Sweat & Spray 2006

Pictures by Mike Howack & Terry Branch

Jon Hoaglin's view of the weekend...

Jan Petito's Photo Collage

Terry Lewis pictures

(run mouse over pictures for text)

The Sweat & Spray weekend 2006 was another event joined by 19 Sunnyland skiffs and over 70 adult guests. Lake Roy Inn continues to open new rooms and most have already made reservations for next year’s event to be held on July 13 & 14, 2007. We continue to encourage all to come regardless of boat type or lack of children. The weekend started out early Friday with us arriving around 11 AM and finding 3 boats already on the water. That means help is available to put in and start having fun. Boats continued coming all day and by 4 pm we had a party.

It was good to see quite a few third generation families gathering to have fun and renew family ties. There were some first timers there who vowed to return to this event next year, and some of us who been here before.  Now the weekend….

Mike Howick and Terry Branch set out around 3 to go grocery shopping. I was left behind to wait for the welder for an unfortunate trailer repair. Thanks Mike & Terry for picking up my slack. When they returned, Mike joined Cliff Ennis and Kevin Cree who had the charcoal grill ready for dogs, brauts and burgers. Friday night’s dinner was split and $4.00 was the going price. There were salads, and plenty of other foods enjoyed by all. Some members even brought their specialties from home to be sampled by us. No-one left hungry Friday. After a clean up we joined the rest of the crowd in the pool and surrounding area to enjoy an evening cocktail. What a way to end a week, or start a weekend.

Saturday morning was get up when we felt; hook up with some friends to either have something for breakfast at the inn, or a walk across the street to the I Hop. After fueling ourselves, it was time to tend the boats. Wiping off the morning dew and making sure everything was ready for the day. Some of the families split with the kids and headed off to Cypress Gardens for a day at the park. Cypress has quite the water park and is a perfect added attraction to the weekend.  By committee we decided to take off from the beach around 12:30 to go to Cypress by water to see the 1pm water show. We drove our boats onto the tires that form the wave break to view the show and we all quickly set our umbrellas up to block the sun. The skiffs are always a crowd pleaser, and this event was no exception. The crowd in the stands was awed by our appearance, next year we will be part of opening ceremonies for the show in the form of a fly by.

It sure was hot sitting and watching the show. Since we’ve seen it before, we thought we would sneak away for a little breeze in the form of a boat ride. I had my brother and sister in law from Georgia with us and it was a unanimous decision.  We toured the lakes that were like glass and ventured thru the canals to the Harborside restaurant where we met some of the rest of our group already tied up. The air conditioning felt great along with a un- sweet ice tea. After a bite, we took another cruise and decided to get back to the pool to get wet and relax.

It was around 3:30 by time we got back and time to plan for the evening social. The ladies decided we would have dinner catered so the guys wouldn’t have to cook. Terry took on the task of ordering BBQ pork, chicken and salads. What a great idea! We added food left from the evening before and split the cost of $7. per head. This is almost too easy. We watched the kids play water toss games and hoola hoop contests headed by social director Claire. Had some of the big name tossers in the group, but the kids prevailed.

Some of the skiffs were doing their thing pulling the kids in rafts, while others were having drivers training with the kids at the wheel. Ted Parkhurst and Susan gave us a ski show using short skis doing twists and turns. They made it look easy.  Next year Susan will head up the water ski show on Lake Roy.

 After the kids were off the water, it was time for the big kids to show just what the skiffs will do in the form of a cornering demonstration. This always draws a crowd of spectators. Cars were stopping along the highway to watch the boats porpoise thru the turns with running gear out of the water. Without coaching, there were no more than 5 boats demonstrating on the water at a time. They were lined up, as one came in, one went out. No pressure here to perform, just out to have a good time.

It was getting to be around 8:30 pm and the pool area was hopping. The boats were bedded for the night and the pina coladas & Wilma’s (as Diane Harris calls them) were flowing. Diane (owner of Roger) is our official cocktail person, and the idea is to supply Diane with the raw materials and she produces the end result. We will work to perfect that for her next year. Roger celebrated his 50^th birthday this weekend and his sisters from Jersey were here for the celebration. They will be back next year. Skip & Esther Gillam had the family along with the grandkids, as did Bill and Joan Oakley. Phil & Jean Jordan had the grand’s for the weekend, along with Pop Darby, son and grandson. My day ended at 10:30, but the party ran till 1:30 poolside, end of another day of a great weekend.

Seems Sunday came quick, same breakfast routine than out on the water for a spin. First order of the day was to prove some of us just can’t ski anymore. No-one hurt, just our feelings. Things were starting to wind down; we were gathering our toys for the extended noon checkout. Food was brought out for anyone wanting a bite before venturing on the road home. It was good to see the families of our boating community having fun, and know they’ll be back next year.

  J