

By the amount of water in storage, Elephant Butte is now New Mexico's fourth largest lake, behind Navajo (a portion of which is in Colorado), Heron (now the largest lake entirely within New Mexico), and Ute Lakes.

Cochiti Lake, 49,216 a.f., up 729 a.f., water flowing out at 614 c.f.s.
Abiquiu Lake, 152,908 a.f., down 737 a.f., water flowing out at 566 c.f.s.
El Vado Lake, 57,426 a.f., down 3,036 a.f., 510 c.f.s. outflow.

Heron Lake, 7143.55 feet elevation, 193,658 a.f. It is down 1/4 inch and 78 acre feet in 72 hours (due to evaporation) but has been almost at a constant level for the past month. The Azotea Tunnel (11 c.f.s. now, 6 minimum in past 72 hours) and Willow Creek (5 c.f.s. now, briefly a 66 c.f.s. maximum) are flowing minimally. The Chama River also has light flow (21 c.f.s., 28 max., 16 min.) All ramps and facilities are usable at Heron Lake; marina slips can be rented by the day, month, or for the remainder of the season.

Other Lakes
Navajo, 1,428,373 a.f., down 3,637 a.f. in 72 hours. Navajo, on the NM-CO border, has more water than all the rest of NM's lakes combined (even after subtracting the water that's on the Colorado side).
Eagle Nest, 33,583 a.f., down 116 a.f.
Conchas, 118,400 a.f., down 906 a.f.
Santa Rosa, 28,326 a.f., down 64 a.f.
Sumner Lake, 13,429 a.f., down 382 a.f.
Brantley, 15,491 a.f., down 1104 a.f.
Ute, 189,000 a.f., 3783.19 elevation (7/27 3 p.m.)

(see http://www.spa.usace.army.mil/wc/adbb/basinrpt.htm ,
http://www.usbr.gov/uc/elpaso/water/index.html ,
http://www.usbr.gov/uc/albuq/water/SanJuanChama/Reservoirs/rpts/heron_storage.html
http://www.ose.state.nm.us/isc_canadian_tech_data_res_info.html )

Black Magic left the water again yesterday and is getting ready for Dillon.

Area Lake Conditions, Rio Grande Basin:

Elephant Butte: 4310.08 feet elevation above benchmark, 195,475 acre feet as of Monday morning. The Butte is down 13 inches and 8,179 acre feet in 72 hours. Water is flowing in at about 100 cubic feet per second out at 1900 cubic feet per second. The lake is at 10% of capacity. The Monticello ramp is closed and the Rock Canyon ramp is about out of the water. The Rock Canyon Marina has been moved to the area in front of the dam.

Heron: 7143.56 feet elevation, 193,736 acre feet, down 1/8 inch and 40 acre feet in 72 hours. Heron is at about 49% of capacity. All ramps and facilities are usable.

El Vado, 60.736 acre feet, down 4,095 a.f. in 72 hours.

Abiqiui, 153,645 a.f., down 933 a.f.

Cochiti, 48,494 a.f., up 442 a.f.

Black Magic at Heron Llake

4452, the Skipper concentrates on all the details.



4460, scenic view of Heron Lake and mountains to the east from under Black Magic's boom.

4467, Tadpole and Carol Anne furling sails after a great day on the water.

View from afloat

4448, view from Syzygy's cockpit.

4449, view eastward into The Narrows.

Heron Lake, scenery seen from afloat

4443, north side of The Narrows at Heron Lake; cliffs provide a home for cliff swallows.

4444, view east into The Narrows with marina below cliffs in background.

4445, view west showing main body of Heronn Lake.

View west from buoy near mouth of the Narrows toward northwest side of Heron Lake, June 2006.

A quick run to the lake

Tuesday afternoon it was time to head back up from the city through the mesas and arroyos up to Heron Lake. En route, "Sam" came aboard in Santa Fe to spend the evening, and we arrived at the marina just as Carol Anne and Tadpole had launched her Etchells, Black Magic. Sam and I fired up the outboard on another of our boats, Syzygy, to jaunt across the cove and coordinate plans. (The general principal is to never drive a land vehicle when it's shorter, more convenient, and enjoyable to use a boat.) With threatening weather and distant rumbles of lightning, we didn't take time to try to sail, but got across the cove fairly quickly (not too quickly on a no-wake lake with a very enthusiastic law enforcement park ranger) to confer. Sam got to help Tadpole bring the newly repaired Black Magic back to her slip in the marina, while I scotted ahead of them to dock Syzygy and then help with Black Magic. Afterwards we enjoyed burgers on the marina grill and the sounds of the storm and a bit of rain along with good conversation among ourselves and the dockmasters before bringing Tad, Sam, a cello, and a string bass southward.

Heron Lake Activities

This weekend: potluck dinner Saturday evening at 7:00.
A fun race Saturday afternoon if we can swing it.
Sunday: Prepare Black Magic for her trip to Dillon, Colorado.

Lake Conditions

Heron Lake remains very stable, at an elevation of 7143.59 feet with 193,813 acre feet, losing 1/8 inch and 40 acre feet in 72 hours. Most of the marina is in 18 feet of water and all the boat ramps are in good shape. Willow Creek and the Azotea Tunnel, however, are barely trickling with just a few cubic feet per second of water in the past day.

El Vado has 65,545 a.f., losing 3,046 a.f. in 72 hours with 661 c.f.s. outflow.
Abiquiu has 152,688 a.f., losing 1179 a.f. with 670 c.f.s. outflow.
Cochiti has 48,165 a.f., gaining 785 a.f. in 72 hours, with 570 c.f.s. outflow.

Elephant Butte Lake at elevation 4311.50 feet (above benchmark) with 206,289 a.f. has lost 10 inches and 6,743 a.f. in 72 hours. By tomorrow, it'll be back to where it was before the rains came a couple of weeks ago to temporarily relieve it. The San Marcial Conveyance is flowing at 168 c.f.s, and the San Marcial Floodway at 56 c.f.s., but water is being released from the Butte at 1910 c.f.s. The Butte lost 4 inches and 2,634 a.f. in the past 24 hours.

A run for the lake

Tuesday afternoon it was time to head back up from the city through the mesas and arroyos up to Heron Lake. En route, "Sam" came aboard in Santa Fe to spend the evening, and we arrived at the marina just as Carol Anne and Tadpole had launched her Etchells, Black Magic. Sam and I fired up the outboard on another of our boats, Syzygy, to jaunt across the cove and coordinate plans. (The general principal is to never drive a land vehicle when it's shorter, more convenient, and enjoyable to use a boat.) With threatening weather and distant rumbles of lightning, we didn't take time to try to sail, but got across the cove fairly quickly (not too quickly on a no-wake lake with a very enthusiastic law enforcement park ranger) to confer. Sam got to help Tadpole bring the newly repaired Black Magic back to her slip in the marina, while I scotted ahead of them to dock Syzygy and then help with Black Magic. Afterwards we enjoyed burgers on the marina grill and the sounds of the storm and a bit of rain along with good conversation among ourselves and the dockmasters before bringing Tad, Sam, a cello, and a string bass southward.

Heron Lake Activities

This weekend: potluck dinner Saturday evening at 7:00.
A fun race Saturday afternoon if we can swing it.
Sunday: Prepare Black Magic for her trip to Dillon, Colorado.

Lake Conditions

Heron Lake remains very stable, at an elevation of 7143.59 feet with 193,813 acre feet, losing 1/8 inch and 40 acre feet in 72 hours. Most of the marina is in 18 feet of water and all the boat ramps are in good shape. Willow Creek and the Azotea Tunnel, however, are barely trickling with just a few cubic feet per second of water in the past day.

El Vado has 65,545 a.f., losing 3,046 a.f. in 72 hours with 661 c.f.s. outflow.
Abiquiu has 152,688 a.f., losing 1179 a.f. with 670 c.f.s. outflow.
Cochiti has 48,165 a.f., gaining 785 a.f. in 72 hours, with 570 c.f.s. outflow.

Elephant Butte Lake at elevation 4311.50 feet (above benchmark) with 206,289 a.f. has lost 10 inches and 6,743 a.f. in 72 hours. By tomorrow, it'll be back to where it was before the rains came a couple of weeks ago to temporarily relieve it. The San Marcial Conveyance is flowing at 168 c.f.s, and the San Marcial Floodway at 56 c.f.s., but water is being released from the Butte at 1910 c.f.s. The Butte lost 4 inches and 2,634 a.f. in the past 24 hours.

Update

Welcome to New Mexico, land of clear skies and endless views, home, unfortunately, to shrinking lakes. Wait! What's that rumble? Thunder and lightning, oh my! Yes, the monsoon season has finally confirmed itself; good rains a couple of weeks ago have been followed by occasional showers here and there, and the south part of Albuquerque just got a good little storm this morning, enough to leave puddles and knock out some traffic lights.

Clouds and rain aside, clear skies have been the general rules, and this past weekend we took advantage of them to work on projects. Mostly I was the "gravel guy", finishing off spreading a truckload of 1-1/2 inch gravel. Some of it was to renew the drive and parking area for our cabin; I also leveled out and graveled a parking area for Black Magic's trailer and worked on a trail and pathway. Several sandstone boulders also had to be dug and pried up and relocated to form part of a retaining wall. Several hundred pounds of gravel also went (over the past few weeks) to surface the trail that leads from the loading area down to the marina (with Heron Lake about 58 feet below spillway elevation, the 60-foot gangway wouldn't work too well!). My back was a casualty of all this work, but not in the usual sense of aches and strains; it got crisped by the sun when I took off my shirt for a bit too long. Yikes!

Carol Anne and Gerald of course were busy working on Black Magic, as detailed in itsfiveoclocksomewhere, and Gerald and I also did some work on the marina. One of our projects is recycling some old finger piers for use in widening the connecting walkway between the three main piers. This will make the connecting walkway more safe and stable. Before we can bolt the pier segments together, however, we have to remove the rub rails/banding boards and some cleats, which is a pretty good sized project by itself; we're about 2/3 done with this part.

No sailing was done by us this weekend, but I did sail on a Thistle again last week at Cochiti and got nice and wet. This past weekend I was the trailer launching/retrieving guy on Friday when Carol Anne and Tadpole hauled her Etchells, USA 125 Black Magic, out of the water to correct some badly done old fiberglass repairs. We also used Syzygy to ferry tools and equipment over to the ramp area for use on Black Magic. On Saturday, I may have become the first person to use a one-person kayak to bring a seven-foot stepladder from the marina across the cove to the boat ramp. Kayak, work barge, whatever.

Our first two choices for restaurants for Sunday dinner were closed (mysteriously?), so we had dinner at Cooks n Books, where all the table tops are topo maps, so we had dinner over the Cochiti Lake Quadrangle. Also on Sunday, I fired up the GPS and did some surveying for locations where we might have to relocate the marina if water levels are low next year. Scrambling across rocks and hiking gave me more good exercise as I surveyed the area near the dam and then hiked the perimeter of Piedra Cove at the far s.w. corner of the lake.

This week I've talked to a couple of sailors here and there, caught up on some happenings in El Paso and at the Butte, and am looking forward to a couple of our club sailors returning from a J24 championship regatta at Lake Tahoe. I'll make a brief run out to the lake tonight, help teach some sailing to Tadpole's Scout troop tomorrow, and then be back at the lake this weekend in time to host a potluck, check out Carol Anne's boat on the water, and then haul the boat out on Sunday in preparation for our Colorado trip to sail at Lake Dillon. Also, Carol Anne's folks and her youngest brother will visit us; Phil is hosting an astronomy talk and star party at the state park Saturday evening (after the sailing club potluck).

Oh and did I mention we got another boat last weekend? Yep, Carol Anne sent me to the Chama Valley Market to buy her beer and refill the water jug, and I returned owning another boat. "But, Carol Anne, it's only a little one. And it was such a bargain. And we want it to use for teaching the Scouts and other new sailors." So, we picked up another Sunfish. Now that we have so many boats, we need to get more people to visit us and sail them!

Lake Conditions

Rio Chama, 22 cfs (cubic feet per second) currently, 32 cfs maximum in past 72 hours.
Azotea Tunnel, 3 cfs current, 46 cfs max.
Willow Creek, 5 cfs now, 50 max.
Heron Lake is at elevation 7143.59 feet with 193,813 acre feet. It's up 1/8 inch and 38 acre feet which reflects a rough balance of water flowing in vs. evaporation.

El Vado has 67,898 a.f. and is down 2,808 a.f. in 72 hours, with water flowing out at 528 cfs.
Cochiti is at 47,435 a.f., down 528 a.f.
Abiquiu is at 153,607 a.f., down 886 a.f.

Elephant Butte is at 4312.12' elevation, 211,122 a.f., down 10 inches and 6,690 a.f. in 72 hours. It's going down gradually to where it was before the rainstorms brought it back up a couple of feet, but at least the rains bought time for lake users. If the rains hadn't come, the lake would probably be three feet lower than it is. Water is now flowing out at 1800 cfs but is partially offset by inflow; the Rio Grande at San Acacia is flowing at 89 cfs, and flows are higher at San Marcial. The Rock Canyon Marina has been relocated to the area in front of the Elephant Butte Dam and the Damsite Marina will likely have to be relocated before Labor Day.

The gift of rain

Last week's rains gave much-needed relief to New Mexico's farmers, foresters, and sailors.

Their effects were particularly dramatic at Elephant Butte Lake, which rose half a foot almost overnight during the weekend and a foot since. Just about all of the state's lakes have benefited, with demand for agricultural irrigation sharply reduced for the moment.

Heron Lake as of Wednesday morning, July 12
7143.51 feet elevation, 193,503 acre feet.
The lake is up 3 inches and 928 a.f. in 72 hours.
The lake rose in spite of giving up about a thousand or more acre feet of water during the weekend. By early this week, however, flows from the dam seem to have slowed or ceased. The Azotea tunnel is flowing at about 100 cubic feet per second and Willow Creek at about 120 cfs after both had dumped much larger amounts of water during the past several days.

El Vado, 72,033 a.f., down 70 a.f. Rio Chama flowing now at 68 cfs, had been as high as 172 cfs in the last 72 hours. Water is flowing out at 135 cfs, up from a mere 48 cfs.

Abiquiu, 155,416 a.f., up 813 a.f.

Cochiti, 48,782 a.f., down 901 a.f.

Rio Grande at San Acacia, 762 cfs, as high as 1240 cfs.
Rio Grande, Sar Marcial Floodway, 1170 cfs, as low as 584 cfs, as high as 1220 cfs in past 72 hours.

Elephant Butte, 4312.50 ' elevation, 214,148 acrefeet, up 1 foot and 7,859 a.f. in 72 hours.
Dam is releasing water at only 211 cfs; it had been flowing out at about 970 cfs until this week.

Navajo, 1,453,812 a.f., up 1,562 acre feet.

Crack

Shown below are the fine cracks in the interior starboard near-waterline area where there's a minor partial bulkhead (not the tank bulkhead) on USA 125, Black Magic.

The crack may have resulted from an old patch that may have been disturbed and might be a layer that's flaked off from other layers of fiberglass. CA says it's weeping slightly. It may be possible to re-balance the boat to move the crack above waterline to work on it; otherwise we'd have to haul USA 125 onto her trailer to do the work. The exterior hasn't yet been surveyed to see if any damage is evident from outside. A big question is whether re-patching on the inside would do for now, or whether we need to do a complete re-patch now.



Above, crack viewed from forward.

Friday, July 7 quick New Mexico lake update

Heron Lake:
7153.43 feet elevation, 193,195 acre feet -- up two inches and 542 acre feet in 72 hours.

El Vado: 71,982 a.f., down 883 a.f.
Abiquiu: 152,652 a.f., up 332 a.f.
Cochiti: 50,219, up 812 a.f.
Elephant Butte: 4311.12 feet elev., 203,343 a.f., down 9.3" and 6,046 a.f.

The Associated Press stories in the Albuquerque Journal this week, which noted that Middle Rio Grande Conservancy is likely to start taking its water soon, were variations of Staci Matlock's story in the New Mexican. The exact timing of MRGCD diversions is likely somewhat uncertain; if they took all of their water (about 20,900 a.f.), then the marina cove would be down to an average depth of about ten feet.

weekend and holiday mini-update

Sailing provided a welcome relief, but not relaxation, from moving a few tons of gravel at the cabin during the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Monday's "Long Race" was short on competitors but gave us a nice excuse for a long sail. Tuesday's sailing got a bit too exciting as a passing thunderstorm kicked up erratic winds and made for difficult docking. A ketch was capsized, but fortunately the two crew who went overboard were rescued.

Heron Lake
192,691 acre feet, 7143.230 feet elevation; up 1/4 inch and 78 acre feet in 72 hours. The Azotea Tunnel and Willow Creek water flows have varied with area rains; 15 cfs has been typical with a range from 5 to 100 cfs. 1750 surface acres; 3943 s.a. when at capacity.

1,454,592 a.f. Navajo Lake (12,500 surface acres)
. . 220,000 a.f. (approx.) Ute Lake (6517 surface acres)
. . 204,892 a.f. (4311.66' elev), Elephant Butte, down 7,342 a.f., down 11 inches with 1810 cfs outflow, 4171 surface acres
. . 152,357 a.f., Abiquiu, down 148 a.f
. . 123,272 a.f., Conchas
. . . 72,033 a.f., El Vado, down 2,097 a.f., 1858 surface acres
. . . . . . Caballo (1409 surface acres)
. . . 49,937 a.f., Cochiti, up 851 a.f.
. . . 34,579 a.f., Eagle Nest (1384 surface acres)
. . . 27,806 a.f. Santa Rosa (618 surface acres)
. . . 22,960 a.f. Brantley (678 surface acres)
. . 14,531 a.f. Sumner (565 surface acres)
. . . . . . . Bluewater (400 surface acres)
. . . . 814 a.f. Nambe Falls
. . . . 686 a.f. Avalon (Carlsbad)
. . . . 124 a.f. Jemez Canyon

Holiday Update and New Mexico Lake Conditions

Sailing provided a welcome relief, but not relaxation, from moving a few tons of gravel at the cabin during the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Monday's "Long Race" was short on competitors but gave us a nice excuse for a long sail. Tuesday's sailing got a bit too exciting as a passing thunderstorm kicked up erratic winds and made for difficult docking. A ketch was capsized, but fortunately the two crew who went overboard were rescued.

Heron Lake
192,653 acre feet, 7143.29 feet elevation; up 1/2 inch and 155 acre feet in 72 hours.
The Azotea Tunnel and Willow Creek water flows have varied with area rains; 20 cfs has been typical with a range from 5 to 100 cfs. 1737 surface acres; 3943 s.a. when at capacity.

1,454,592 a.f. Navajo Lake (12,500 surface acres)
. 220,000 a.f. (approx.) Ute Lake
. 207,530 a.f. (4311.66' elev), Elephant Butte, down 6,777 a.f.,
down 10.3 inches with 1810 cfs outflow, 4171 surface acres
. 152,101 a.f., Abiquiu, down 587 a.f.
. 123,272 a.f., Conchas
. . 72,172 a.f., El Vado, down 3,136 a.f., 1858 surface acres
. . Caballo (1409 surface acres)
. . 49,659 a.f., Cochiti, up 900 a.f.
. . 34,579 a.f., Eagle Nest (1384 surface acres)
. . 27,806 a.f. Santa Rosa (618 surface acres)
. . 22,960 a.f. Brantley (678 surface acres)
. . 14,531 a.f. Sumner (565 surface acres)
Bluewater (400 surface acres)
. . . . 814 a.f. Nambe Falls
. . . . 686 a.f. Avalon (Carlsbad)
. . . . 124 a.f. Jemez Canyon

Holiday Update and New Mexico Lake Conditions

Sailing provided a welcome relief, but not relaxation, from moving a few tons of gravel at the cabin during the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Monday's "Long Race" was short on competitors but gave us a nice excuse for a long sail. Tuesday's sailing got a bit too exciting as a passing thunderstorm kicked up erratic winds and made for difficult docking. A ketch was capsized, but fortunately the two crew who went overboard were rescued.

Heron Lake
192,653 acre feet, 7143.29 feet elevation; up 1/2 inch and 155 acre feet in 72 hours.
The Azotea Tunnel and Willow Creek water flows have varied with area rains; 20 cfs has been typical with a range from 5 to 100 cfs. 1737 surface acres; 3943 s.a. when at capacity.

1,454,592 a.f. Navajo Lake (12,500 surface acres)
. 220,000 a.f. (approx.) Ute Lake
. 207,530 a.f. (4311.66' elev), Elephant Butte, down 6,777 a.f.,
down 10.3 inches with 1810 cfs outflow, 4171 surface acres
. 152,101 a.f., Abiquiu, down 587 a.f.
. 123,272 a.f., Conchas
. . 72,172 a.f., El Vado, down 3,136 a.f., 1858 surface acres
. . Caballo (1409 surface acres)
. . 49,659 a.f., Cochiti, up 900 a.f.
. . 34,579 a.f., Eagle Nest (1384 surface acres)
. . 27,806 a.f. Santa Rosa (618 surface acres)
. . 22,960 a.f. Brantley (678 surface acres)
. . 14,531 a.f. Sumner (565 surface acres)
Bluewater (400 surface acres)
. . . . 814 a.f. Nambe Falls
. . . . 686 a.f. Avalon (Carlsbad)
. . . . 124 a.f. Jemez Canyon