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| A 24' Hallett Day Cruiser capable of 95 m.p.h. |
Speedboat speed runs on
Lake Havasu
It is hard to believe that smack dab in the middle of the Arizona desert you can find a lake so large, a speedboat can hit nearly 100 m.p.h. It's true and Lake Havasu is a long deep lake formed by the Parker Dam construction in 1934. The resulting lake has 450 miles of shoreline.
The city that sprung up in the desert around the lake, is Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The city was developed by Robert McCulloch who owned McCulloch motors and originally thought the lake was ideal for testing outboard boat motors. Lake Havasu's claim to fame is the London Bridge that was reconstructed on dry land and a channel then dug underneath the structure. Over 50,000 American and British people attended the grand opening in 1971. I was fortunate to be one of the people attending the opening with my parents, that makes it a special place for me.
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| The 24' Hallett is even larger on the trailer. |
Depending on the type of boat (Jet Drive or Prop Drive) you can make a choice of heading up river or down river. Up river provides a change of scenery with sand dunes and curvy channels. When you head up river you must be sure the water height is up as the sandbars will be bad for anything but a jet drive boat. Everyone can find an entire day of fun down river with great picnic areas, water skiing for miles and a dam with restaurants and docks.
My last Havasu outing started early with stops along the way for relaxing on the beaches and meeting other outdoor and water enthusiasts. There are places to stop with picnic areas and some just beaches, others offer camping areas. Making my way down to the dam it was late after lunch by the time we docked.
When I maneuvered the 24' day cruiser back onto the lake for the ride back, I quickly realized that the surface was like glass. As I neared the city area, a flat bottom race boat with a huge blower motor pulled alongside my 45 m.p.h. cruise. I decided it was adventure time and squeezed the throttle a slight bit and kept with the flat bottom. The well tanned man with flowing hair looked at me and then at his passenger, it was on. He gave more throttle and so did I, then again and again. His in your face motor that bulged from the hull and blinded you from the chrome screamed. My boat much more subtle is a sleeping giant, exhaust directed below the water to muffle the hulking horsepower hidden under the deck.
At the point the two tanned guys in the flat bottom were bouncing side-to-side and the bow of the boat was slapping the waters surface repeatedly they both had eyes wide open. One had his hands clinched on the steering wheel and the other the grab handle. The driver of the flat bottom was maxxed out and I happily had more horsepower to spare. I again pushed the throttles and my boat lurched ahead with a bounce and sideways lightness at 96m.p.h.
The sun was setting and a picture perfect sky was cast over the lake as we idled into the channel. Quickly, the flat bottom floated alongside and both men shouted from their chapped lips at the same time; "what in the hell is in that boat?". I replied calmly that it was mostly stock and with shock they replied that I was full of s@#t. I confessed that the Hallett had a highly modified Paul Pfaff drive line and was purposely designed to be a sleeper. We grinned and idled to the beach for beers and admiring looks at each others boats.
Just another day on Lake Havasu, where I have seen everything including a sea plane land on the lake, unload jet skis and after a day load them and fly off into the horizon.
Plan a long weekend and stay at a major chain hotel, the cheap hotels are just that, horrible. There are plenty of small bars, restaurants and eateries. It gets stupid busy in the Summer months, but remember it's open year around and the desert is great in the Winter, Spring and Fall.
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