The marina is getting very busy now with the return of warmer weather. We have seen many people working on their boats for the new season. And may sailors are now venturing out on the lake. The GSLYC race season is about to begin. And the scullers and rowers are now showing up on a regular basis. We also have a new addition to the Great Salt Lake. This is the Hawaiian Canoe Club. We would like to welcome them.

Crane day is this Saturday. It will be a very busy crane day lasting most of the day. Therefore we are asking people to Please avoid parking in the south parking lot. It will be needed for maneuvering boats and trailers around the crane.

The Great Salt Lake Yacht Club will also be having a race orientation program along with an afternoon social. This could make for a busy parking lot weekend.

There is a large 400 ton crane and equipment now in place along our Rescue Dock Service Road. For this reason, there will be no access or parking along this road until work on the mast hoist is complete. Build inc, the contractor, prefer if people keep clear of their equipment while work is being done. I would expect their equipment to be gone by early to mid next week.

As mentioned above, the mast hoist is now here and being installed. Once it is installed we will try to work on procedures for the use of this hoist.

The mast hoist is located on the Rescue Dock. To utilize this hoist you would pull your boat between the Rescue Dock and the Service Dock.

Almost ready to announce complete dredging plans and a lake access schedule. All but the last hurtle has been overcome. We are working on that last hurtle heavily today. We are still hoping that some very large equipment will be blocking the marina access starting Monday and will continue to block the marina mouth until mid to late next week. This schedule may have to change though. I will keep you posted.

NOAA still has the Great Salt Lake Drainage Area listed as a moderate to severe drought area. Yet they are also predicting "Improvement" in drought conditions with the impact of the drought easing. This forecast is valid through May 2008

The rangers were out last weekend, as they promised, and cited 27 boats for "Failure to Display" registration stickers. They wanted me to remind you that it is not enough to register your boats. You must also properly display stickers on the boats. This includes the Monthly sticker, the Yearly sticker, and the UT numbers.

Remember that although the lake is rising, the reef outside the mouth of the marina is still very shallow. We do not recommend using the Reef Channel Buoys yet. In fact we still have not replaced "RR2". We will not do this until the water comes up more. The recommended path is still the Deep Channel buoys. Remember to pass the buoys on the proper side. Veering outside the buoys could end in an abrupt halt and grounding on a very hard reef. Remeber "Red-Right-Return". Pass the Red buoys on your Right side as you are returning to the Marina.

We are still in a Winter Frontal Weather Pattern. This pattern may bring strong south winds, lasting for a day or two, followed by moisture, north winds, and large waves that may last as long as a day. Keep a close watch on forecasts whether by NOAA radio, Television or the internet. We are continuing to use the storm warning flags at the marina. But this should not be a substitute for a proper forecast by professional meteorologists and your own good judgement.

With all the new activity out here I would like to remind everyone that there are two speed requirements. One is Wakeless Speed. The other is Safe Speed. Please be advised that the one that applies to the marina is Safe Speed. This is often a speed slower than Wakeless Speed. Remember that as you are traveling down the main marina channel you may have a boat, kayaker or sculler that is entering the channel in front of you. Will you be able to stop your boat, consisting of a lot of lead, in time before contact is made? Please remember to keep your boat speed down in the marina so that we do not have an unfortunate accident in the marina.

Another reminder I would like to make is that we have situations where a boat may be limited in their ability to maneuver. "Island Serenade" and "Rescue One" (when towing a vessel) are limited in their ability to maneuver when operating in the marina. These boats have "Right-of-way" in this situation. It does not matter whether you are a kayaker, sculler, sailor, etc. You must avoid "Island Serenade" and "Rescue One" or "Rescue Four" (when towing another vessel). "Island Serenade" will make several horn blasts when leaving or entering the marina. Both Rescue Vessels will do the same and may have their lights on when they are in a situation where they are restricted in maneuvering.

Now that the water is warming up, it is a good time to check your through-hulls and all hose clamps. Warm-to-cold-to-warm temperatures have the ability to loosen hose clams or cause leaks at hose to through-hull or valve connections. This can lead to a sinking or water damaged boat.

Another item to check (if you are connected to shore power) is your plug and your receptacle on the boat. That same warm-to-cold-to-warm temperature problen can lead to screws backing out. This can lead to a faulty ground. This can melt plugs, circuit breakers, cause fires, lead to injury or even death. It is very good practice to unhook your boat from shore power, pull your receptacle, look for damage, melting or backed off screws. Check the condition of your cables. Repair and replace if necessary. We have already had two boats this season with problems that could have turned very serious. Oh, and check your dock lines while you are at it.

Check your standing rigging, clevis pins and cotter pins. every once-in-a-while a non stainless cotter pin will make it into a dealers bin. This can lead to rigging failure. Make it a practice to check your rigging every spring and fall.