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Lake Wateree — Another Successful Cruise on the Booksby Lt Bob Arneson, PApril 26 was a great day on Lake Wateree! We had 11 PWCs with 16 folks along on this trip, including two joining us for the trip from District 27. It was fun having members from both districts enjoying the day together.
The only parking spaces left were 15 that were designed for a single vehicle
without a trailer attached. But being LMPS members, we didn't let this stop us.
We simply unhooked our light PWC trailers from our vehicles, lined the trailers
along the curb and parallel parked our vehicles along side the unattached
trailers. Problem solved! We launched our PWCs and left the ramp area and headed down river toward the lower dam. Houses built on high bluffs had great views of the lake, but also meant the owners had to walk down and back up hundreds of steps to reach the water. It was unusual to see all the Spanish moss growing on the tress on these high bluffs. We scooted across the dam and continued toward the upper dam. It appears many folks from the Charlotte area are building along the shores of Lake Wateree to escape the congestion of Lakes Norman and Wylie. Many large new homes are springing up on both sides of the lake. We enjoyed a slower paced cruise with many stops to look at both houses and landscapes. Several of our members appeared to be taking photos for possible future ideas for their properties around Lake Murray.
Special thanks go to both Hans and Sho Fagg for taking over and guiding the
group on the second portion of our trip. Thanks again to Eddie and Linda
Richardson for sharing one of their PWCs so we all could continue with the trip.
And, thanks to Catawba Squadron member Gary McWhirter and his friend, Carl
Williams, from the Rock Hill area for joining us on the trip. |
Updated
06 June 2008
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We
started the day off with a leisurely launch time of 0930- 1000 from a very nice
four-lane public ramp with approximately 100 large parking spaces to accommodate
truck/trailer rigs. Unfortunately, by the time we got to the ramp, the three
bass clubs that decided to use this location to have bass tournaments beat us to
all the large parking spaces, and they even had the sides of the road filled
with their trucks and trailers. 
Our
lunch stop was about halfway between the lower and upper dams. Even though our
stop was at a small bait shop/launch ramp, they had a well stocked snack bar
with all types of hot sandwiches, salads, ice cream, and drinks. After lunch we
continued up the lake to the upper dam. This upper portion of Lake Wateree looks
very different from the lower lake, making it feel almost like we were on two
separate cruises. Fewer houses, especially on the starboard side going up river,
with some granite outcroppings extending from the water line to many feet in
height, plus the lake narrowing to look more like a small river made it feel as
if we were on a different body of water.
On
the return portion of the trip, we once again stopped at the lunch area and
joined up with three of our PWCs that had earlier returned to the launch area to
assist with one PWC that wasn't running correctly. In true LMPS fashion, two of
our members volunteered to double up on one of their PWCs and let the couple
with the ailing PWC use their second one so no one would miss out on the trip. A
hearty thanks goes out to Eddie and Linda Richardson for sharing one of their
PWCs.
After
we were all grouped up again, we decided to return to our original launch site
and end our day on the water. It appeared the thunder and close flashes of
lightening helped us decide to end the trip. As huge, black clouds grew bigger
and bigger in our rear view mirrors, our speed on the return trip kept
increasing. We all made a quick sprint back to the landing, hooked up out
trailers, loaded our PWCs, and I think we all made it out without getting wet. I
admit we had rain drops hitting the windshield as we pulled out of the landing,
so we did cut it a little close, but the fast sprint back to the landing just
added variety to an otherwise slow, leisurely cruise on Lake Wateree.
