A few days ago, the outlook for flooding during Spring 2020 looked very high.  With the warm weather of late, we might be okay!  (knock on wood, etc)

For those of you not in the know about river level prediction services, here are a few links many of us study on a daily basis:

• NWS Stillwater River Gauge.  Also, pay attention to the two items under the “Probability Information” tab at the top-right.
  https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=mpx&gage=stlm5
• NWS 7-Day outlook.  Occasionally contains headlines with river information.
  https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=44.94&lon=-92.77&lg=english&&FcstType=text
• NWS National Snow Analysis.  For the hardcore nerds.
  https://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/nsa/

The river will drop below no-wake on Tuesday morning (6/11), so the 2019 sailing season is officially on!  Our first race will be the Spring #4 race tomorrow (6/11) at 6:30 pm.  The weather might be an issue, but we’ll make that call at the last-minute over VHF 72.

Bring your foulies and warm clothes and we’ll see you on the water!

The river is dropping fast and we will be sailing soon!  Current predictions show it to drop below no-wake level sometime late next week (June 12th?).  For those of you with boats on E or F docks at St. Croix Marina, you should be able to drive out to your boats this weekend!  The road to those docks opens up at around 684.3.

Time to prep your boats!

Up, Up, Up, goes the river…  Looks like it’s rising to 686 and will stay there for a while.  So, no racing any time soon.  For those who just want to go for a leisurely sail, St. Croix Marina is under water – so most of our club can’t even get to their boats.  (insult to injury, huh?)

I have some good news, though:  The Spring Picnic on Saturday is ON!  The races are canceled, but let’s all get together anyway and talk about the good times.  Stop by any time after 3pm.  Dinner will begin around 4pm.  More details can be found on the Dave O’Donnell Memorial Regatta page.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

The river is still rising, so Beercan Race #1 (5/24) has been abandoned.  We had hoped to hold a party on the Point, but the marina is under water, so that’s a no-go as well.

The river is expected to remain high for a while, so sit tight – we’ll be racing again soon.

One great thing I can confirm is that the Spring Picnic on Saturday, June 1st WILL HAPPEN!  If the Dave O’Donnell Memorial Regatta is abandoned, we’ll have a cruise to the O’Donnell house and the picnic on shore!  Stay tuned for details, but I think a star raft may be involved!
Find out more about that regatta and the Spring Picnic by clicking here.

The latest river forecast shows the river to be above 683′ for at least the next 7 days. Therefore, the Tuesday Spring #1 race has been postponed to June 27th. The Beercan #1 Race on Friday, May 24th also looks unlikely. Note that the forecasts are just that – estimates. They are known to change dramatically, so cross your fingers and keep an eye on the river level website:  https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=mpx&gage=stlm5

The Race Committee will update this page from time to time as river level predictions come in.  Note that racing is automatically suspended whenever the river is above 683ft.

Why do we postpone or cancel racing when the river is above 683 feet?  Because the DNR imposes a “no-wake zone” on the river.  The definition of no-wake zone requires boats to be at closed throttle, and at no time above 5 mph.  So, while sailboats rarely leave much of a wake, racing with a max speed of 5 mph wouldn’t make much sense…

Due to the high water levels, the Breaking Waves race scheduled for Saturday has been postponed to June 15^th.  The Spring #1 race on May 21^st is still too close to call – the river *may* be low enough, depending on the amount of rain we get this weekend.  Stay tuned for more information – it may be a last minute decision.