Flyingdutchy said...
Here's hoping!
I, too, took part in the course racing on Lake George. I think it was in the mid-80's. We would launch from near Geary's Gap. We set courses out towards the middle of the lake and back - nice long reaches, compared to anything we could do on Lake Burley Griffin.
Since the lake bed, when dry, carried sheep, a continual worry for us was the fences, the top strands of which were often just at the water surface level. We would mark gaps in the fences with broken masts rammed into the bottom. Imagine hitting a barbed-wire fence at planing speed! We didn't mark ALL the gaps, just those that were in close proximity to the course. If you strayed off-course, proceed with caution!
Should you fall off in the middle of the lake, which I seemed to do quite often, you would be in waist to chest-deep water. That in itself was quite comforting. But the lake bottom was atrocious; sticky, slimy, stinky mud. You couldn't help but get it all over your board when you water-started.
Because the lake was so shallow, it was prone to a savage chop, especially when an easterly came through. There have been quite a few drownings in the Lake, including 5 Duntroon cadets in the one incident. It's a treacherous waterway.
So, I suppose, if Lake George does become sailable again, I would give it a try, if only for nostalgia's sake. But, I think that it's better suited to my mate Paul's kite buggying activities. Unfortunately, at the current water level, it suits neither of our interests. One of those "glass half full or half empty" situations.
