I live in the Cleveland area and am pretty familiar
with the Western NY lakes.
By far the larges (and prettiest) is Allegheny Reservoir. There
are two marinas on the lake, and it's a very nice place to cuise.
You can overnight in one of the approximately one zillion coves
on it's hundred miles or so of shoreline and have a place
all to yourself.
It's in the hills so the winds are shifty, but it's a nice place to
sail and it's absolutely gorgeous. We love going there. If
you'd like, I can send you further info on marinas, etc. There's
a sand beach on the lake, too, which is nice, and lots
of places to explore.
>A few quick thoughts:
>(1) We (myself, my wife and our 6 year old daughter) are planning on
heading
>up towards Buffalo, NY area early next week to see my parents for a few
days
>and then off to ??? We have considered going to Lake Chautauqua, and then
Chautauqua is bordered by houses everywhere and while it's a big piece
of water, there isn't much of interest.
>probably south through western Pennsylvania and maybe down to the
>Chespeake. Do any of you have any suggestions for nice sailing locations
in
>this area? Do any of you know anything about Pymatuning Reservoir in
>northwestern Penna?
Pymatuning is also a nice lake, though not effectively as big as it looks
on the map because it's cut in half by a low bridge. There's a park on
one side of the lake, and lots of cottages around it. I don't think it's
very
scenic, but the sailors like it because of the horsepower limitation and the
fact that the flat horizon doesn't interfere with the winds.
Some other great places to sail up there are Sodus Bay (east of Rochester)
and Presque Isle (off Erie, PA.) Presque Isle has a protected harbor, access
to Lake Erie, and miles of sandy beaches...
Hope this helps a little... My kids like these locations a lot! We make it
a point to sail Allegheny at least once a year...
-greg