This is from fellow Woody Boater Mike Mayer from Lake Oswego Boat Company in Oregon.. That says something when someone from across the US picks a lake far from home. The more we read these the more we see a pattern.. Water is water.. Boats are boats.. It’s family and friends that dictate a favorite place. Here is Mikes story..
My lake is Keuka Lake in New York. It’s one of the Finger Lakes and is not only Gods country, but Wine Country too.
My dad and I spent a lot of time on this lake when I was younger. Unbeknownst to me, my wife also spent a lot of time on this lake when she was a kid, too. Her family used to drive up from North Carolina to spend summers there while I drove East from Western NY. We never knew each other growing up but this coincidence made our first encounter a keeper. We had something in common! Woo Hoo.
We ended up getting married on the lake…well, not on the lake but at a winery overlooking the lake. We have been back several times since so our kids are getting a good dose of this beautiful place. My folks now live in Hammondsport, a little village on the south end of the lake. Finally, the funky Y in Sideways is representative of the lake as Keuka is the Y shaped finger lake.
The Wine Country chapter of the ACBS is one of the most fun and hospitable too. The lake is crystal clear, big, but not too big and has several restaurants, bars and parks along it’s shores to provide for excellent boating.
Thanks,
Mike M
Great Lakes, St.Lawrence River. The Finger Lakes. Lake Champlain, Lake George, Hudson River, Long Island Sound. The Empire State of Boating. My favorite.
Great story Mike, thanks for sharing it with us.
Even though I have had the pleasure of riding with you aboard “Sideways” I always wondered about that “y” on the transom… Now I know.
I love the photo of the bow flag thru the windshield. What a great boat and story.
I live less than 1 mile from Canandaigua Lake, one Finger Lake northwest of Kueka. We vacation every summer on Kueka and are looking forward to our first year enjoying our newly restored 1960 Chris Craft 17′ Ski Boat that has taken 2
years and more hours than I care to recall getting her ready. The hardware should be back from the chrome shop and the upholstery is almost done, my mahogany dream boat should finally be ready when spring decides to come back to Upstate N.Y. Keuka is one of New York’s best kept secrets for wooden boating.