Quiet on the Waterfront
Not much exciting has been happening on our waterfront; with our truck/boat launching vehicle under repair and other distractions, we've lagged sorrily behind in time on the water. That should change soon and I've already resolved to spend much more time on the water in 2011.
In the meantime, Gerald has been doing a good bit of sailing in Arizona in spite of the catastrophic failure and emptying of Tempe Town Lake. The Arizona State University sailing team has been improvising practices at McKellips Lake, a very small body of water in south Scottsdale. They've also just spent the weekend racing with the Arizona Yacht Club folks at Lake Pleasant this weekend, and will be journeying to San Diego, California (Mission Bay) in a few weeks. Also encouraging are a bunch of new members who've joined their team and support for a possible future collegiate sailing regatta in Arizona.
posted by Pat @ 9/26/2010 05:46:00 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
This "catastrophic failure and emptying of Tempe Town Lake" might make for some interesting reading. Or, have you already posted on it?
They had a dam made of rubber water balloons and one of them popped and let the lake drain away.
That should make for a real interesting post, Mr. T.
Welcome back, BTW!
Bridgestone Tires made the four dams. There are also dams on the upstream side, because most of the valley is so flat. I think the original designers expected the dams to have water flowing over them most of the time, providing cooling and wetting. But this didn't happen, and combined with the harsh Arizona climate (expected to reach 108 deg F this week and we're moving into October!) caused the dams to fail before their expected end of life.
Three of the four downstream dams are being replaced and a fourth is on order; a coffer dam will be built upstream of it so the lake can be re-filled in late October.
Post a Comment
<< Home