Nothing is like sailing on Lake Tahoe. While the lake's beauty is obvious from nearly any angle or perspective, the experience of gliding across its blue waters in a sailboat is something special.
Fortunately, there are alternatives for those of us who don't happen to own a sailboat. A handful of commercial sailing businesses can be found at the lake including the Woodwind II, a 50-passenger catamaran (twin-hulled) sailboat that offers daily public sailing excursions from April to October.
The Woodwind II, and its sister ship, Woodwind I, which is a smaller, trimaran (three hulled) boat, offer all the pleasures of sailing without doing much of the work. You don't have to mess with the sails or do anything with a jib. You just sit back and enjoy the ride.
And what a ride.
On one of those warm, sleepy summer days at Tahoe, a cruise on a sail-powered boat, such as either Woodwind, is perfect way to experience the lake the way it was once described by writer Mark Twain.
In his classic book, "Roughing It," Twain noted that "so singularly clear was the water (at Lake Tahoe) that when it was only twenty or thirty feet deep the bottom was so perfectly distinct that the boat seemed floating in the air! Yes, where it was even eighty feet deep. Every little pebble was distinct, every speckled trout, every hand's-breadth of sand ... so empty and airy did all spaces seem below us, and so strong was the sense of floating high aloft in mid-nothingness, that we called these boat excursions 'balloon voyages'."
Indeed, boating on Tahoe offers the sensation of weightlessness, of hovering atop the water rather than sitting in it. On a still day, the water looks so much like glass that there is the temptation to step from the boat and attempt to walk on the lake's surface, which appears to be made of acrylic rather than liquid. And yet you don't because you know you will sink.
There is something exhilarating about standing on the deck of a sailboat as it lurches with each gust of wind. A stiff breeze musses your hair and the boat kicks up a misty spray that makes you blink back a tear or two. It might not be as exciting as hunting for Moby Dick but it's certainly fun.
The Woodwind II is the largest sailboat to ever ply Lake Tahoe, measuring 55 feet long and 30 feet wide. The boat's mast rises 64 feet high (almost 80 feet above the water) and the sail stretches over about 1,500 feet.
At that size, the catamaran can reach some serious speeds on the water. It is capable of achieving more than 20 knots with sail power and has twin, 150 horsepower, turbocharged diesel engines for motoring when the wind dies down (they can chug along at up to 16 knots).
As for amenities, the Woodwind II offers a full bar, a sun deck, seating for 36 in an enclosed main salon, private booths and two underwater observation windows.
The Woodwind II, which shares the same dock at Zephyr Cove Resort as the M.S. Dixie II paddlewheeler, heads out into the lake's blue waters five times daily. Regular cruises, which last about 90-minutes, are scheduled daily at 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
The happy hour cruise, which departs at 5:30 p.m., includes half-price drink specials. At 7 p.m., the catamaran takes a sunset Champagne cruise, which includes complimentary beer, wine and champagne.
Woodwind II cruise prices (regular) are $28 for adults and $12 for children 3-12. Happy hour prices are $26 for adults, and the sunset cruise is $36. There is $4 discount on any cruise for seniors older than 60.
For more information or to make reservations call 888-867-6394, #2.
