Sailing – RDZ Photography

Provo, Utah – September 2022 – Utah Lake

Least you forget the name, Utah Lake is in Utah County in the state of…Utah. It is the largest freshwater lake in the state, covering approximately 148 square miles, but only up to a depth of 14 feet.

At one time there were thirteen different types of fish native to the lake, but after the settlers arrived in the late 1800s they introduced carp into the lake, along with pollution and over fishing. As a result only 1 native fish remains, the Utah sucker, with the carp being well over 90% of the fish in the lake, although birds seem to like it.

Situated in the Utah Valley (of course), mountains surround the lake.

Being the only lake around it is a popular place for sailing.

Utah Lake, Utah Valley, Utah County, Utah.

Virtual Travel – Rhode Island

Architecture, History, Nature, Transportation, Water Features

Time for a brief stop in the smallest state – Despite the name, most of the 1045 square miles is not in an island, rather it is on the U.S. Mainland. It is thought the name came from a Dutch explorer who passed by and noted one of the islands was reddish in color, and the Dutch name for red island is ‘Rood Eiland’.

The Capital

1942 1994

The State Capital and largest city is Providence. The Rhode Island State House dates from 1904. It is amazingly the 7th state house in the history of Rhode Island (they must have rented before they could afford to own)!

State Symbol of the Day – Official State Appetizer – Calamari, because the state produces 54% of all the squid/calamari in the northeast. (photos from statesymbols.org)

State Drink – Coffee Milk. It is made from coffee syrup and is more like chocolate milk, only coffee flavored.

The Ocean State

1958 1975 1978 190 1983 1988

By far the most popular tourist town in the state is Newport. To get there from the west you cross the Newport Bridge, aka the Clairborn Pell Bridge. It climbs to a height of 206′ above the water.

In the early 1900s Newport was the summer home for many of the wealthy New Yorkers. It still maintains some of that mystique.

The famed Cliff Walk passes by many of those early 1900s mansions.

Newport is a major sailing community, with the Museum of Yachting located here.

Providence

1968 1969 1974 1976 1989 1999 2003 2010

Founded in 1636, Providence has a metro population of 1.6 million people. It is in some ways an extension of the Boston metro area.

The largest employer in the city is Brown University.

Virtual Travel – Maine

History, Museum, Nature, Sports, Transportation, Water Features

It is 1600 miles from New Orleans to Portland, Maine, but virtually we can be there in 10 seconds. It is off to ‘Downeast’ Maine.

Speaking of Downeast, I never understood the term since Maine is in the far northeast corner of the country. This term comes from the nautical term referring to direction, rather than location. During the summer sailing season the winds along the coast of New England blow from the southwest, therefore you went downwind to go from most of the country to Boston, and New England – hence going ‘Down East’

Speaking of nautical, we start our tour with lighhouses.

Lighthouses – Featured on the Maine State Roadmaps of 1959, 1974, 2002, 2010, 2016

West Quoddy Head Light. Featured on the 1959 map, West Quoddy is the furthest point northeast in the United States. Just across the Quoddy Narrows is New Brunswick, Canada. This light dates from 1858.

Lobster – 1968, 1982

Throughout the state are hundreds of small restaurants that serve fresh lobster.

Countryside – 1970, 2005, 2011, 2015, 2016

Maine is the least densely populated east coast state, with about 1.3 million people scattered over 35,000 square miles. Most of those people live in a small stretch of land from the New Hampshire border to Augusta.

As a result there are huge tracts of undeveloped land, dotted with lakes and mountains. Outdoor activities draw people from Boston, New York and beyond.

L L Bean has epitomized that outdoor style in Maine for more than 100 years. Founded by Leon Leonwood Bean, they started out selling ‘Maine Hunting Shoes’. As people came into his shop in Freeport to buy them he would note which ones were not from Maine, and subsequently sent them catalogs of new merchandise.

The flagship store in Freeport is open 24 x 7 x 365. (photos from Pintrest)

1972 – State museum

1973 – Transportation

1976 – Bicentennial

1977 – Watercraft

The Maine Maritime Museum is located in the town of Bath, Maine. Bath has been a shipbuilding center for years, as shown in this vintage postcard

2003 & 2011 – Canoeing & Kayaking

2004 – Skiing. There are 18 ski resorts in Maine. The largest is Sugarloaf, with almost 3000′ of vertical drop.

2009 & 2013 – Acadia National Park & Cadillac Mountain

Acadia National Park is located near Bar Harbor. Together they make a perfect vacation spot.

Cleveland – September 2018 – US Sailing Championships

Festival, Nature, Sports, Transportation

A late September sunny, cool & breezy Saturday was the perfect setting for the US Sailing Championships in Cleveland. Held near Edgewater Beach, the event features teams of 6 competing together in 3 boats.

The headquarters for the event was the Old Coast Guard Station at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River.

We had visited this location before, but never had the chance to go inside. The boathouse was fantastic, and on this day actually being used as a boathouse.

The action took place inside the breakwater.

As they would sail around the harbor, the boats would tip steeply, forcing the crew to quickly jump to the other side to balance them out.

There were a variety of great backgrounds to shoot. From this view the Edgewater Marina sailboat masts framed the small crafts.

A freighter was offloading coal nearby.

The apartment buildings along the Gold Coast in Lakewood is directly across the lake from the Coast Guard Station vantage point.

While we watched the Nautica Queen passed by.

At times it appeared to be more like roller derby than sailing.

Their routes around the harbor took them near one of the lighthouses at the mouth of the river.

Clearly having the boats pitched side to side was the fastest way around the course.

They race identical boats provided by a local sailing group known as the Foundry. Most had sails with a giant Cleveland logo on them.

The Chamber of Commerce moment number 1 – Sailboats with Cleveland sails going past the art deco Coast Guard building.

Most of the teams were male/female, which is apparently how you get to the ideal maximum weight of 290 pounds for the crew.

The Chamber of Commerce moment number 2 – Sailboat with a Cleveland sail going past the lighthouse.

The racing was continuous with numerous heats constantly coming and going.

More close action. Amazingly nobody went into the water, but these are some of the best sailors in the country, as the teams came from all over for this event.

This event was one of the best photography moments I have had in some time.

Cleveland – July 2018 – A Day in Town

Architecture, History, Nature, Sciences, Sports, Transportation

Having come to Cleveland for the Fuel Cleveland event, we had enough time to check out a few other sights.

I had recently read they had a velodrome in the Slavic Village neighborhood, so on the way into town we went to check it out – only to find that the freeway was closed due to construction.

Never fear – we eventually made it there.

Amazingly there are only 28 velodromes in all of America.

When we arrived late morning there were a few people practicing.

The track had a steel structural frame with what appeared to be layers of plywood for the track.

I was surprised at how steep the banking is.

We watched them run a few laps and headed out.

After the motorcycle event, we headed over to Edgewater Park and Wendy Park, where the restoration of a classic old coast guard house continues.

With a warm July day watercraft of all sizes were out.

Many seemed content just to park and hang out.

The railroad lift bridge was down for an extended time, causing a backup of boats – but the trains over-rule pleasure boats every time.

A sailboat with the high rise apartments in Lakewood in the background.

An interesting mix of old an new – the newer apartments and Lakefront Rapid (light rail) framed by the old Shoreway Bridge and some of the older buildings that have been restored.

A mix of skyscrapers downtown.

Look familiar? It is the light house on this blog’s home page – just not covered in frozen mist.

I am always amazed that the kayaks will get in the same water as the massive ore boats. Note a view of a portion of the Cleveland Browns Stadium on the right.

The top of a Cleveland landmark – the Terminal Tower.

A lift bridge and a skyscraper.

From upper Edgewater the view across the harbor shows just how busy it was on the water.

While on land some artwork makes for an interesting setting for hanging out.

While we were there 4 different wedding parties came along for their photo opportunity. Running of the Brides Cleveland version.

Sandusky, Ohio – July 2018 – Festival of Sail

Architecture, Art, Festival, History, Nature, Sciences, Transportation

Over the years we have had the opportunity to see a few ‘Tall Ships’ festivals, which is an event we always look forward to. This year they had a stop in Sandusky.