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sculling on Cayuga Lake, Ithaca NY
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Chris
Jul 12, 2016, 1:51:38 PM7/12/16
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Hi, I am heading up to Cayuga this summer and I will be staying in the southern 1/3 of the lake. I wanted to know what the thoughts are about bringing my single up with me. Is the water rough? Or should I be OK close to the shore line? I am not certain of MB traffic, wakes etc. Anyone have any advice or valuable experience?
Chris
Chris
Sarah Harbour
Jul 12, 2016, 5:41:07 PM7/12/16
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On Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 6:51:38 PM UTC+1, Chris wrote:
> Hi, I am heading up to Cayuga this summer and I will be staying in the southern 1/3 of the lake. I wanted to know what the thoughts are about bringing my single up with me. Is the water rough? Or should I be OK close to the shore line? I am not certain of MB traffic, wakes etc. Anyone have any advice or valuable experience?
> Chris
Never rowed there myself, but my other half rowed out of Cascadilla BC the summer he spent at Cornell and I think they row on the lake when the water is flat, and into the inlet (towards Cornell's 2k lake) when the lake is rougher. I guess your best bet is to get in touch with someone there and see what they say.
> Hi, I am heading up to Cayuga this summer and I will be staying in the southern 1/3 of the lake. I wanted to know what the thoughts are about bringing my single up with me. Is the water rough? Or should I be OK close to the shore line? I am not certain of MB traffic, wakes etc. Anyone have any advice or valuable experience?
> Chris
Best,
Sarah
Meredith Haff
Jul 13, 2016, 8:39:25 AM7/13/16
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Hi Chris!
Cornell alum chiming in. Yes, the best rowing on Cayuga is on the inlet, which is sheltered from the "big lake" and has a wonderful 3+ lanes for rowing. Cascadilla B.C. is located on a separate inlet, and should be easy enough to launch from in Stewart Park (which I believe has public boat launches).
It's easy enough to find the contact info for the Cornell coaches and/or Cascadilla on their webpages. They may have ideas on the best launch sites if they're not able to let you dock at their boathouses (which could be a liability thing or something, but I know the CU boathouse is a bit quieter in the summer unless a camp is going on). The Ithaca College boathouse is right next to Cornell's (share a driveway) and are also worth asking. They share the inlet, which visibly ends with a small lighthouse at the lake end (and at the bottom of a small dam at the other end).
Generally, the lake IS rowable early in the morning on a calm day (but that's probably not predictable1). Since the lake is so skinny and long, the direction of the wind makes a big difference in terms of chop. Yes, there are motorboats and wake but if you head out circa 6 am, I wouldn't anticipate this to be a problem. It's more the weather! Just stay towards shore since the lake is very deep/wind can whip up, and if you were to have any problems, it would be preferable to be close to the more sheltered water.
If you need more resources, email me directly. I have two friends still rowing out of Cascadilla who would be able to make introductions.
Wonderful place to row, enjoy!
Meredith (Haff) Breiland '00
Cornell alum chiming in. Yes, the best rowing on Cayuga is on the inlet, which is sheltered from the "big lake" and has a wonderful 3+ lanes for rowing. Cascadilla B.C. is located on a separate inlet, and should be easy enough to launch from in Stewart Park (which I believe has public boat launches).
It's easy enough to find the contact info for the Cornell coaches and/or Cascadilla on their webpages. They may have ideas on the best launch sites if they're not able to let you dock at their boathouses (which could be a liability thing or something, but I know the CU boathouse is a bit quieter in the summer unless a camp is going on). The Ithaca College boathouse is right next to Cornell's (share a driveway) and are also worth asking. They share the inlet, which visibly ends with a small lighthouse at the lake end (and at the bottom of a small dam at the other end).
Generally, the lake IS rowable early in the morning on a calm day (but that's probably not predictable1). Since the lake is so skinny and long, the direction of the wind makes a big difference in terms of chop. Yes, there are motorboats and wake but if you head out circa 6 am, I wouldn't anticipate this to be a problem. It's more the weather! Just stay towards shore since the lake is very deep/wind can whip up, and if you were to have any problems, it would be preferable to be close to the more sheltered water.
If you need more resources, email me directly. I have two friends still rowing out of Cascadilla who would be able to make introductions.
Wonderful place to row, enjoy!
Meredith (Haff) Breiland '00
John Greenly
Jul 13, 2016, 5:44:09 PM7/13/16
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On Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 1:51:38 PM UTC-4, Chris wrote:
> Hi, I am heading up to Cayuga this summer and I will be staying in the southern 1/3 of the lake. I wanted to know what the thoughts are about bringing my single up with me. Is the water rough? Or should I be OK close to the shore line? I am not certain of MB traffic, wakes etc. Anyone have any advice or valuable experience?
> Chris
Chris,
> Hi, I am heading up to Cayuga this summer and I will be staying in the southern 1/3 of the lake. I wanted to know what the thoughts are about bringing my single up with me. Is the water rough? Or should I be OK close to the shore line? I am not certain of MB traffic, wakes etc. Anyone have any advice or valuable experience?
> Chris
I scull on Cayuga lake all the time. I launch from Myers park in Lansing, about 6 miles up from Ithaca on the east shore. When it blows it can be rough enough to be unrowable in a racing 1x. The wind and seas tend to go along the length of the lake so there is generally no shore with sheltered water. However, Myers point sticks out into the lake and does create a lee with some flatter water on one side or the other. I row probably 2/3 of the time in my 1x, and otherwise, when the seas get to swamping height, in a Maas Flyweight open-water boat. In the summer it is often flat water either early or late in the day, and if you're somewhat flexible in your schedule you can usually find a time when the conditions are what you want. I typically row either morning or evening- it often goes calm in evening in the summer, and can be a great time on the water. Of course, when the water's flat is when the motor boats come out, but mostly on weekends. it's a big lake, and the motor boats generally are out in the middle so if you row near shore the wakes are not huge, but can be annoying. Which side of the lake are you staying on? You can get an idea of the conditions at this site, which has continuous data on wind. You'll see that it almost always blows either north or south, along the length of the lake, and there's a typical daily cycle:
http://www.cayugalake.cornell.edu/weather.php
Here's a short video clip of a beautiful August day, of conditions out in the middle of the lake when it had been blowing probably 6-8 mph from the north:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyN-Mhu0-6w&feature=youtu.be
If you are used to flat water you may prefer the inlet. I don't row there so I don't know how much traffic there is in the summer- hopefully not too much when the college crews are away. If you would like to row out on the wide-open spaces and would like to join me sometime, let me know and we can get out together.
Cheers,
John Greenly
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