Mapping and avoiding dense weed beds to get an edge while yacht racing

By Herb Garcia

Sailing enthusiast and BioBase Ambassador

Lake Minnetonka is one of the largest and most heavily used recreational lakes in Minnesota and is composed of an interconnected system of bays (Figure 1). Every summer, a rooted invasive aquatic plant, Eurasian watermilfoil creates thick bottom to surface mats in many areas of the lake. While these mats may occur anywhere on the lake, they generally are thickest in certain shallow areas such as the Diamond Reef area in the main lake of Lake Minnetonka (officially described as Lower Lake North). This reef is popular with anglers, power boaters, and sailors. On any given night or weekend, well over a hundred keelboats may take part in regular club racing events or regattas here. World class level sailors, including Olympic champions, America’s Cup, and other accomplished sailors regularly race on the lake and the competition can be intense. When competition is tight, every advantage is important.

Figure 1. Lake Minnetonka; a popular recreational and fishing lake just west of the Twin City metropolitan area of Minnesota. The red box highlights an area popular with boaters, anglers, and sailors. The blue contoured areas represent areas uploaded and processed by anglers using the Genesis mapping service and aggregated into the C-MAP social map. Social maps can also be viewed in the C-MAP App.

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