Low-Overhead Sailing on Folsom Lake

Towing sailboats with the mast up can be dangerous, and we’re sure that everyone has a story to tell. (Please comment below!) A sailor sent us a photo after a, ahem, failed launch at a ramp on Folsom Lake. Fortunately, the culprit was tree limbs and not electrical wires, which can be a lot more worrisome.

Speaking of electrical wires, years ago we were sitting with Don Trask in his Sail California office in Mariner Square on Alameda. Suddenly, there was a bright-blue flash, combined with the power going off in the building. We jumped up to look out the window: There was a J/24 being towed across the parking lot with the rig touching the overhead wires. Luckily, the driver jumped out unharmed, but we watched as the electrical short ran down the overhead wires leading from Mariner Square, blowing up one transformer after another with more bright-blue flashes. Nobody was hurt, but it was frightening.

We all need these reminders that if it can happen, it will — sometime.