As a kid growing up in SF I always admired the boats at the SFMYC. Now I have a Coast Guard boat which I converted into the SFPD Police Boat Marine 1 and would love to take it out on the lake one Sunday. Do I need to be a member or can I just show up? And what is the upcoming Navigater Regatta?

Vspeeds...

You can just show up and run within the times as set forth by SF Park & Rec. and prōclāmāted thereby in signage nailed upon a tree...

Basically, 10:00am to 1:00pm for power boats; Sail from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. Nitro-powered boats are restricted to, IIRC, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, as well as being covered by noise and speed restrictions, again, Park and Rec Dept. rules. Spreckles Lake itself is always open to the public.

If there is a Regatta, you can join the Regatta if you wish or not, you just have to abide by the Frequency board (have the Freq flag for your transmitter unless you're using a 2.4ghz like a Specktrum).

The Navigator Regatta is a Navigation/boat handling skills contest, but I'll leave the specifics to either CaptLee or Aerominded to tell since they're a bit closer to the planning than I. It might be somewhat like this Tug Event back in '06.

Looking forward to seeing your boat and meeting you on The Lake!!

ps. Got pictures of your boat??? Inquiring minds wanna see

Originally Posted by Vspeeds

Do I need to be a member or can I just show up? And what is the upcoming Navigater Regatta?

As Craig says, the lake is open to the public but there are posted rules re: times, location and type of boats which should be followed.

You will find people running boats most weekends at the lake but days with scheduled events will see the most activity, generally.

The Navigator regatta this year will be a complex steering course. Ususally skippers get free range on the lake side to move where they need to to see their boat through the course. Each boat will run through the course several times. each time, the skipper will be increasingly limited to their movement on shore. this makes getting around the course without touching a mark more difficult with each run. Not sure if the PSO is planning to make this a timed event as well.

We would like to see you participate at the event! 47' CG/SFPD boat would be a great boat for the course!

Yeah, it will be timed in the last section to eliminate ties, figure it will be time to injure Aero to make it fair for the rest of us, he probably will object. Am bringing my Vac-U-duck so it will be a real competive course. Any and all types of boats are useful in this one if the Skipper can handle them in a nautical manner. have heard it said that the navigation is easy, but the depth perception part is the toughie.

Originally Posted by CaptLee

...figure it will be time to injure Aero to make it fair for the rest of us...

Hee hee, I'm no threat on Nav courses! The driver of "Castaway" et al is the one we need to keep our eye on this year!

Looking forward to the event!

Drove by the Lake today and shot a couple of frames of Park & Rec.'s Rules..

SEC. 3.02. SIGNS TO BE OBEYED.
No person shall willfully disobey the notices,
prohibitions or directions on any sign posted by
the Recreation and Park Commission or the
Recreation and Park Department. (Added by
Ord. 603-81, App. 12/18/81)

also

SEC. 4.01. - DISORDERLY CONDUCT.
No person shall, in any park without permission of the Recreation and Park Department:
(d) Carry or use a model airplane which is powered by liquid fuel or designed to be used with such fuel;

And they just added the " No Smoking" sign... SF Health Code, Article 19I

*sigh* Kinda makes me want a cigarette... even though I quit a decade ago!

Older(original) sign up a tree, north (sail) side of Spreckles Lake...

"Model Yacht Facility
No Fishing Allowed
Power boats on south side of lake only between 10am and 1pm Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday only"

and the new signage in a couple of places near the power 'pit area' on the south side of the Lake reads...

1. Internal Combustion (IC) and Nitro powered boats may be operated on the lake from 10amto 1pm Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays only. Sail boats shall have full access of the lake at all times.
2. IC and Nitro powered boats must not be operated at speeds in excess of 15 MPH and must not exceed a decible noise level of 60 at full throttle at 50' from the meter on shore.
3. All local and state laws must be observed in the interest of safety.
4. Powered boats are to steer clear of all wildlife on the lake.
5. No more than two IC or Nitro powered boats may be operated on the lake at any one time.
6. IC/Nitro powered boats shall be run in a clockwise direction and remain outside of the far-east and far-west ends of the lake.
7. Radio frequency flags must be properly displayed on antennas whenever in use.

Wow!

Can't exceed a speed of 15 mph?

Originally Posted by Kmot

Wow!

Can't exceed a speed of 15 mph?

no SMOKING!?!

well.. I'm just going to take my fancy meerschaum pipe and all my toys home if y'all gonna be like that.

wait.. that sign is in California.. and its only showing a cigarette...

RE: The smoking ban...

Don't blame The Club... not our idea

Thanks for the info. Hopefully I'll make it out there soon and depending on my kids' games I'm definitely going to try to make it to the Navigator Regatta.

Originally Posted by craig_c

Don't blame The Club... not our idea

I'm not just trying to make a silly joke about smoking on the west coast.. and what is accepted to smoke

but being an east coaster.. born and raised in the town that philip morris / altria calls home. Virginia just got around to enacting a official smoking ban in bars/restaurants late last year.. but its a law with no teeth. get this.. no smoking in a bar or restaurant unless the establishment has a separate smoking area. the smoking area must have separate ventilation and the you must not have to pass through the smoking area to access the bathrooms. the penalty for not following the law? a $25 fine to the establishment.

who enforces the law? don't really know. its more of a health code violation by the law and the cops aint touching it.
basicly.. in Virginia, if you are caught smoking in a bar.. well.. there are no bars in Virginia.. only restaurants that serve alcohol.. but that's besides the point..

if you are caught smoking.. then law enforcement must pass the complaint to the health department, then the health department must inspect the area where the smoking allegedly occurred, and if the health inspectors deems the area to be non compliant, then they will issue the establishment a $25 fine.
several establishments in town are opting to just pay the fine, others have enacted elaborate redecoration plans in order to skirt the law..
right after they passed the "smoking ban" they allowed folks with conceal and carry permits to bring their weapons into the bar... they just cant consume alcohol while packing.

so... I guess.. that's a fair trade off all around!

ah laws.. what good are they if the good people don't need them and the bad people don't obey them any ways?

did I have a point in any of this? no.. not really... have fun!

Originally Posted by Vspeeds

Thanks for the info. Hopefully I'll make it out there soon and depending on my kids' games I'm definitely going to try to make it to the Navigator Regatta.

Looking forward to meeting you!

Originally Posted by Kmot

Wow!

Can't exceed a speed of 15 mph?

Haha, after reading this I'm picuring an SFPD officer sitting by the lake with a radar gun ticketing anyone going over.

Sorry just wanted to add my two cents on the 15 mph thing...I have sail boats that sail over that posted speed.....L...ok Ill move on now....

The Go-Fastee bunch on Sat. have a good laugh and then they exceed the limit every run, no one cited for that till an accident happens and then it is the excuse the Insurance uses to get out of paying. The Club has no police power so all we can do is mention it and then move on. Mostly it is there to make us play well with others.