Announcing the 1st Annual

California-Arizona-Nevada All Makes (CAN-AM)
Catamaran Challenge Series

(Monohulls are also welcome)


Where: Lake Mojave, Lake Mojave Recreation Area, Nevada

What: Catamarans will be raced in open F14, F16, & F18 classes with series champions crowned in each class*

When: Races weekends will be as follows:
December 8 & 9, 2007 January 26 & 27, 2008
February 16-17, 2008 March 8 & 9, 2008

Sponsored by:
Arizona Fleet 42, the Nevada Yacht Club, & the Western Region of the US F16 Association

For more information on the venue or details of the racing format contact
Scott Agan (Fleet 42) – 480 540-5634
Gordon Bagley (Nevada Yacht Club) – 702 427-7328
John Metzig (F16 Association) - 760 780-7888

* Racing will be “run what you brung” with F14 including cats up to 15’ and all monohulls, F16 will
include cats up to 17’, and all larger cats will sail in the F18 class.

Why a winter sailing series on Lake Mojave?

There are not many venues in the western United States that offer reasonably comfortable, quality sailing from October through April. Lake Mojave is rare exception. Racing will be at Six Mile Cove located a few miles south of the Cottonwood Cove Marina—the marina contains a restaurant, motel, and even hot showers.

Average Temperatures: A quick glance at the temperature table begins to tell the tale.

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May
Max 89 74 64 63 70 76 84 91
Min 61 48 40 43 44 47 54 63
Water 64 58 48 53 57 59 60 68

Sailing Conditions: But good temperatures mean nothing without great sailing and here’s where Lake Mojave
truly excels. The lake is recommended on the windmap.com and other windsurfing websites for some of the best sailing conditions in the United States and the portion we’ll race on is over 30 feet deep in most places. Veteran local sailor Gordon Bagley, who won one of the races at the Hobie16 North Americans back in September, 2007, offered this summary of the sailing:

“I call it (Lake Mojave) the 'Secret Spot' because it provides such good conditions for sailing catamarans during the winter months. The water is relatively warm, the weather mild, and the wind is at least prolific. You’ll likely travel faster in 5 mph winds on these waters than any other you've experienced.”

“The main body of Lake Mohave can only be described as an inland isthmus, funneling weather fronts to provide wind and also generating its own wind with large geographic thermal convection engines. Seeing is believing! Statistically, this lake has more days of 15 mph winds or more than any other body of water in the western United States. It has been a subject of study since the 50's by government meteorologists and scientists interested in its peculiar wind generating characteristics.”

Getting There: Cottonwood Cove is located at point where Highway 164 dead ends into Lake Mojave. The link
enclosed below takes you to an excellent map of the location and provides directions to the lake: http://foreverhouseboats.com/maps.cfm?PropertyKey=8.

The turnoff to Six Mile Cove is on the right off of 164 down a dirt road. This turn off—located directly underneath a high power line—is approximately half way (7 miles) between from the junction of Highway 164 and Highway 95 in Searchlight, NV. Once on the dirt road, follow our signs to Six Mile Cove, which features a large beach area and has bathrooms and campsites.

[Thanks to John Metzig for helping put the F16s into this]