Annual Fall Wet/Swap Meet at the Heart of Texas Lake Resort
By Tom Oncken
Our fall wet meet was held at the Heart of Texas Lake Resort located on the Colorado River just north of Kingsland and west of Burnet, Texas. Our usual retreat had been the Longhorn Resort in Kingsland, Texas; however, as reported a few months ago, most of the cabins with the sole exception of one next to the swimming pool have all been bulldozed and removed. The newest large trailer has also been removed. The front office and several mobile campers were all that remained on the site when we cruised by the area.
As a result of the demolition of Longhorn Resort, we rescheduled this year’s fall wet meet for the weekend of October 27th through 29th at the new location where Texas Chapter members could rent a condo unit or a cabin. Overall, the facilities were excellent. The cabins are across a ravine from the condos, but the walking distance was tolerable.
Several individuals decided to arrive early on Thursday including Adam and Susan Finn, Joe McCauley and Cornelia Kueffner, Meatball Murray and Caroline Holton, and Dennis and Sharon Schmitt. Weather was in the 80’s and sunny for some early boating. The early birds went to Doc’s Fish Camp and Grill for dinner.
A cold front came through early on Friday morning which dropped morning temperatures into the 40’s; however, by afternoon, the temperatures became more bearable in the 60’s with winds in the 20 mph range. Joe and Adam decided to make a run down the river and went as far as the Longhorn Resort to check out the area. Most of the other members began arriving throughout the day on Friday.
Brenden Macaluso arrived on a vintage Honda motorcycle which he has been modifying with some custom equipment which he personally designed. Fortunately, Brenden’s partner, Nicole Buergers, arrived on Saturday in a pickup truck, and as a result, Brenden got to ride back home inside the truck while the motorcycle rode in the back in the cold. Brenden convinced his father, Robert Macaluso to come to the meet, so Robert flew his private plane to a local airport where Brenden picked him up.
As a result of the earlier cold front, the Saturday morning temperature was 33 degrees and there was frost on the ground. Needless to say, many of us were in no hurry to launch boats and get on the water. Many chose to travel to one of the “Crazy Gal’s” cafes either in Kingsland, Burnet, or Granite Shoals to have a good breakfast rather than endure the early cold temperatures.
After breakfast, many boats were launched and most were successfully run. Glenn and Lee Seureau with their daughter, Caroline Jinks, brought an unusual boat and motor combination. Glenn’s boat is a 1991 Riviera Fowler duck boat powered by a 1981 Johnson 7.5HP outboard motor. Unfortunately, the motor refused to start, so the boat remained on shore. With the temperatures as they were, I do not believe that Glenn was all that disappointed.
Two of our local Houston area legends who cater to younger outboarders are John Platou and Alan Bischof. John and Alan volunteered to come to this year’s wet meet to provide a youth training session that they call “Kids Build an Engine”. This is where they show kids how to dismantle and rebuild a vintage 5.5HP Evinrude outboard. The kids are encouraged to use a screwdriver or a wrench as needed. This training session is usually well received by the kids as well as their parents.
Others bringing boats included Adam and Susan Finn with their 1961 Glass Magic with 1963 Mercury Merc 650, Jerry and Rocky Lindamood with Jerry’s homemade Lindy Craft powered by twin 1962 Mercury Merc 700 motors, Joe McCauley with his 1968 Glastron with 1991 Johnson 70HP, Meatball Murray with his Hydra-sports boat with 1967 Mercury Merc 1100, Tony and Andrea Robinson with their 1958 Wizard boat powered by a 1957 Mercury Mark 30 [Mark 58 powerhead], Louis Rothermel with his 1985 Stauter-Built boat with its 1943 Evinrude Storm Boat Motor 50HP, Peter Schultz with his 1959 Alumacraft powered by 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35HP, and “Scott-Atwater Al” and Katie Smith with Al’s 1962 U-2 Commando with its 1965 Sears (McCulloch-built) 75HP outboard with custom lower unit. (I sure hope that I did not overlook anyone.)
Others in attendance not previously mentioned included Weldon and Cheryl Eklund, Richard Kairis and Cindy Standfest, David Reyna, and John and Cindy Slator. Overall, I believe I counted 35 in attendance at this meet. That is not bad when you consider our last minute venue change.
Saturday night dinner consisted of some great lasagna, garlic toast, and a fresh tossed salad prepared by Susan Finn and Cheryl Eklund. The Finn and Eklund condos were used as the dining rooms due to the cold weather. Susan also ordered a neat decorated cake from HEB and Lee Seureau provided some fantastic oatmeal cookies. Thank you ladies! It was a great meal, as always.
Almost everyone left by 11:00am on Sunday morning; however, Joe McCauley decided to stay for a while and ran his Power Cat that was at Meatball’s shop. Joe later reported that it was fairly warm on Sunday with no wind, but too many wakeboard boats.
Well, this concludes my report for our fall wet meet. Please forgive me if I have overlooked anyone or anything at this last wet meet of 2017. We hope to see you all at the Heart of Texas Resort in April 2018.
Please follow this link to see the rest of the pictures shared from this meet: http://www.texaschapteraomci.com/gallery/2017-lake-lbj-heart-of-texas-lake-resort-fall-wet-meet/