We're taking a houseboat vacation. I've just been finding out that parts of
the Delta are contaminated. I'm wondering what the consensus of the group is
on this, and if so, what parts are not contaminated and ok to swim in ?

Thanks.

On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 21:58:04 GMT, "mmh" wrote:

We're taking a houseboat vacation. I've just been finding out that parts of
the Delta are contaminated. I'm wondering what the consensus of the group is
on this, and if so, what parts are not contaminated and ok to swim in ?

I've been swimming in the Delta for ages (*koff* *koff* *hack*) with no
problems.

If you are going to The Meadows, I have heard of some problems because of the
sheer number of boats there, but I haven't checked them out for myself.

Where in the Delta are you planning to hang out?

Joe Parsons

"mmh" wrote in message
. com...

We're taking a houseboat vacation. I've just been finding out that parts
of
the Delta are contaminated.

Where did you hear that from?

There was a levee break a month ago that allowed a bit of sal****er to flow
up into the delta farther than normal, which caused "contamination" issues
of salt getting into the water used for crop irrigation and drinking water
sent to Southern California.

Since they are now pumping out 110,000 acre feet of water from this flooded
farmland I would suspect that there might be some issues about the
suitability of the water for drinking purposes.

I'm wondering what the consensus of the group is
on this, and if so, what parts are not contaminated and ok to swim in ?

All of the delta is very muddy and you certainly wouldn't want to drink any
of it. For swimming, I have not heard of any issues. There are a few areas
that a very popular anchorages where there are a large number of cruisers
that stay all summer and I doubt that they have their holding tanks pumped
out so there is only one way I know of that they could be dealing with their
human waste, I wouldn't personally anchor or swim there!

For the majority of the delta you should be fine. Where are you renting the
houseboat from?


Rod

When I had my towing/salvage business in the Delta I used to go in all the
time. No problems, a third testicle and second penis, but no problem.

"mmh" wrote in message
. com...
We're taking a houseboat vacation. I've just been finding out that parts
of
the Delta are contaminated. I'm wondering what the consensus of the group
is
on this, and if so, what parts are not contaminated and ok to swim in ?

Thanks.

"mmh" wrote in message .com...
We're taking a houseboat vacation. I've just been finding out that parts of
the Delta are contaminated. I'm wondering what the consensus of the group is
on this, and if so, what parts are not contaminated and ok to swim in ?

Thanks.

It is safe to swim in most areas. The real danger is not so much
contamination as hazards that result in drownings. Swift currents
that you may not see until it's too late, and underwater hazards.
It's a river system - and it can be deceiving in appearance - rivers
move, and those in the Delta are no different than other rivers in
that regard.

The Delta is a tidal. There are many rivers that run in both
directions. Anchor accordingly.

There are a couple of Delta related forums outside of usenet.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/deltarec

http://www.boatered.com I don't recall the link that takes you
straight to the forum, but it's listed on their main forum page.

Don't quite know yet, never been there. We're starting from Herman's Marina
in Stockton.
Any suggestions for a nice cruise?


"Joe Parsons" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 21:58:04 GMT, "mmh" wrote:

We're taking a houseboat vacation. I've just been finding out that parts
of
the Delta are contaminated. I'm wondering what the consensus of the group
is
on this, and if so, what parts are not contaminated and ok to swim in ?

I've been swimming in the Delta for ages (*koff* *koff* *hack*) with no
problems.

If you are going to The Meadows, I have heard of some problems because of
the
sheer number of boats there, but I haven't checked them out for myself.

Where in the Delta are you planning to hang out?

Joe Parsons

"Rod McInnis" wrote in message
...

"mmh" wrote in message
. com...

We're taking a houseboat vacation. I've just been finding out that parts
of
the Delta are contaminated.

Where did you hear that from?

Actually from a bunch of people, then I did a search on internet with key
words and bunch of stuff come up.


There was a levee break a month ago that allowed a bit of sal****er to
flow
up into the delta farther than normal, which caused "contamination" issues
of salt getting into the water used for crop irrigation and drinking water
sent to Southern California.

Since they are now pumping out 110,000 acre feet of water from this
flooded
farmland I would suspect that there might be some issues about the
suitability of the water for drinking purposes.

I'm wondering what the consensus of the group is
on this, and if so, what parts are not contaminated and ok to swim in ?

All of the delta is very muddy and you certainly wouldn't want to drink
any
of it. For swimming, I have not heard of any issues. There are a few
areas
that a very popular anchorages where there are a large number of cruisers
that stay all summer and I doubt that they have their holding tanks pumped
out so there is only one way I know of that they could be dealing with
their
human waste, I wouldn't personally anchor or swim there!

For the majority of the delta you should be fine. Where are you renting
the
houseboat from?

Herman's Marina in Stockton. Then we're gonna tool around up north.



Rod

On Tue, 27 Jul 2004 15:24:27 GMT, "mmh" wrote:

Don't quite know yet, never been there. We're starting from Herman's Marina
in Stockton.
Any suggestions for a nice cruise?

One very nice, peaceful spot to tie up is Three River Reach. It's just down the
San Joaquin from Herman & Helen's. It's like a big lake, quite sheltered from
the wakes on the San Joaquin.

There are several small beaches along the west side. The dropoff is steep
enough that you should be able to head right in and step off into shallow water
and wade ashore.

A couple of miles due south, down Middle River, is Mildred Island--actually a
big lake. It's another pleasant place to overnight.

another longer trip is up Giorgiana Slough to The Meadows. It's like a
houseboat ghetto, and is worth seeing at least once. There's also a very good
restaurant in the area, Giusti's, that has amazing steaks. They still don't
take credit cards, but have joined the 21st century--sorta--with an ATM on the
front porch.

The folks at H&H should be able to give you some more ideas.

HTH,
Joe Parsons



"Joe Parsons" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 21:58:04 GMT, "mmh" wrote:

We're taking a houseboat vacation. I've just been finding out that parts
of
the Delta are contaminated. I'm wondering what the consensus of the group
is
on this, and if so, what parts are not contaminated and ok to swim in ?

I've been swimming in the Delta for ages (*koff* *koff* *hack*) with no
problems.

If you are going to The Meadows, I have heard of some problems because of
the
sheer number of boats there, but I haven't checked them out for myself.

Where in the Delta are you planning to hang out?

Joe Parsons

"mmh" wrote in message
. com...

Actually from a bunch of people, then I did a search on internet with key
words and bunch of stuff come up.

The delta water is muddy which bothers a lot of people. But they take the
water out of the delta, pump it all the way to Los Angeles and the people
down there end up drinking it, so it can't be all that bad!



Herman's Marina in Stockton. Then we're gonna tool around up north.


Good central location, now the question is do you head north or south?

I will second Joe Parson's recommendations, except that you don't want to go
up the Giorgiana Slough to get to the meadows!. The "meadows" is the
prettiest and quietest place on the delta and is my all time favorite. I
would drive on past the "ghetto" area, go on up north of the Twin Cities
bridge for another couple of miles and find a spot to anchor. You will get
boat wakes but the achorage area is crowded and not my idea of peace and
quiet. From Herman & Helens head north to Tower park. Go left about a mile
then north up the North Fork of the Mokelumne River. When you get to Walnut
Grove there will be a bridge that will have to be opened for you, which
shouldn't be a problem 9:00 to 5:00. Continue north up Snodgrass slough.

If you went up the Giorgiana Slough you would end up in the Sacramento
River. If the locks are open a small boat can cross over. The locks have
very low clearance (9 feet ?) and I doubt that any houseboat would fit and I
have seen the remains of houseboats that were destroyed when they were
sucked through by the swift current.

Mildred is my usual hangout spot. 15 years ago it was a farm tract, but the
levee broke and they let it turn into a lake. Over the years the remaining
levees have been crumbing and the western side is all but gone now, but the
eastern side levee is still mostly intact. I drop anchor along the east,
inside levee and then do all the waterskiing/wakeboarding in the slough just
outside the east levee.

If you are the real party types then Lost Isle is worth a visit. It is right
on the main channel leading to Stockton. The rules change year to year but
the last time I was there they didn't allow anyone under 21 on the island so
if you have kids its not a good place to go.

I am sure you will have fun, wherever you go.

Rod

On Tue, 27 Jul 2004 11:13:31 -0700, "Rod McInnis"
wrote:

[snip]

If you are the real party types then Lost Isle is worth a visit.

Oh, man! How could I have forgotten to mention Lost Isle!

It is right
on the main channel leading to Stockton. The rules change year to year but
the last time I was there they didn't allow anyone under 21 on the island so
if you have kids its not a good place to go.

I am sure you will have fun, wherever you go.

Amen to that, brother!

Joe Parsons