The Tahoe Cruz, 50-footer

Congrats – you’ve booked (or are about to book) your next trip to Granlibakken and Lake Tahoe. Next on the list – make plans to get yourself out on the Lake while here…

The Granlibakken blog covers all sorts of way to get wet – paddleboarding, wakesurfing / wakeskating/wakeboarding/waterskiing, jet skiing, parasailing, hot air ballooning, floating the Truckee – the list goes on and on. But this post is about the (normally) most-civil of the various water activities: sailing.

Most of us don’t have our own boats – thankfully there happens to be a 50-foot ocean raceboat called the Tahoe Cruz which resides at the Tahoe City Marina, about 4 minutes from Granlibakken. This is an awesome boat that likes to heel (lean over) in good winds. It’s also a suntan machine when there’s little or no wind. The Cruz goes out every day at noon, 2:30 and 5:30. They serve free beer, wine and soda and the 5:30 boat has cheese and crackers, too. The best boats for families with little ones are the first two.

Guest Skipper

This boat model is a Santa Cruz 50 and was built specifically for the Trans-Pac Race which goes from L.A. to Honolulu. This boat type dominated the race for years. With that race pedigree, sailing the Cruz on a windy day here at Tahoe is truly incredible. When she gets heeling folks get excited (those on the bow can get doused) and the wine usually starts flowing – and that’s why I said it’s normally the most civilized of the water sports up here….

'Hey Cowpoke, you cast a pretty nice shadow'

© 2010 Alex West, copy and photos