Mt. Dora 2007

Story written by Scott Becker

Scott & Steve Becker with Trade Off JS-52 (back in Jersey)

12:20am - Oceanport NJ - The plan was to nap after working all day, but the anticipation of the trip was too great and the excitement over took me, I couldn't nap.  After not getting a nap my brother Steve pulls up to the house with boat in tow,  good sign, very good sign. We worked all winter on the boat and trailer for this trip. The 1/2 mile trip from his house to mine and everything is holding together, another good sign. Just have another 1,080 miles to go. Said good bye to my wife Sue and on our way we went.

4:07am - Somewhere in Virginia - After getting a nap for an hour I feel refreshed. My brother and I switched. The no nap thing and being awake for 24 hours is taking its toll. The short cut given to us by Jim Hassfeld saves time.

Sunrise - Not sure on the time or if we were in Virginia or North Carolina - pull off I-95 for breakfast at the Golden Arches (McDonalds). We both agree that resting the eyes is important. We also agree that it's not sleep because you have an idea on what's going on but it's something.

Morning till noon - The Carolina's - they need to do something about these two states. Wow 400 miles and about 5 hours of driving. Five hours of my life I am never getting back. Not much going on there. I think we were the excitement for the other people driving.

Late afternoon - Georgia and Florida - Steve is doing the last run, Georgia isn't bad. Florida welcome sights are a pleasant surprise compared to some of the other places we stopped. Ask Steve about the Subway incident. At the welcome sight in Florida they offered us fresh grapefruit or orange juice. Granted it's about a shot but we were thinking about it since North Carolina.

Then the Ocala National Forest was the next big hurdle. It's like the Pine Barrens in Jersey. One road going to the middle of no where. And the middle is marked by a traffic light to you let you know you are now in the middle.

5:02 PM - Mt. Dora - Finally we arrive at the Comfort Inn on 441. Exhausted and craving a good meal we check in and get the news that was devastating. NO RESTAURANT! NO BAR! If we weren't so hungry we would have gone straight to bed. We got our room and went looking for a place to eat on 441. We didn't really feel like driving anymore so we made some calls and finally got Marty to tell us about a little place called Zellie's Pub. We sat at the bar, had a beer or two, ate and then of all people to show up - here comes Marty. After dinner Marty gives us the tour. What was supposed to be 15 minutes was about an hour. Nice tour but we are running on fumes now and needed sleep.

In bed by 8:30pm.

Thursday Morning - 8:30am - I told my brother I slept like the dead. I didn't dream. We went to a Perkins for breakfast and coffee. Came back and got the boat ready. Drove to the registration booth and was greeted by some very pleasant folks. The goody bag and the itinerary were all included. We quickly realized these folks have done this before. The registration card was laminated. Makes good sense since it might get wet. The name tags were laminated as well but they also shrunk the itinerary down and put it on the back of the name tag - GOOD THINKING! We went for a quick ride through the lakes off to the left these were, in order, Lake Beauclaire and Lake Carlton. Saw some gators and wildlife that's not common in Jersey. We Jersey boys were really wide eyed.

Thursday Afternoon - We cruised around Lake Beauclaire and Lake Carlton. Lake Carlton was small and we could really open the boat up if we wanted. Actually this is where we got our pictures of alligators. The show didn't really start till Friday so we got some driving time in. After the cruising we went up to my place. It's called the Frosty Mug - an Icelandic Restaurant and Bar. GREAT PLACE. I was like Norm at Cheers. A couple of Woodchuck hard apple ciders and we were good. Back to truck and room to get ready for the Crazy Gator early arrivers party.

Thursday Night. Great call by Steve about calling for a cab. First off we new were going to be having more than a few drinks so that sealed the deal about a cab. Secondly we didn't really know where we were going and Marty kept saying it's on 19 and we can see it. A quick call to the Cab Company and ten minutes later our mini van taxi arrived. He said he knows where we were going. There are two of us in this mini van that can hold 8 easily. We get to the Crazy Gator and pay - $7.50 total - great deal and more on this later. Marty, like hell we would have seen this place from the other side of 19. Route 19 splits and runs the perimeter of the town. So this Crazy Gator's place is on the water and we were about a half mile on the other side. So good call again on the cab. Well we go in the back and sit down with some skiffers.

Get our meal - we both got the grouper and guess the grouper must either be in season or it's really cheap down there. We each got 4 fillets of grouper for about $14.00 - more than enough. The only thing that was tough here was the band. It made talking difficult. Also early in the evening it took a long time to place an order or get a drink because there were only 2 waitresses. As the night wore on and the rest of restaurant closed down things got better. Well, back to the room.

Friday Morning.

8:00 am start - Breakfast at Perkins and at the Dora lake by 10:00. We met the Vezzosi brothers (Mike and Tom) in "Senti  Mental  Value" JS-04 from Hilton Head, South Carolina.

We saw this boat in the Comfort Inn parking lot. Well the cruise was planned that day and off we went. We didn't know where we were going but we were ready. Steve was driving there and I was riding. Mike and Tom took our camera and got some pictures of us running. This was going to be our first time through the Dora Canal. Talk about different.

Nothing like this in jersey and if there was you would have to pay a toll to go through it - both ways. So through the scenic Dora Canal we went taking in the sights.

Out the other end of the canal is Lake Eustis. After you come out of the canal you turn left and hug the shore line towards Dead River Canal. A lot of bass boats were in this canal. (Might bring the fishing pole next time) Dead River Canal opens up to Big Lake Harris.  We cruised for the most part through this lake with about 8 or 9 of us. Paul Nowak was leading us in for the picnic lunch run by the skiffers. As mentioned above we were only cruising but soon everyone took off. Steve hit it and we were making a grand entrance. We were 8 or 9 skiffs coming in for lunch. Not to mention the rest of the field of Garwood's and Chris Crafts. We docked and helped others dock as well.

Some of those Garwood's can sure motor. We ate lunch and hung around for awhile admiring some of the boats. Tom and Mike Vezzosi had some engine trouble and were going to leave it there and get the truck and trailer. I think it was the alternator and some loose bolts. Both were a quick fix and they were heading back with us.

I drove back and loved the cruising aspect of this show. Just get up on plane and take in the sights. If you wanted to hit it hard you could. The driving at this show was a lot different than we were used to.

First off it's a cruise. No helmet. Cruising speed of about 30 - 50 and that's a lot. Once the boat gets on plane that's all you need. Second - A transmission is extremely useful for going through the canal. You have to go slow and watch for traffic. To be able to take your boat in and out of gear is a huge advantage.

I must say though the lake was not as calm as it could have been. The wind blew every day around 15 to 20 mph and you had to hug the shore line if you wanted to run hard. Or just like in Jersey, you could run early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Also, some of these larger boats created a decent wake and when 4 or 5 of them got together it was tough passing.

Not sure who was in charge of doing this but the lakes were all drained in preparation for the upcoming hurricane season. Fortunately for the town the hurricanes never came. Unfortunately for us the water in the lakes was a good 2 feet below normal. The lakes themselves are deep from what we were told and you didn't have to worry about hitting bottom. The canals were shallow though and they were of concern.

Friday Afternoon - Well back at the show and once tied up we went back to the Frosty Mug. We hung out there for a little bit and then back to the rooms for a quick change. Mike and Tom came prepared and had a cooler of beer iced down waiting for us. Their pickup soon became the meeting place. Well, again we knew that drinks were in order so again we got the same cab company to pick us up. Now that we have 4 people though we get a Saturn, - where's the mini van?

Friday Night - We pay our $7.50 total and give a very generous tip. There was an open bar and a chance to meet everyone from the show. This was not the big dinner party that was coming the following night. It was a simple function for about two hours. Mike and Steve had their fair share of the vodka and tonics. After a few conversations and meeting a bunch of people we decided to get dinner. Now when you roll with me in Mt. Dora there is only one place to get dinner - The Frosty Mug. So Mike, Tom, Steve and I are on our way to dinner all banged up - Jim Hassfeld and his girlfriend Cindy accompanied us as well.

The food there was really good. Although Mike was the only one that didn't finish his meal, we all cleaned our plates. Another cab ride home and we hung out at the Vezzosi meeting place (the pick up) for an after dinner drink.

Saturday morning - 9:00 AM - yeah a little bit of a late start. We go to Perkins for breakfast and coffee. Then off to the show. The previous night ran late and walking in the Mt. Dora water was the greatest feeling. Just ask Steve the next time you see him. By the time we got to the boat and cleaned the dew off of it we were looking at 10:00 and the boats were all getting ready to run. Once again Steve started driving and I rode. The one thing we didn't notice the day before were the bugs. When you don't have a helmet on and you are cruising around the lake at 10:00 the bugs are still there and well, you feel them at 30 MPH. A word of advice - DON'T SMILE!  

The route was the same as yesterday - through the Dora Canal make a left at the end - hug the shore line in Lake Eustis - through the Dead River Canal. Upon entering Big Lake Harris we went left. We were heading towards Big Johns for lunch where the waitresses were nice, young and shapely. Nice place but we had a little trouble with the docking situation because of the low water level. No big deal though we just doubled up. Lunch was great and I must give a big THANK YOU to Tom and Mike for picking up the tab for everyone. I don't care what bad things people said about those South Carolina boys - they are ok in my book - LOL 

So back on the water we go and from the start something was up. I was driving and we are cruising at a really good clip. We are lined up going through a small opening. We make the turn to hug the coast line and ….. OH HELLO … 4 bass boats just staring at us! They had to hear us coming and knew the fishing would die down a little. So here we are running the coast line like hells angels. Being a fisherman I was trying to stay clear of some of the Bass boats but with the amount of people we had running it didn't matter. Half of us would go on one side and half would go on the other. Running close to the shore we were able to run in the 40 - 50 mph range. We followed the shore line with Paul and others taking part as the leader. There is a bridge in this lake and on our way back we all went under it. We learned from the previous day you don't have to slow down to go under it. This is just simply unheard of in Jersey. So barreling under the bridge we go the on way back to Mt. Dora.

(One side note on the above trip though. Steve and I have about an 18 gallon tank. When we left that morning we had a full tank. By the time we started heading back we were low. I would recommend stopping and filling up in Dead River Canal. There is a place and it's worth it to stop and fill up. If you don't have a fuel gauge you need to keep something that you can check your fuel level. Another bonus here was the individual beers on ice - kind of a grab one for the lake deal - not a NJ thing.)

The above run was by far the longest we ever did in our boat at one time, about 45 or 50 miles. It was the longest cruise of the weekend. Since this was the last day we really tried to take it all in on the way back. We still had to get the boat out of the water and then get back to the room for a quick change and then to the BIG PARTY.

Getting the boat out was like looking for a needle in a stack of needles. First we gave our trailer number to the dock master and he insisted that our trailer number was wrong. After assuring this gentleman that was our number we were told we had to get our tow vehicle first. So off to get the tow vehicle I went. My brother got the boat and helped locate our trailer. Now we were next in line after two large Garwood's got pulled out. THEN CHAOS! The ramp is in the middle of the boat show and you have people walking all around the ramp and not paying attention. Well, it wasn't long before someone slipped on the ramp and that caused a major delay. Two ambulances were called and blocked the road. NJ attitude was kicking in and Steve mentioned if it happens next time just roll the guy in the water... the gators would take care of him. After the delay I was able to finagle the truck and trailer down the ramp and get the boat out. The other two Garwood's couldn't move because an ambulance was blocking the exit. So we have the boat on the trailer and we are waiting. Finally after about 15 minutes we are on our way back to the room.

All in all the above wasn't that bad. It took about an hour to get the boat out of the water. But the workers were mostly concerned about safety which I can't argue about. I think if you design your own park though it would make sense to put the ramp off to one side. The above incident is proof of that. Not to mention all the people were walking between the trucks was a little dangerous.

Saturday Night - Cab ride back to Dora and the big dinner party. Of course we show up fashionably late and there are no seats left. No big deal for us. We cruise on over to a secret spot with plenty of room. This spot was protected from the band which was good because we wanted to rehash the great weekend. Trying to savor every last bit we can. Dinner was great.

Saturday Late Night - Back to The Frosty Mug. We were hoping for a late snack with some burgers or something but they closed the kitchen, Oh well, beers all around. We find out that the owner was sitting there and I got to talking with her. She just moved to Mt. Dora not that long ago from Iceland. She spoke with a thick accent and was very happy I liked the place so much. I think her name was Marie. Anyway, I told her that I would like to purchase some t-shirts if they had them. Well they didn't. They only had the actual bar shirts that the staff wears. I needed to bring back something from Mt. Dora so I got two shirts. After looking over the shirts I told her that she needed to redesign the insignia on them. The shirt should have their insignia blown up on the back with Mt. Dora, Florida on the bottom. Well, Tom, Mike, and my brother wanted something to eat so the bar tender brought out some cheese, chips and fruit. Not sure how good that goes with Guinness but they were happy. One of the stools had a name plate on it and I inquired about getting a stool with my name on it. They couldn't put a plaque on a stool with my name but they did make up my own little sign and taped it to the back of my stool.

It was getting late by this point and we called our cab to come bring us back to the hotel. One last after dinner drink at the Vezzosi pick up and off to bed.

Sunday Morning. 8:00 AM - I was sleeping like the dead again while Steve is talking to me like I've been awake for the past hour. I didn't know what he was saying but it sounded like he wanted to leave. We checked out and followed the Vezzosi brothers back to South Carolina. We wave them off after 5 hours. We still have a long way to go.

Not sure on times but I drove mostly through the Carolinas again and Steve did the rest of the way. We stopped a couple of times for fuel. We got back home around 12:30 AM on Monday morning.

Steve and I both agreed it was a great trip and already have it planned for next year. The only major change we would do is the launching. We wouldn't launch out of the Mt. Dora ramp. The ramp at Tremble Park in Lake Beauclaire would be ideal if the water is up. The other change is the room. I don't know if the Best Western has a restaurant in it or not but that is something we might look into. Otherwise I think we would keep the same thing as this year.

We only had two things that needed to be replaced. One was the rubber saver on the ignition switch. This was ripped off. The other was a tow chain. We had a nice woman tell us in Virginia that we had sparks coming from the bottom of our trailer. The tow chain was dragging on the road. It hung down too low so we needed to fix that.

Once again it was a great trip and Steve and I are looking forward to next year. For those who have not been on any of these outings and want to run their boat, I would highly recommend this trip.

I would like to give a special thanks to Marty and Claire for a great show and their hospitality. Also, a big thanks to Paul Nowack and Roger Harris for showing us newbie's the way. 

Sincerely,

Scott A. Becker

Here are some additional pictures provided by Larry Critz