I would say that Lotawana Day/Weekend was a great success. It began with the parade on Friday night. I was a little disappointed with the turnout of floats, but the residents were out in full force. In all of my years being involved with the parade, I have never witnessed so many individuals on their docks, boats, and anchored at Goat Hill cheering on the participants, and to top it off the weather was great for the evening. Saturday morning continued the fun with all of the events and the pancake breakfast at the Yacht Club and then lunch with grilled hamburgers. Many thanks to Perry Anderson, Rear Commodore of the club, and its members for inviting my interns and myself for a fantastic meal. The boys really appreciated your generosity. Of course, the high point of the day was the Lotawana Ski Club presenting our members and friends with another great show. Very impressive seeing the number of young lake rats participating. Looks like the club has a bright future. New event this season was “Chuck A Duck.” I would say it was very popular with the kids and even the adults at Goat Hill. For all of the years that Tim Chamblin has abused me with his lipstick, it was finally pay-back time. The weird duck in the boat that was taking all of the shots or rather the bombardments of the rubber ducks was my friend Tim. I think he was a little stressed when it was over, poor baby!
On a personal note, I’ve worked with the Ski Club in the past, but this season I was a small part of it. I believe there are over 92 kids participating along with some adults. Believe me, it takes a lot of adults to run this program. The officers of the club, show director, dock manager, someone to count skis, set up acts on the dock and even on the land, tow boats, and safety boats to mention a few. I am sure they will always be looking for help each season. You don’t have to have a child to be involved. If you have some free time on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, please contact an officer and join in on the fun and watch our youth grow on the Pond.
Only downside was the evening entertainment was prevented due to the weather, basically a gigantic rain storm, but there is next year.
The pond has been running fairly smoothly the last couple of weeks; crowds are still down on the water and at Goat Hill. It’s more like a “peaceful summer” this year, no complaints from me; however, the citations are still off the chain! We still have individuals going up the wrong side of the lake and the number one offense, non-residents driving a PWC. The Water Enforcement Board that met in July had way too many cases for this offense. Don’t put the blame on the PWC; it isn’t the machine, it’s the homeowners that are fault. In a couple of cases, individuals took out the watercraft while the homeowner was at work. All I can say is “Hide your keys” to your toys.
Note especially to weekend individuals, tie down your watercraft to your lift or your dock when you leave the lake. It seems after every storm there are boats floating on their own in the middle of the lake. It only takes a couple of minutes to do this…be safe rather than sorry!
Kids will be heading back to school mid – August, but we still have one major weekend coming up, Labor Day. There will be sailing all three days starting at 10:00 AM and will run till about 11:30-noon. The one person on a ski/tube is in effect all three days. After that Monday, skiing will be normal for the rest of the season.
Plenty of good boating ahead of us, stay safe and See Ya!